It seems that something was seriously lost in translation.
Design is Not a Universal Language
Design is not a universal language—at least, not entirely. Numerous articles discuss how different cultures approach user experience differently. (I know, as I’ve written one myself.) Factors such as language, culture, local laws, and current trends influence user interfaces. For example, Japan prefers information density over minimalism.
Interestingly, Japan also has its own deceptive patterns to consider.
What Is a Linguistic Dead-End?
In a 2023 study titled “Linguistic Dead-Ends and Alphabet Soup: Finding Dark Patterns in Japanese Apps,” researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology discovered that tricky, deceptive patterns (DPs) are quite common, appearing in 93.5% of 200 sampled apps. Alarmingly, they identified a new type of deceptive pattern.
Lead researcher Dr. Katie Seaborn describes “Linguistic Dead-Ends” as instances where language and symbol use hinder a user’s ability to understand crucial app functionality, even when the rest of the app is well-presented in Japanese. For instance, important information might be presented in another language while the remainder of the app is in the local language, or local characters might be used to form words that appear legitimate but don’t make sense upon closer inspection.
The study observed that apps sometimes insert English phrases or other foreign words that are out of context, leading to confusion that seems intentional.
Types of Linguistic Dead-Ends
Linguistic dead-ends can be categorized into two types: untranslation and alphabet soup. The researchers expressed concern over untranslation, which was most frequently found in an app’s Terms of Service.
Untranslation
According to the study, untranslation DPs make it extremely difficult for users to access or understand necessary or sensitive information, potentially benefiting the provider by keeping users in the dark. These instances of untranslation were identified primarily (79% of the time) in Terms of Service documents, the notoriously long legalese agreements that most people agree to without reading. The study found that even though the sampled apps were in Japanese or advertised as available in Japanese, their Terms of Service were often entirely in English or another foreign language. This practice circumvents Japanese laws that require clear and plain language for consumer information.
For reference, a 2019 study in the U.S.—cleverly titled “The Duty to Read the Unreadable”—found that 99.6% of Terms of Service documents are as lengthy as academic papers. It’s therefore unsurprising that users hesitate to read them before hitting the “agree” button; Japanese users might not even have the option to try if the Terms of Service are presented in English.
Alphabet Soup
The less common but equally perplexing dead-end is termed “alphabet soup.” This refers to situations where foreign words are expressed using local characters or symbols in such a way that the meaning becomes unclear, despite the characters being readable.
Imagine you’re an English speaker who logs onto a money transfer app like Venmo. Instead of saying “request” for asking for payments, the interface says “entreaty.” You would likely find this baffling, as it’s not a commonly used term in that context. Similarly, if it were rendered in Japanese as “jyuyou” (需要 — demand, request), you would still be confused because it’s not in the familiar language.
Applications featuring this “alphabet soup” deceptive pattern can mislead users. The study notes that all instances of alphabet soup were found in apps created by non-Japanese developers. This could indicate that the issue arises from a failure to grasp the context rather than malicious intent by the developers.
However, this highlights a broader issue: a reliance on Western research overlooks essential user groups. It emphasizes the importance of localization, which considers both language and the culture of the intended audience, as opposed to mere translation, which only addresses the language aspect of a product.
The Tokyo Tech study was inspired by the work of Di Geronimo et al. in the paper titled “UI Dark Patterns and Where to Find Them: A Study on Mobile Applications and User Perception.” This 2020 study focused solely on apps available in English for native speakers in the West, resulting in a significant gap regarding Eastern markets.
While the Tokyo Tech study found that 93.5% of apps contained dark patterns (DPs), this was similar to the 95% found in the US-based study. However, the identification of deceptive patterns such as “untranslation” and “alphabet soup” demonstrates that research from the West does not adequately represent the entire world.
The Tokyo Tech study underscores the importance of cross-cultural research and the limitations of relying solely on studies conducted in specific nations and cultural contexts. Japan is probably not an outlier; other non-Western and non-English-speaking countries may also be at risk of encountering similar DPs.
Countries that incorporate honorifics as a fundamental aspect of their language and culture, such as Japan, China, and Korea, face a significant risk of misunderstanding or being misled by apps translated by machines. These translations often overlook cultural context and can lead to “unintentionally influential designs” that may come across as inappropriate or rude.
This highlights the necessity for developers, copywriters, and user experience professionals to adopt a global perspective in their work. It is essential to prioritize internationalization over localization and localization over mere translation. Relying on machine translation can result in significant context being lost. An app that functions effectively in English might encounter linguistic pitfalls and cultural misunderstandings elsewhere in the world.
