Strategies of Localizing Video Games into Arabic: A Case Study of PUBG and Free Fire

Technical Issues

The technical aspects of the two video games, PUBG and Free Fire, are covered in this section. These include typos and incorrect use of abbreviations, as shown in Table 2.

Table 2 shows that there are a number of typographical errors in the target language interface of the two video games. Some Arabic words were misspelt by missing, adding, or replacing letters. In examples 1–5, the localizer misspelt the Arabic words *اللعة (game), *الاشتراك (subscription), *زمل (teammate), *المعسك (camp), and *الافتراض (default) by missing some letters in Arabic. In example 6, the localizer misspelled the word الذخيرة (ammo) by adding the Arabic letter ح to it. In example 7, the letter ة in the Arabic word was incorrectly replaced with ى in the word *مهمى (mission مهمة). In addition to adding, missing, or replacing letters, the localizer in PUBG used an incorrect abbreviation in Arabic for the English word “sec,” which is the abbreviated form of the English “seconds” by using ثا in Arabic, which is a clipped-like form of the Arabic word ثانية. It is worth noting that this abbreviation does not exist in Arabic.

Translation Strategies

According to Molina and Hurtado Albir, translation strategies are techniques for analysing and classifying how translation equivalents might be applied to different units of language. They noted that translation strategies affect the quality of translation and can be used to find solutions for different types of translation challenges and problems. In most cases, rendering words from one language to another is direct and often done quite easily. In this section, the researcher discusses the linguistic aspects of the interface of the two video games by examining the translation strategies used in rendering English words and expressions.

Table 3 shows that the game localizers used various translation strategies such as literal translation, loan, addition, and transposition. In examples 1 and 2, the words sprinting and aftermath were rendered into Arabic by using the direct translation strategy. It is clear that translators tend to use this strategy when the source language’s structural and conceptual elements have direct equivalents in the target language.

The strategy of loan was used in rendering examples 3–8. This strategy is opted for when translating proper nouns such as Erangle, Solo, Livik, theme, Facebook, and lobby. By using this strategy, a word that has been borrowed from a different language is incorporated into the native tongue without change. In example 8, the word lobby is translated in Arabic as لوبي. The loan word lobby has political connotations and is sometimes used in Arabic to refer to pressure groups. Therefore, translating lobby into Arabic using the strategy of loan may be misleading since the context plays a major role in determining the TL equivalent. Therefore, it is recommended to use direct translation and render the word as ردهة.

Examples 9–11 were translated into Arabic using the strategy of addition. This translation strategy is used when optional interpersonal, conceptual, or textual implications are added to the target text (Saldanha). In example 9, UHD (ultra high definition) was rendered into Arabic in an explicit way as عالية الدقة (high resolution). Similarly, in example 10, the word Pumpkin was translated as قرع عيد الهالوين by adding the word عيد الهالوين, which means Halloween in English. The localizer tried to make the word more explicit to the audience by explaining that pumpkin is used metonymically to refer to Halloween. Example 11, ‘in use’, was translated as محدد وقيد الاستخدام (specified and in use), where the word ‘specified’ is added to clarify the meaning.

The strategies of loan and addition were used in rendering example 12. The word graphics was translated into Arabic as جرافيك graphics, adopting the strategy of loan. Further, the word رسومات arts is added to the target text. Figure 1 shows how localizers translated the word Graphics الرسومات الجرافيكية into Arabic without taking spatial constraints into consideration.

Figure 1

A screenshot from PUBG settings section.

Examples 13–15 were rendered using the strategy of transposition as they have undergone some adaptation in the Arabic version of the game. In example 13, the word Emote is a back-formation from the word emotion. In Free Fire, it is used in the game menu for a move. If clicked, the character will make moves like a dance to express his emotion of excitement. In the Arabic version, it was translated as dance, using the strategy of adaptation by replacing the SL term with another in the TL. In examples 14 and 15, the localizer adopted the words rules and discoveries. The word rules in Arabic means أحكام, but it was adopted as تفاصيل الحدث event details. In addition, the word discoveries, which means اكتشافات in Arabic, was translated as خريطة map.

Examples 16 and 17 were not translated. The words loading and go boom were copied, retaining the same English form without change. It is worth noting that the word loading can be translated into Arabic through direct translation as تحميل. Similarly, the translator chose not to translate the expression go boom and to keep it in the source language as is. Perhaps he was under the impression that by so doing, he might have a better effect on the audience.

Morphological Features

Pullum and Zwicky defined morphology as the study of the internal structure of words. In this section, the researchers discussed how the morphological aspects were reflected in the translation of the word agree in the interface section of PUBG, as shown in Table 4.

In Arabic, gender is marked by inflectional suffixes that are added to the end of the word, such as ت, ة. It was clear that the game localizers of PUBG tend to include an unmarked form of words to males and females, as shown in Table 4. The word (موافق (ة gives both male and female gamers the option to choose the way of reading it. Incidentally, this strategy was only used in the translation of this word, and the researchers could not detect any other words that were translated similarly, whether in the in-game section or the game’s interface.

