1UP Loc Blog
Just another video game localization blog with lots of info for aspiring game translators and game developers, enriched through interviews with people from the game industry.
Should we localize dialects into Italian? Image courtesy of MaxPixel.
The use of Italian accents and/or dialects in games is quite tricky, if you ask me, as the association with certain stereotypes is almost inevitable. In general, southern Italy is portrayed as a poorer and more ignorant part of the country (not to mention the mafia situation), whereas northern Italy is generally considered richer, and therefore posh and educated.
Read MoreImage courtesy of MaxPixel
In video games, we get to meet characters who are larger than life, caricatures of real people. They dress in a very specific way, have their own strong personality and are sometimes further differentiated by having a nationality, an ethnicity, real or not, which can be associated with a corresponding accent.
Read MoreImage courtesy of MaxPixel
"Almost died first year I come to school and et them pecans—folks say he pizened ‘em and put ‘em over on the school side of the fence."
What impression does this line give you? Does the speaker sound male or female? Young or old? Asian or American?
This was a line by little Walter of one of my favorite books, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, and the boy was speaking in a Southern American accent.
Just as in books and movies, whenever we meet characters in a video game, we automatically try to make sense of their background based on different cues: hair and skin color (hello, orc!), way they dress (are you a troll or a hobo?), weapons they carry (is this a scimitar you got there, or are you just happy to see me?), and the way they communicate.
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