General translation review

Language is the alphabet of thought, the primary tool through which concepts, associations and strategies are elaborated: a poor language implies a poor thought, or rather the impossibility of formulating a thought appropriate to the complexity of reality. As the richness, refinement and precision of a translation of a novel, together with the characterization of the characters, the construction of the settings and the development of the plot, make the narration pleasant and compelling, so the uniformity, meticulousness and accuracy of the descriptions contribute, together with mechanics, longevity, graphics and sound, to guarantee the beauty and depth of a videogame. The players of each nation have the right to feel that their money is worth as much as that of the English speakers, that their language culture is respected, that their opportunities to enjoy the game in all its nuances are not impaired in any way. Every gap, imprecision, typo or ambiguity in the captions is a small stain: when these smudges accumulate, the general impression that derives from it is that of a coarse localization work, apparently entrusted to automatic translators, rather than to an expert linguist, a professional able to grasp the meaning of words beyond their literal sequence and transfer it to another language with a style as rigorous as it is elegant. Many not-English players complain of translations that are not only cheap but also distorted, capable of misleading and surprising those players who do not systematically consult English sources, due to lack of time, because they do not suspect the mistake or simply because they are anxious to jump into the fray, among generators, hooks and breathtaking chases.

I therefore ask @not_Queen @Patricia @Peanits and all the great and beloved developers to make a general and detailed review of all the translations: in these almost three years there have been many new chapters and countless reworkings of consolidated mechanics, a myriad of sectoral and circumscribed additions and modifications, so the texts have progressively lost their stylistic consistency and content accuracy. Beyond specific mistakes, inconsistencies or ambiguities, which I will take care to point out analytically, for the love of Italian and its boundless beauty, and to help the developers to the maximum of my abilities, and that the whole community should equally report, each one for their own language, I wholeheartedly hope that every single player is able to appreciate the complexity of this wonderful game no less than the lucky Anglophones, who benefit from the original texts. :)

Comments

  • When I submitted a ticket in regards to this matter I mentioned to the CS guy that I’m a translator and I could check the texts if needed. I was ignored and the incorrect translations are still sitting there, making people confused

  • Aaaaah my eyes! A wall of text
  • @Gorgonia You can do a great job to help the Developers about the Spanish translation improvement: open a thread in the proper Bug report section and make a detailed list of all the mistakes you find in the Spanish localization, with a short explanation of the reasons why it's wrong and your suggestions to adjust it, and be sure to keep that list always adjourned. I'm doing so with the Italian translation. :)

    @Milo It's shorter than you fear! Please, read it and give all of us your precious contribution.
  • Do keep in mind this a French Canadian based company, which may hinder the translations. They’re likely attending to this as we speak.
  • @Watery Sorry, I don't understand what you mean. Is it forbidden for a French Canadian company to recruit experienced translators, one for each language?
  • Entità said:
    @Watery Sorry, I don't understand what you mean. Is it forbidden for a French Canadian company to recruit experienced translators, one for each language?
    No, consider this. 
    First and foremost; consider the fact that this company is not nearly as better off as others. Due to the fact that Behavior for the longest time has been providing assets, instead of actually building a full game (granted, they make mobile games), and this was one of the few projects they actually have done themselves. Not only that, but consider this; the French company mostly handles their communication in English; but I think it’s merely a matter of budget, if you get my gist. It’s not like they don’t want to fix the translation errors- but it likely has been addressed and is being worked on internally. 
    EDIT: Furthermore,  due to the rise of concern within these translations, the developers have likely taken note of it and could be working on it. Do understand I wish the translations were better myself! Don’t get me wrong, as someone who is learning Spanish, the translations are... odd, but I do believe there was no intent behind these mistakes, and will be improved. Functioning off of feedback is essential to the company! Which makes this post great. I think it’s great that you took the time to write it, but i was merely putting my opinion on the matter. 
  • @Watery You did very well: everybody is entitled to put their opinion on this matter, I want a free and useful discussion, open to all players who love Dead by Daylight and desire its continuous improvement.
    I have full confidence in the developers, they have corrected some serious mistakes in Italian translation on my impulse and I am sure they will remedy any linguistic defect: I see them attentive to the well-being of the community and the quality of the game, and I thank them for this. Among other things, translation errors are the easiest to correct: they do not need to rewrite thousands of lines of code, to balance new mechanics, to find hidden bugs that are difficult to reproduce in internal checks ... it's just a matter of reformulating written texts, possibly with the help of some native speakers or expert translators. I offer my linguistic passion with targeted recommendations and well thought-out corrective proposals: I like helping to solve problems, as well as reporting them. :)