The future of video game translation and the keys to learning Japanese: Interview with lecturer Carme Mangiron
In an interview on the Hispanic American podcast about audiovisual translation En sincronía, Carme Mangiron points out some trends for the future of video games translation, such as accessibility, dual translation and inclusive language. She also offers very interesting advice on learning Japanese.
02/07/2021
Improvements in the translation field are not only technological, society is also changing and having an influence on it. Video games translation is a good example of how new technologies and new social awareness can have an impact on the translation process, making it more inclusive and contributing to building bridges and reaching more people.
Carme Mangiron, lecturer and researcher from the group TransMedia Catalonia and coordinator of the Master’s Degree in Audiovisual Translation at the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting (FTI), reflects on these topics in an interesting interview in En sincronía, a Hispanic American podcast about audiovisual translation lead by the lecturers Blanca Arias-Badia (Pompeu Fabra University), Guillermo Parra (UPF-BSM) and Damián Santilli (University of Argentine Social Museum and University of Buenos Aires).
Mangiron discusses one of the trends of the future of video games translation: the dual translation, which is offering more than one translation in a game. “In the past, there was a lot of adaptation, nowadays there is much less: now, for instance, we can choose between playing with an English dubbing with English subtitles adapted to North American culture or playing with the Japanese voices and English subtitles”. The audience understands more and more cultural references from all around the globe and it is possible to offer two different translations in the same video game.
Times change and video games change too: inclusive language and functional diversity are becoming more and more important in the creation of video games.
Dr. Mangiron and Dr. Arias-Badia agree that, for example, twenty years ago inclusive language did not have much importance in the translation of a video game. However, the trend has flipped: these days it is so important that one of the next games from the famous franchise Call of Duty might have gender neutral pronouns for its public. Regarding this matter, Dr. Mangiron points out the need to find invariable formulas so that no one would feel excluded setting up their own game.
On the subject of functional diversity, she highlights the creation of video games adapted for blind or partially sighted people. Dr. Mangiron works precisely on this sphere in the RAD project (Researching Audio Description: Translation, Delivery and New Scenarios) from the research group TransMedia Catalonia.
Dr. Mangiron also teaches Japanese language in the Degree in Translation and Interpreting at FTI, where she studied as well. From her experience, she highly recommends going to Japan on an academic exchange while studying or right after finishing. Not only that, she also cherishes the value of all the material available on the Internet, such as manga and anime, and also reminds all Japanese students that: “interest and motivation are key”.
En sincronía offers one podcast episode every three weeks, addressing issues in audiovisual translation with the collaboration of many experts. It is available in several platforms accessible through the following link.