Linguistic and Cultural Adaptation of English Websites into Lithuanian

Abstract

The research problem is the transposition of a Web site from one cultural environment into another, adaptation of new terms and names which come to the Lithuanian language through the Web sites of foreign countries. Research aim is to analyze the linguistic and cultural content of selected Web sites and the differences that occur in them when adapting into different languages and socio-cultural environments. The research involves comparative analysis of thirty six Web sites. The Web sites for the analysis were selected randomly from the Lithuanian Business Directory. Research objectives are as follows: to analyze the theory of the Web site localization and adaptation; to analyze and compare selected Web sites; to indicate linguistic and non-linguistic differences; to point out the most successful translation procedures for the Web site translation. The research has revealed that three of the localization strategies outlined by Aoki, (2000) have been used when adapting English Web sites to Lithuanian. Namely, the portions of a given Web site have been translated into a target language, the sites have been culturally localized for a target audience, and a new content, independent of the original site, in some cases, has been developed in a target country. Thus, it could be concluded that there are three most important aspects to be taken into account during the process of the Web site localization, namely: linguistic adaptation, visual design and cultural adaptation.