Download pdf
The Use of Transliteration in Contemporary Video Game and Its Influence on Consumers: A Case Study of Elden Ring
- 1 University of Toronto
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This work concentrated on the quality of video game localization in China, especially the use of transliteration in text translation. Examples of existing Chinese-localized video games are documented and analyzed, and survey-based research is conducted to examine the response of the Chinese player community to the localization quality in a specific, representative case: Elden Ring. The result suggests that the abuse of transliteration has caused ambiguity to a notable extent among Chinese player/consumer communities, misguiding them to interpret the game content in unexpected ways. This work pointed out several flaws in the current video game localization in China. With best hope, the work could serve as a starting point for future studies in the area and provide meaningful improvement suggestions to Chinese translators in their work related to video games.
Keywords
Transliteration, Video Games, Localization
[1]. Zhou, D. G. (1993). Guidebook of Translation of Foreign Landmark Names. The Commercial Press.
[2]. Xin Hua Agency. (1989). Guidebook of Translation of English Names. The Commercial Press.
[3]. Ce Liang. (2019). An OT Analysis of Chinese Transliterations of English Place Names. International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology(IJACT), 7(2),137– 143.
[4]. Cheng, S., Ding, Z., & Yan, S. (2021). English-to-Chinese Transliteration with Phonetic Back-transliteration. https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2112.10321
[5]. Wibowo, A. P., Nababan, M. R., Santosa, R., & Kristina, D. (2019). Reconfiguring Localization Quality Assessment for Video Games. Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 10(3), 346 .
[6]. Zhao, W. (2016). Chinese Localization of the Foreign Video Games——Translating the Foreign Video Games Titles. School English, 10, 256.
[7]. Newmann, W. W. (2022). Note on Chinese Transliteration and Sources. In Isolation and Engagement. University of Michigan Press.
[8]. Bernal-Merino, M. Á. (2015). Translation and localisation in video games: making entertainment software global. Routledge.
[9]. Zhao, S., & Liu, Y. (2023). From industry development to social influence: video games in Chinese newspaper coverage, 2010-2020. Chinese Journal of Communication, 16(1), 35–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/17544750.2022.2108860
[10]. Zhang, X. (2016). Video Game Title Translation Functional Translation Theory Perspective. Oversea English, 12, 138– 140.
[11]. Xu, Y. (2023) Survey about transliteration quality in Elden Ring. https://www.wjx.cn/vm/rOvWDHv.aspx
Cite this article
Xu,Y. (2024). The Use of Transliteration in Contemporary Video Game and Its Influence on Consumers: A Case Study of Elden Ring. Communications in Humanities Research,29,101-106.
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
Disclaimer/Publisher's Note
The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.
About volume
Volume title: Proceedings of the International Conference on Global Politics and Socio-Humanities
© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who
publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this
series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published
version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial
publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and
during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See
Open access policy for details).