Fun for All by Mangiron Carmen. O'Hagan Minako. Orero Pilar

Author:Mangiron, Carmen.,O'Hagan, Minako.,Orero, Pilar.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Peter Lang AG

5.The binding constraints of file management: decontextualisation, non-linearity and semantic ambiguity

Due to its electronic nature, the OST cannot be considered a textual instance of natural language in theoretical or even practical terms. It includes textual fragments often isolated from their programming and linguistic co-text, as well as from their final visual display. By definition, the OST strings do not usually exhibit any syntactic or consistency ties between them: their syntax is actually multimodal, and lies in the output screen layout, changing at runtime and often causing the same string to be combined according to different patterns depending on interactivity. The main problem with this special status of OST strings is that their final meaning is multimodal and strictly bound to changing audiovisual configurations, while the environment of translation is often decontextualised. In addition, OST strings do not often recur in a linear sequence as far as their script co-text is concerned, which is a further source of semantic ambiguity in the interpretation of isolated sentences or words.

The OST involves heterogeneous information, listed on a spreadsheet largely according to the source code ordering or to core UI objects (system messages, tutorials, menu screens etc.). In particular, the main text types ← 165 | 166 → (or string types, considering textual fragmentation) include: menus, controls and instructions, diegetic instructions10, game narration, system messages, and descriptions of locations, items and characters. Within this non-sequential array of language strings, the translator, in common with someone working on an archaeological site, is supposed to reconstruct the fragments and elude possible ambiguities with regards to their meaning, textual functions and audiovisual referents. Below are illustrated significant examples of string types and the challenges they pose:

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