Home   Blog   How to Prepare Terminology in Game Localization

How to Prepare Terminology in Game Localization

By: Eric Nelson Posted on Sat, 28-04-2018

The Importance of Terminology

Consistent use of terms in the game translation makes the translation more readable and the translated game more understandable. Wrong translation or inconsistent translation in the key terms may mislead the users while playing games, which causes poor user experience. Thus preparing a terminology list is an important step before the translation starts.

What can be considered as terminology in game translation?

Go through the contents that to be translated, pick up the below types of terms:

  • Character names
  • UI names
  • Words no need to be translated
  • Product names or special objects used in the game
  • Abbreviations
  • Terms that should keep consistency
  • Special actions or movements

What you need to pay attention to while preparing the terminology?

During this phase, translator may have initial understanding of the content. Translators can double check the quality of the source content. For example, if you find the character names John Smith and Johnson Smith may refer to the same character, you SHOULD spot this issue and ask about it.

Gather some context information to the terms helps translator better understand the game. For NPC games, it’s important to know the background information about the characters. What is the gender of the character, what kind of tone the character should have etc.

Prepare a DISALLOWED list

In game translation, it is very likely that some bad words or rude words should be avoided to use in the translation. Make a list of them so that it can be checked in the later QA phase of localization phase.

Understand the game environment; define the interactive actions used in the game. If the game is developed for touch screen devices only, you cannot CLICK a button. It makes no sense in any translation.

A well prepared terminology list can be easily imported in CAT (Computer Aided Translation) tool and give good guidance to the translator during the translation. According to the industry research, more than 30% of failure translation is due to wrong or inconsistent translation in key terms. Spend some time in terminology preparation before translation starts, and you will find the worth.

Related Blogs

What is Translation-as-a-Feature (TaaF)?

It's the 21st century, and translation has become an important part of every industry. It is an inevitable part of

Read More
What are CTMS, TMF, and eTMF in Clinical Trial Research?

The medical industry is constantly evolving and clinical research trials play an important role. These trials are responsible for finding

Read More
What is Neural Machine Translation (NMT)? A Brief Overview

Neural machine translation is a tool to automate translation through an end-to-end learning mode. It is a neural network of

Read More
APE vs. AQE: Key Differences in Automated Translation

We know the importance of translation in not just the business world but in the interconnected world we all live

Read More
What is Sworn Translation?

The importance of language translation solutions in today’s globalized world is well established. The accuracy of translations is the one

Read More
What is Transcreation? How Is It Different from Translation?

The global marketplace has become an attractive place for brands and businesses, where they strive to create a presence of

Read More
Simultaneous VS Consecutive Interpretation: What's the Difference?

With many languages spoken worldwide, there’s a need for solutions to enable effective communication between people speaking different languages. The

Read More
Why is App Localization Important to Boost Downloads & Sales?

With the increased rate of internet penetration and mobile phone usage, apps are the digital products that we use daily.

Read More
Person-First Language Vs Identity-First Language: Difference?

Language contributes to our culture and identity. It shapes our individual and group identities. It shows our social surroundings, upbringing,

Read More

© Copyright 2025 MarsTranslation