A hands-on approach to video game localization: A proposal for the translation from English to Galician of the video game Papers, Please

Abstract

Translation has been defended as one of the most effective means of promoting and standardizing a language, as well as an important tool for the survival of historically minoritized languages. Nowadays, the development of audiovisual media entails an increasing demand for translations for new types of products, such as those developed within the video game industry. This field, which has seen a considerable growth in recent years, is characterized by the omnipresence of English as its lingua franca, with this language frequently being the source language for many translation orders. The purpose of this undergraduate dissertation is to present an exploration of video game localization as a professional practice, together with a translation proposal for the localization from English to Galician of the video game Papers, Please (3909 LLC, 2013). In this puzzle-simulation game, the player is put in the shoes of a border inspector over the course of 31 working days, in which he interacts with people applying to enter his country, with other guards, and with his superiors. Given this setting, the player can expect to interact with an ample text typology, which includes administrative documents, regulations, press, pamphlets, business cards, personal notes, and dialogue between characters, among others. In this variety of texts one can find differences in register, insults and foul language, and different linguistic uses that will depend on power dynamics and the geographical origin of the sender. These aspects pose translation problems to be considered by the professional video game localizer, especially when working with a target language for which the possible lack of adequate reference material would require proposing original solutions. This work is also meant to be a contribution to the presence of the Galician language in an industry mainly targeted at a demographic that features a reported loss of Galician speakers.