Features of dialogic communication translation in the video game “Cyberpunk 2077” in the English-Russian language pair
Kalnov Dmitry Denisovich
Volgograd State University
Submitted: 07.05.2024
Abstract. The paper examines the specifics of video game localization from English into Russian, focusing on the translation of dialogic communication in the video game “Cyberpunk 2077”. The research aims to identify the optimal translation technology for character lines in the game’s universe by describing the most frequent techniques for localizing verbal content. The research material includes original and translated text fragments of dialogues of the main characters from the video game “Cyberpunk 2077”, as well as its DLC “Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty”, obtained using a continuous sampling method for a total of 85,000 characters. The scientific novelty of the research lies in systematizing the lexical-stylistic and syntactic means of realizing the pragmatic potential of the video game in dialogic communication in the studied language pair. It has been found that during the translation and localization of the video game, translators employ translation techniques such as semantic development, conceptual adaptation, antonymic translation, omission, transcription, and calquing. In the translation process, special attention should be paid to the rules of the in-game universe, the specifics of the video game genre, and its game mechanics. The research findings have shown that the emergence of semantic inaccuracies during the translation of dialogic communication in video games is due to a number of syntactic, lexical, and stylistic features of the original game, including non-linear dialogues with the choice of lines, interjections, pseudo-realia, dialectalisms, and Easter eggs. The adequacy of the sounding text takes precedence in the localization of the video game “Cyberpunk 2077”.
Key words and phrases: перевод видеоигр, линейные диалоги, нелинейные диалоги, приемы перевода видеоигры, приемы перевода диалогической коммуникации, video game translation, linear dialogues, non-linear dialogues, video game translation techniques, dialogic communication translation techniques
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