Software Localization

An Exploration of the Problems Encountered by Localizers in Transferring Messages from English into Kiswahili

Abstract

Regardless of translation type, rendering messages from the Source Language (SL) to the Target Language (TL) is a process that involves a chain of translational activities that require the translator to apply relevant strategies and solutions based on situation, context, client specifications and text function among others. All these require possession of relevant translatorial competences. The paper examined the linguistic aspects of English and Kiswahili as the SL and TL respectively that rendered transfer of message from English to Kiswahili problematic during the localization of some of Google’s software products. To do this, we did both qualitative and quantitative analyses of the lexical and terminological units (LTUs) in both English and Kiswahili. The results have revealed that there are linguistic challenges in localizing software into Kiswahili considering the technical requirements for authoring software. Thus, it is necessary to develop an approach to mitigate those challenges in order to improve the communicative effectiveness of the localized products as well as their overall usability.