VARIABILITY OF SOFTWARE TERMINOLOGY IN THE CONTEXT OF LOCALIZATION

Abstract

The article examines the importance of terminology in software localization, particularly for product positioning in the market. It analyzes the terminological differences in Microsoft Outlook and Google Gmail mail services. A hypothesis was proposed that terminological variability within a single product could be seen as a flaw that should be addressed. At the same time, using different terminology to denote similar concepts in different products may be part of a marketing strategy aimed at creating a unique linguistic image for each product. Although the functions of both products are similar, the differences in terms describing interface elements are deliberate choices by the developers. Google focuses on user experience, avoiding formality in its terminology, whereas Microsoft adheres to more traditional principles of term creation. The results of the terminology analysis in the original and localized versions of Google Gmail and Microsoft Outlook indicate no lack of attention to terminology from the developers or localizers. It is evident that the companies aim to create a unique terminological profile for their products, so despite functional similarities, the number of identical terms for identical concepts is minimal, and the percentage of monolingual terminological variability is significant. Despite the similar functionality of the email clients, the proportion of identical English terms used for the same concepts is relatively small and mainly covers commonly accepted IT terms. A much larger share comprises cases where identical concepts are labeled with different terms in both the original (English) and the localized (Ukrainian) versions of the product. A comparative analysis of the English and Ukrainian versions confirmed that the Ukrainian terminology generally adheres to the style guidelines established by the developers, ensuring the necessary clarity and accuracy.