TRANSLATION
LOCALIZATION
LINGUISTIC REVIEW
SUBTITLE TRANSLATION
I translate, localize or transcreate as necessary any type of text related to a software or a game.
My strong point is combining good writing style, derived from Humanistic studies, with a rigorous understanding of technology I acquired "on the field".
Video Games are the perfect synthesis of this, requiring both creativity and technical know-how.
SKILLS
◾ Term Base Building
Ensuring consistency using the inbuilt tools of any given CAT Tool (especially, memoQ)
◾ Continuous Localization
Worked on projects spanning years of regular updates.
◾ Teamwork
In pairs of translator/reviewer and multiple translators working on a single project.
◾ Creative Approach
Coming up with creative names, puns and distinct character voices.
◾ Polished Writing
I practice self-editing for all my tasks.
◾ Timely Communication
I check emails hourly during office hours. My time zone: CET
STRONG SUITS
Video Games
Adventure/detective/drama, simulations/city building/farming, real-time strategy, puzzles, casual games, idle games, retro games.
Software, Mobile Apps & IT
Especially mobile apps offering a variety of services or entertainment, communication, and networking apps. User interfaces, system messages and tooltips, app distribution platforms, software user manuals, and knowledge bases.
Websites
Service offering sites, company websites (including the websites of agencies I collaborated with), landing pages, web platforms, web content and product pages.
Subtitle Translation
TV series, cartoons, documentaries; translation from time-spotted template for online streaming services, in compliance with the end client’s guidelines.
Editorial & Culture
Blog articles on lifestyle and life coaching, DIY, interior design, housekeeping, fashion and make-up; narrative (short stories); translations and terminology researches on Japanese arts.
Tourism and Travel
Promotional material (touristic pamphlets, tour presentations, etc.), articles on touristic hot spots, and traveling culture. Direct experience of close collaboration with travel agencies and tour operators.
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
CAT Tools
memoQ 9.10 (Translator Pro license); familiarity with online translation platforms such as CrowdIn and Smartcat.
Others
Microsoft Office 365, Subtitle Edit
BIO
STUDIES
HIGH SCHOOL IN HUMANITIES
My academic formation starts with a high school specialized in classical studies (literature, art history, philosophy, history, ancient Greek and Latin languages and literature), which granted me a solid basic knowledge in the humanistic field, and also polished my writing skills.
UNIVERSITY IN JAPANESE STUDIES
Next, in November 2010 I achieved a Master’s Degree in Languages and Cultures of East Asia from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, where I had been studying Japanese for five years.
I took part in intensive language sessions with native speaker teachers and acquired a variegated knowledge of Japanese cultural background trough classes in literature, art, religion and philosophy, history, theater, cinema, and even a workshop on video games, among others. My favorite class was literary translation, from which I earned a solid overview of the various approaches and solutions to creative translation.
WORK EXPERIENCE
INTERNSHIP IN JAPAN
An experience I will always treasure is my internship in Tokyo back in 2010. I worked at PARC, a nonprofit organization located in the heart of the Capital, publishing video documentaries and magazines on the subjects of fair trade, environmental issues, and education.
DEBUT IN EDITORIAL TRANSLATION
An enthusiastic reader since when I learned how to read, my passion for literature shaped my studies' choice: in High School, I studied Classic and Italian authors, while at college I specialized in modern Japanese authors, and took a course on literary translation.
I entered the field of editorial translation in 2011 with a collection of several short stories from English into Italian for a small editor.
After that, I began attending literary workshops and courses. Literary translation greatly improved my translation skills in other fields, finely tuning my writing skills and deepening my knowledge of linguistic nuances.
Using those skills, I've been helping blog owners who want to get their contents translated into Italian, aiming for a native feel with a streak of creativity. Among the kind of topics, I translate more often are DIY, design, housekeeping, fashion and beauty, lifestyle and life coaching.
IT, WEBSITE & APP LOCALIZATION
A long-time fascination for the potential of Information Technology and the Web brought me close to the world of the Open Source, and since 2012 I'm a proud member of the Mozilla Italian volunteer localization team.
Besides the experience in software and website localization, Mozilla taught me the meaning of teamwork, as well as to adapt the localization style accordingly to corporate identity. Speaking of which, I co-authored a localization guide for open source volunteer translators (available in both Italian and English) detailing best practices of software/Web localization as well as the style guidelines for the Italian localization of Mozilla products. You can read about this in an interview on Medium.
TOURISM
From 2016 I started various collaborations in the field of Tourism, helping local travel agencies and tour operators to promote the beautiful Italian Riviera and reach out to foreign business partners, going through quite a lot of research, translation work, and periodical updating in the tourism market.
For a brief time I also held an in-house position at an international travel agency, because of this I gained "inside knowledge" of how this field works.
By the way, feel free to use for your needs the Japanese/Italian Tourism glossary I developed during my researches.
VIDEO GAMES LOCALIZATION
I always played video games… I learned the basics of English through them in middle school and later, during college, video games were my faithful allies in improving Japanese fluency.
I'm specialized in the localization of game apps for Android / iOS.
I translate, localize or "transcreate" as necessary every type of text related to a game: UI, system messages, in-game text like dialogues and narrations, inventory, descriptions, promotional material like Google Store descriptions, tutorials, manuals, strategy guides, user support, privacy policies, Terms and Conditions.
For Mobile Games compatible with my devices, I also offer an LQA service: I play the game I translated to check if everything looks good in context.
On the Easy Language blog (Italian) I wrote about what, in my experience, are the worst challenges faced by video game localizers.
MISC
Manga and anime (Japanese comics and animation) were probably the leading factors to my decision to study Japanese. Ironically enough, my vocation started with the desire to enjoy my Japanese fiction without the filter of localization, then I ended up wanting to become a translator myself!
My passion for Japanese anime led me to train in the art of subtitles translation, and I would supremely enjoy translating a manga working in a team with a good editor and letterist.
After graduation I came to assiduously practice martial arts: I've frequented many dojos in Italy and nearby France and connected with various masters and long-time practitioners.
Fellow martial artists started occasionally asking me explanations on the origin and meaning of Japanese terms, thus, with time, I built my knowledge on the topic and developed a clientele for translation and research from Japanese texts and glossaries on martial arts.