Towards a localization paradigm in translation studies

After Holmes's seminal paper called "The Name and Nature of Translation Studies" (1972), translation practice turned into an academic discipline in which a lot of research has so far been conducted on process, function and product dimension of the translation and translation theories have also been developed. In connection, this situation expanded research fields and objects of Translation Studies. And the process goes on in terms of new developments. To validate scientific fields and develop them, they must have a tendency of maturation and have a dynamic structure. We think that one of the dynamic fields which Translation Studies can interact with is the localization industry being popularized as of 1990s first in the software world, later in other areas or industries such as web, video-game etc. as a result of the development of the network technology and huge computer technologies. Localization industry can be regarded as a field in which translation practice is applied differently. This difference can bring novelty to the translation phenomenon. Besides, the localization industry requires translators to deal with various tasks beyond doing only translations. Therefore, we assume that localization which can present different activities to the translation world must also be dealt with in terms of its theorization under Translation Studies. There are already some translation scholars who expresss their opinions about this field as well as theorizing it. This thesis contributes to these theorization efforts by discussing whether localization can be a paradigm of Translation Studies. In this context, the effects of Globalization & Information and Communication Technologies on localization field, the novelties brought by translation technology tools that can be used in this field, features and problems of the localization were explained, some solutions were proposed against the problems, localization was compared with translation theories, a theoretical trial was performed and the concept of the translation competence was re-defined in the study. In this respect, this study can be useful to both Translation Studies and the industry in terms of bridging theoretical studies and practical field, which means consensus. Key Words: Localization Paradigm, Localization, Translation Studies, Translation Theories, Localization Theory, Integrated Localization Theory.