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Article published In: The Journal of Internationalization and Localization
Vol. 3:1 (2016) ► pp.38–60

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What is (not) web localization in translation studies

A prototype approach

 | Rutgers Unviersity
Published online: 30 August 2016
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jial.3.1.03jim
In the midst of a shift from paper to digital texts, web localization represents one of the fastest growing sectors in the translation industry. In this paper, I will argue that Translation Studies (TS) has not devoted enough attention to this phenomenon, partly due to the lack of definition and delimitation of the object of study, and partly due to the quickly evolving intersection of technology, digital text and novel forms of language and culture mediation. In order to overcome this situation and promote new research in this area, this paper extends the prototype approach advocated by Halverson (1999, 2002) to the definition of web localization. This type of approach can help bridge the gap between industry and TS disciplines, providing a framework to classify exemplars of web-mediated communication more or less at the core of the study of web localization phenomena. The main features that this paper will propose as prototypical features of web localization in relation to other translational phenomena are: (1) that the object of the process is web digital genres (i.e. corporate websites, social networking sites, institutional sites), and that (2) texts are digital and hyperlinked. The proposed web genre classification by Jimenez-Crespo (2013a) will be reviewed as a potential foundation to identify exemplars of the web localization prototype.
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