Bringing Localization To Translation Teaching In China

The localization industry is a newly emerging industry that provides language and technical services for the clients' product or service to ensure its survival in international markets, in which software localization take a large portion of the market shares. With the extension of economic globalization, there is growing market demand on localization, and consequently on qualified employees of localization or localization translation. This thesis is based on a detailed research and analysis of required skills of localization translation, as well as an introduction of existing oversea practices of including localization courses in translation teaching. The study aims at discussing the light that the localization industry shed on translation teaching in China, and proposing the inclusion of localization courses into Chinese translation curricula.Since the localization industry took off in China much later, not much attention has been paid to localization teaching and training, and there is only some professional training institutes available for localization skills training. However, localization courses are already in presence in some oversea universities. A close examination of the translation process included in a localization project, and absorption of successful experiences of western universities opening localization courses in translation teaching will have profound positive influence on Chinese localization teaching, and even on the construction of better translation curricula.A descriptive research method is assumed in the study, which begins with a detailed description of the localization industry and especially the translation section within, including information on the history, development, market demand, and present situation, as well as on the workflow of a localization project and its translation process, in which the special features of localization translation—source text language and text types, translation tools and technology applied, translation strategies and guidelines, etc.—are discussed; localization translation ethics, trainings offered by localization companies and even performance evaluation methods are described. Then there is a review of translation competence theory, on the basis of which localization-specific translation competency is discussed, and the status quo as well as problems of Chinese translation teaching is evaluated. At last, western practices of localization teaching are introduced, and a suggested localization course design in the Chinese context is proposed. The oversea experiences considered together with the situation of Chinese translation teaching as well as the translation competence theory, lead to the conclusion that including localization courses in Chinese translation curricula in the future is not only necessary, but also possible and practicable.