Some Issues on New Japanese Localization

Dear devs, after I switched the in-game language into Japanese right when it’s available in Update 1.5, I found some issues regarding inconsistencies, awkward translation on certain vocabularies, etc in Japanese localization which need proper attention to be fixed ASAP for outstanding translation in overall. I also dropped possible advices on each issue for further consideration, complete with Imgur album & citation links as well.

List of issues & advices:

  • Uzi has its name called ウジ - Uji (lit. maggot) in Japanese[1], which is something that Japanese gamers don't want to think about when gaming. The more common & less nastier translation of it will be ウージー - Ūjī[2][3] with chōonpu (Long vowel marker) to indicate elongated long vowel sound.[4][5] Oddly enough, few guns like Mosin, molotov & Panzerfaust 3 have translation & yet the latter has overtly long name in Katakana while others like Makarov & Galil aren’t treated in same manner, despite both Makarov & Galils have their own names called マカロフ - Makarofu[6] & ガリル - Gariru[7] respectively. I think that it’s better to either revert them into English / correct & translate any incorrect / yet to be translated gun name to make translation look less awkward & consistent in overall.
  • Character size on text of additional information for certain attachments like foregrip bipod & laser sight in the loadout menu is too small in order to fit the cramped space on in-game UI which makes reading them difficult. Adjusting the UI space based on how many characters are available may fix the issue.
  • Names of available head models for Security aren’t translated into Japanese with Katakana, considering it’s a common practice to write non-Japanese names with Katakana.[8] VOs for both Security & Insurgents have some issues regarding translation on their name (Except Spec Ops VO). For Security, レギュラー - Regyurā is used to refer to Regular VO while Militia VO isn’t translated yet. For Insurgents, all of them are in Katakana. However, on credits there’re a couple of names of Insurgents’ VOs in Kanji called 傭兵 - Yōhei (lit. mercenary)[9] for Mercenary VO & 反乱軍 - Hanrangun (lit. rebel army)[10] for Rebel VO. I think that it’s better to make each VO having their name translated in Kanji for distinction like 正規軍 - Seikigun (lit. regular army)[11] / 常備軍 - Jōbigun (lit. standing army)[12] for Regular VO to represent troops from local forces, 民兵 - Minpei (lit. militia)[13] for Militia VO to represent irregular forces like militias, 工作員 - Kōsakuin (lit. covert operative)[14] for Operative VO to represent Arabic clandestine operatives from somewhere nearby in the region with an interest in the insurgency's success, 傭兵 - Yōhei for Mercenary VO to represent Russian mercenaries with VOs implying military experience & lastly 反乱軍 - Hanrangun for Rebel VO to represent rebels from local rebel groups.
  • Boonie hat is oddly called ミリタリーハット - Miritarī hatto (lit. military hat) in Japanese, despite it can simply be referred to as ブーニーハット - Būnī hatto to refer to that particular hat.[15] It’s better to use the latter when referring to boonie hat in order to keep it as distinct from the others.
  • Color names for certain gears like sunglasses in customization menu are also translated in Katakana, despite common colors like black, red, blue, etc have their own words in Kanji.[16][17] Changing certain words for common colors like the aforementioned examples will do.
  • Titles of taglines / commendations for doing certain action which can be checked on the profile / stats menu are also overtly too long in Japanese with Katakana which caused few characters on some tagline titles went out of bounds. Considering good translation needs some kind of boundary in order to make sure that the translation is effective (Especially when translating into Japanese), then reverting Japanese tagline titles into English may solve unnecessary / awkward translation.[18]
  • Texts on commo rose UI for voice commands, fire supports & range computer are too small / not fitted properly. Adjusting the texts to fit on the UI properly will make them easily readable.

Imgur Link

Citations:

  1. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/蛆
  2. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/UZI_(SMG)
  3. https://youtu.be/tdrH9X_9jMM
  4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macron_(diacritic)
  5. https://sthnihongo.wordpress.com/katakana/
  6. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/マカロフ_PM
  7. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMI_ガリル
  8. https://www.sljfaq.org/afaq/names-for-people.html
  9. https://jisho.org/word/傭兵
  10. https://jisho.org/word/反乱軍
  11. https://jisho.org/word/正規軍
  12. https://jisho.org/word/常備軍
  13. https://jisho.org/word/民兵
  14. https://jisho.org/word/工作員
  15. https://www.amazon.co.jp/マルチカム-ブーニーハット-ジャングルハット-カモフラージュ-ワンサイズ/dp/B00D3WUL24
  16. https://www.omniglot.com/language/colours/japanese.htm
  17. https://www.learn-japanese.info/colors.html
  18. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/328996/Common_problems_when_translating_games_into_Japanese.php

I hope that those aforementioned issues can be fixed with good consideration in mind, because outstanding localization will bring great satisfaction for gamers who’re more accustomed to their mother tongue like Japanese. 👊

P.S. I’m learning Japanese for more than two years if someone asks.

last edited by AgentHotel

Looks like you put a lot of work into this, Hotel. Good stuff. Hope NWI sees 🙂

Hello @AgentHotel . Thank you for your feedback, it will help us to improve Insurgency Sandstorm.
I send it to the developers. 🙂

@Reymey oh, cool! That's totally appreciated. 👊