Standardization of Video Game Terminology

The National Commission on State Language Standards, in cooperation with representatives of Ukrainian localization companies and associations, organized a round-table conference in an online format on the topic Standardization of Video Game Terminology on the 28th of January, 2021. Volodymyr Mozghunov, the Deputy Head of the Commission, put the emphasis on Ukrainian language functioning not only in fiction or science but also in other modern areas of life. Furthermore, the development of state language standards is one of the Commission’s priorities. Ilya Danyliuk, a Member of the Commission, noted that the future standard of video game terminology has to become a reference point for all translators in this field.

The starting point of the standardization was put by UNLOCTEAM. The following step was to establish both working and expert groups. The working group includes representatives of STS UA, UNLOCTEAM, SBT Localization Team, Exordium, and media. The expert group includes Oleh Kulikov, an editor at PlayUA, and Valentin Hromov (DarkPaladin), a game streamer and a creator of game content.

A brief overview covered the present-day conditions of Ukrainian video game localization and terminology. Besides, it was mentioned that Ukraine ranked 46th out of 100 profitable countries for the sale of video games in 2019. What is more, the volume of the gaming market in Ukraine is almost twice as big as the film market. Comparing to books, ‘Do the Oxen Bellow, When Their Mangers Are Full?’ by Panas Myrnyi or one part of The Lord of the Rings trilogy by JRR Tolkien contains around 150,000 words, whereas some games have more than 1 million words (Dota 2, Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition, etc.).

Therefore, the standardization of video game terminology can be an additional impetus for increasing the number of Ukrainian video game localizations and accordingly, contribute to the formation and growth of the segment of the language services market.

The round table conference decided to establish a working group, which will concentrate on video game terminology standardization.

It is the only first step and there is still a long path to be paved. However, it is necessary to have a formal basis in addition to the recommendations. We hope for fruitful cooperation and look forward to upcoming discussions and agreements. We are grateful for the honour to be a part of this process.

Source.

February 5, 2021