{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,1]],"date-time":"2026-05-01T14:36:44Z","timestamp":1777646204104,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,12]],"date-time":"2023-12-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1702339200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,12]],"date-time":"2023-12-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1702339200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001711","name":"Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur F\u00f6rderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["182847"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["182847"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001711","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Games and Culture"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    The localization of video game dialog for diverse audiences is challenging because of differences in linguistic features between languages and pragmatic norms between cultures. For example, localizers must decide how to translate the English second-person singular pronoun \u201cyou\u201d into languages that have a pragmatic distinction between formal and informal pronouns (e.g., \u201cvous\u201d and \u201ctu\u201d in French). These distinctions are used in social interaction to signal politeness, respect, and social distance, which are important elements that shape player experience in role-playing games. We analyze the dialog from French and Spanish localizations of\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Mass Effect<\/jats:italic>\n                    and show they have strikingly different strategies for translating pronouns. French mostly uses formal pronouns while Spanish mostly uses informal pronouns. We explain how these differences affect player experience and argue that effective localization requires a clear strategy for dealing with pragmatics. We conclude by making practical suggestions for how game creators can better support localization.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/15554120231218046","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,13]],"date-time":"2023-12-13T01:21:21Z","timestamp":1702430481000},"page":"708-725","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Hey,\n                    <i>You<\/i>\n                    ! The Importance of Pragmatics in Localizations of\n                    <i>Mass Effect<\/i>\n                    in French and Spanish"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Alexander","family":"Stainton","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiff University"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5990-9161","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Se\u00e1n G.","family":"Roberts","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiff University"}]},{"given":"Stephanie","family":"Rennick","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Stirling"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_1","unstructured":"[Ace_Of_No_Trades]. (2021). Meaning: Bosh\u2019tet. 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