If the Mountain Won’t Come… Translation Studies Meets Localization
Andrei Valentinovich Achkasov · Journal of Siberian Federal University Humanities & Social Sciences · 2016
Localization has significantly influenced translation tasks and roles of translators due to the technological development of text production, processing and distribution.However, Translation Studies remains at the periphery of a broader area of emerging Localization Studies that includes related scholarly research in IT technology, human-computer interaction, empirical Cultural Studies, cross-cultural and international management, etc.These lines of theoretical, descriptive and applied research are currently isolated and need to be synthesized and problematized under a unifying theoretical framework.Currently, localization is approached within Translation Studies as just another technology-aided type of translation.Theoretical conceptualizations that provide a theoretical framework for a transdisciplinary turn in localization research are few and have not generated much enthusiasm among TS scholars.The question is whether the time has come for the state-of-the art TS to meet the challenge or to occupy but a small niche within maturing Localization Studies.