DEVELOPMENT OF UKRAINIAN IT TERMINOLOGY THROUGH THE LOCALIZATION PROCESS (“MICROSOFT OFFICE OUTLOOK” AND “GOOGLE GMAIL” CASE STUDIES)

Abstract

The study is dedicated to analyzing IT terminology of two email clients – “Microsoft Office Outlook” and “Google Gmail”. The primary objectives were to assess the compliance of the glossaries with the requirements of Terminology Standards (DSTU 3966:2009 and ISO 704:2009) and Style Guides (Microsoft Language Guides and Google Translation Style Guide), developed by “Microsoft” and “Google”. The research data included terminological glossaries with a total of 177 and 183 terms, respectively. The study aimed to evaluate the adherence of the glossaries from Microsoft Office Outlook and Google Gmail to the Terminology Standards and Style Guides, focusing on customer orientation and adherence to marketing strategies with consideration for Ukrainian locale. Definition analysis, etymological analysis, and oppositional analysis were used to identify patterns in the creation and establishment of Ukrainian terminology during the adaptation of “Microsoft Office Outlook” and “Google Gmail” for the Ukrainian locale. The most significant non-compliance with standards in the analyzed products was terminological variability. It was found that this variability is primarily due to the coexistence of terms that vary in their alignment with the company's style guides, which emphasize user experience. In some cases, variability is caused by different degrees of compliance with language norms (e.g., the need to differentiate between Ukrainian verbal nouns or avoid intermediary languages such as Russian). The percentage of unjustified variability is minimal, indicating a consistent company policy towards improving the quality of localized products. The study highlights the importance of integrating terminology work into the localization process and the need for further research of Ukrainian data to develop high-quality and consistent Ukrainian IT terminology.