4 Best Books About Localization for Translators

4 Best Books About Localization for Translators

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Sesera editorial account organizes laptop, mini PC, smartphone, and gadget buying guides so readers can check the important points before buying.

Choosing a book about localization can be difficult when you’re weighing practical guidance against theory or a particular area of the field.

The titles featured here cover software, web, app, and game localization, as well as translation theory and professional practice.

This time, we’ll round up four books that approach localization from these different angles.

Quick-reference table of recommended products

Product nameFormatExtent (pages)Focus
A Practical Guide to LocalizationPaperbackix, 488 pp.Software localization, online help and documentation, translation technology, internationalization, desktop publishing, and software quality assurance.
Localization in TranslationLocalization in TranslationPaperback336 pagesLocalization of software, web, video games, and apps; includes technological, cultural, linguistic, quality, economic, accessibility, and user-reception topics.
Game Localization: Translating for the Global Digital Entertainment IndustryGame Localization: Translating for the Global Digital Entertainment IndustryPaperbackxii, 374 pp.Game localization, drawing on Game Studies and Translation Studies, with attention to translator and localizer training.
The Moving Text: Localization, Translation, and DistributionThe Moving Text: Localization, Translation, and DistributionHardboundxviii, 223 pp.Localization and translation framed through text transfer, including cultural resistance, transaction costs, labour-market segmentation, and technical discourse.

A Practical Guide to Localization

For technical translators and other professionals involved in releasing multilingual products, A Practical Guide to Localization is recommended. The book is designed as both a reference work and a teaching tool, and the second edition includes chapters on internationalization, multilingual desktop publishing, and software quality assurance.

The publisher lists a US paperback edition under ISBN 9781588110060.

A Practical Guide to Localization

Localization in Translation

For advanced translation studies students and professionals engaged in localization practice, Localization in Translation is recommended. It offers an interdisciplinary introduction to practical and theoretical issues across software, web, video game, and app localization. The book also examines technological, cultural, linguistic, quality, economic, accessibility, and user-reception issues. Each chapter includes a summary, key questions, discussion and assignments, and additional readings; online resources with further questions and assignments are available through the Routledge Translation Studies portal.

Localization in Translation
Localization in Translation

Game Localization: Translating for the Global Digital Entertainment Industry

For translation scholars, game localization practitioners, and people in Game Studies interested in the international dimensions of digital entertainment, Game Localization: Translating for the Global Digital Entertainment Industry is recommended. It offers a road map to professional game localization practices and addresses translator and localizer training. The book draws on both Game Studies and Translation Studies, bringing professional practice and academic perspectives together.

Game Localization: Translating for the Global Digital Entertainment Industry
Game Localization: Translating for the Global Digital Entertainment Industry

The Moving Text: Localization, Translation, and Distribution

For readers exploring how localization and translation relate to the broader movement of texts across contexts, The Moving Text: Localization, Translation, and Distribution is recommended. It frames both fields through text transfer and examines cultural resistance, transaction costs, labor-market segmentation, and technical discourse.

The Moving Text: Localization, Translation, and Distribution
The Moving Text: Localization, Translation, and Distribution

Choose by your area of focus

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