Possible Translation Problems, Their Causes, and Solutions in Agile Localization of Software

Abstract

This paper presents some initial insights into practical translation problems that can occur during agile localization. Although agile localization is not a novel approach to software localization, the range of possible translation problems and their causes and solutions have not yet been described.

In order to write this paper, an ad hoc monolingual English corpus made up of user interface strings of one agile localized software product was used. The corpus was analyzed string by string, and various causes of translation problems, mostly relating to lacking context, were identified. The paper presents and discusses sample cases of these problems.

This paper tries to show that while agile localization can be used as an alternative to traditional localization, the development team must be open to cooperation with the localization team in order for agile localization to be successfully implemented; otherwise, problems will occur.