Figure 2 shows how localizers reflected gender in their translation of the word (موافق (ة (Agree) by adding the feminine marker ة between brackets after the word موافق.

Figure 2

A screenshot from PUBG video game.

Loan/Borrowing

There is no doubt that borrowing words is a widespread phenomenon, and no language is entirely free of borrowed/loan words (Darwish). Borrowing is a common and normal practice between language communities, in which case the new words are integrated into the target language and are usually referred to as borrowings or loan words. One example of a loan strategy from English into Arabic is found in Table 6.

Table 6 shows an example of loan strategy that was used by localizers in PUBG. In example 1, the word banned was translated into تبند. This word has been integrated into the Arabic language and has undergone morphological changes. The word banned could be translated as يحظر or يلغى. However, the localizers translated it as تبند because this word is commonly used in the gaming community, especially among speakers in the Arab Gulf countries.

Literal Translation

According to Newmark “Non-Literary in the Light of Literary Translation,” literal translation is an approach to translating a text from one language into another by finding the direct equivalence. Venuti and Baker referred to literal translation as a direct translation. This translation approach is frequently used in legal, technical, medical, business, and recently in localization as well. Examples of literal translation from PUBG and Free Fire are given in Table 7.

Table 7 gives examples of the literal translation strategy from the two video games. The localizers used literal translation to make the TT look as natural as possible. However, in example 5, there is a technical problem with the text in the English and Arabic versions of the game, i.e., it appeared in the Arabic form when it should have been in English and vice versa. In this example, the localizer used the Arabic expression اللعب النظيف in the two versions. Perhaps, the game was intended for gamers in the Arab region, which made the localizers borrow the word and render it as is.

Transposition

Transposition occurs when the translator reproduces the message of the SL text to render the same meaning in the TL text. It is a change in the form of the message obtained by adjusting the SL’s point of view. For example, the statement ‘it is not complicated to understand’ can be rendered in Arabic as إنها سهلة الاستخدام (It is easy to understand). Although the two statements have the same meaning, easy to understand conveys easiness, whereas not complicated to understand implies a prior assumption of difficulty. This technique is helpful to the readers, leading them to believe that this is exactly how things are said in their language. Relevant examples derived from PUBG and Free Fire are found in Table 8.

Table 8 shows four examples of transposition strategy. In example (6), the sentence “how you see yourself?” was translated into Arabic as كيف تقيم نفسك (Lit. how you assess yourself?). In example (7), the localizers used the strategy of transposition, perhaps to suit the situation. In PUBG, there is a button called “powered gear driven” that changes the lives of the characters that the gamer plays with. Furthermore, in example (8), the word safe zone was translated as ساحة اللعب (Lit. playing yard). Safe zone in Arabic means منطقة الأمان, but the localizers translated the meaning of ‘safe zone’ in PUBG as this is the area where gamers can play away from a storm that might kill their characters, so that is why it is called ‘safe zone’. The word ultimate in example (9) was translated in the TT as حصري’exclusive’, whereas its Arabic equivalent is نهائي. However, the localizers modulated the word ultimate because the weapon is exclusive, especially for gamers who will join “the demon wheel,” a feature for gamers of the Free Fire video game.

This strategy is sometimes used in translating idiomatic expressions in the source text, making them clearer and more general in the target language. In example 10, the idiomatic expression gimme a hand in the ST was translated into ساعديني ‘help me’ in Arabic, making the idea easier to understand in the TT.

Addition

This strategy is used when words are added to maintain meaning, which might be the result of lexical differences. In other words, addition occurs when the target language takes up more space than the source language. For example, an English-to-Arabic translation may produce a similar number of words, but Arabic has longer, compound words that take up more space, as shown in Table 9.

Table 9 shows one example of the addition strategy that was extracted from PUBG. The word default was translated as الإعدادت الإفتراضية‘ default settings. This expansion of the TT helps the audience understand the meaning of the text. However, the localizers could have translated the TT without adding the word اعدادات ‘settings’ because it is already added at the end of the sentence و غير في الإعدادات, to save some space. Perhaps, localizers have added the word اعدادات ‘settings’ to افتراضية ‘default’ because the Arabic word default افتراضية may confuse the audience.

Explicitation

Explicitation is the act of making the ST message clearer. This strategy is used to fill gaps in translation by inserting additional explanatory phrases, spelling out implicatures, or adding semantic connectors to improve the logical flow and readability of the new text (Al-Anbaqi). Table 10 gives two examples of this strategy.

In example 12, MVP stands for Most Valuable Player. This is a common term in sports games. However, in the gaming world, it is widely used among gamers. MVP in Free Fire refers to the best player in a game, so when gamers face an enemy with an MVP title, they think twice before facing that player. In example 12, the acronym MVP was mistranslated into Arabic. Apparently, the localizers meant to make this term more explicit to the target audience, but they were not clear about what it originally stands for, which resulted in rendering a faulty TL equivalent. In example 13, the word BOOYAH is a name of an application in Free Fire that delivers a specific feature for gamers. The localizers added the word application and translated it as تطبيق بوياه.