Ecocognitive translatology in website localization (based on the russian corporate sites)

Abstract

Abstract: the paper is devoted to the popular topic in modern Translation Studies – localization of Russian websites to international markets. We use Russian-language and localized websites of Russian companies that promote their products on the international markets as the research material. The purpose of the paper is to describe the linguistic, cognitive, pragmatic, cultural, technological and other features of adapting Russian sites to the requirements of potential consumers. On this basis, the author differs the concepts of localization and interlanguage localization, thereby refracting the latter into the context of Translation Studies and Cross-cultural Communication. The paper raises the problem of theoretical approaches to the translation and localization of websites as multi-modal or creolized types of the texts. As this kind of translation services are performed simultaneously by translators, localizers, designers, marketers, programmers, etc., but also because multimodal presentation and specific perception of the site content to target recipients, the author proposes a new ecologically cognitive approach to Translation Studies based on the ideas of distributed cognition, cognitive ecology and Chinese Eco-Translatology. This approach allows the translator to use an ecocholistic view of the situation at the macro level which leads to a cognitive harmony of the mutual pragmatic idea. The research uses the following methods: target sampling, comparative analysis as well as complex analysis at the level of semantics, stylistics and pragmatics of the considered multimodal fragments. As a result of the research, the main principles of successful cross-language localization were established starting with the structural element of the site header, revision of the main sections, and ending with the direct representation of content for foreign-language users. In the described context, the author also introduces a new concept of content conversion, which is defined as the translation method of modifying both the formal and graphic structure of the text and its semantic component, taking into account the requirements of the potential user.