Language localisation is the process of adapting a product that has been
previously translated into multiple languages to a specific country or
region and the English term locale, "a place where something happens or is
set"). It is the second phase of a larger process of product translation
and cultural adaptation to account for differences in distinct markets, a
process known as internationalization and localization.
Language localization differs from translation activity because it involves
a comprehensive study of the target culture in order to correctly adapt the
product to local needs. Localization can be referred to by the numeronym L10N.
The localization process is most generally related to the cultural
adaptation and translation of software, video games and websites, as well as
audio/voiceover, video or other multimedia content, and less frequently
to any written translation. Localization can be done for regions or countries
where people speak different languages or where the same language is spoken:
for instance, different dialects of Spanish, with different idioms, are
spoken in Spain and in Latin America. The overall process:
internationalization, globalization and localization
As the former Localization Industry Standards Association explained,
globalization "can best be thought of as a cycle rather than a single process".
To globalize is to plan the design and development methods for a product in
advance, keeping in mind a multicultural audience, in order to avoid increased
costs and quality problems, save time, and smooth the localizing effort for
each region or country. Localization is an integral part of the overall process
called globalization. There are two primary technical
processes that comprise globalization: internationalization and localization.
The first phase, internationalization, encompasses the planning and preparation
stages for a product that is built by design to support global markets. This
process removes all cultural assumptions, and any country- or
language-specific content is stored so that it can be easily adapted. If this
content is not separated during this phase, it must be fixed during
localization, adding time and expense to the project. In extreme cases, products
that were not internationalized may not be localizable.
The second phase, localization, refers to the actual adaptation of the product
for a specific market. The localization phase involves, among other things, the
four issues LISA describes as linguistic, physical, business and
cultural, and technical issues. At the end of each phase, testing is
performed to ensure that the product works properly and meets the client's
quality expectations. = Translation versus localization=
Though it is sometimes difficult to draw the limits between translation and
localization, in general localization addresses significant, non-textual
components of products or services. In addition to translation, the
localization process might include adapting graphics; adopting local
currencies; using proper format for date and time, addresses, and phone numbers
applicable to the location; the choices of colors; and many other details,
including rethinking the physical structure of a product. All these
changes aim to recognize local sensitivities, avoid conflict with local
culture, customs, common habits, and enter the local market by merging into
its needs and desires. For example, localization aims to offer
country-specific websites of the same company or different editions of a book
depending on where it is published. = Globalization versus localization=
Whereas localization is the process of adapting one product to a particular
locale, globalization designs the product to minimize the extra work
required for each localization. Suppose someone is working for a company
that, until now, has operated exclusively in the United States.
However, the company is now opening a major office in China and needs a
Chinese-language website. The company offers the same products and services in
both countries with only some minor differences, but perhaps some of the
elements that appeared in the original website targeted at the United States
are offensive or upsetting in China. Thus, that company might lose a
potential market because of small details of presentation.
Furthermore, this company might need to adapt the product to its new buyers;
video games are the best example. Now, suppose instead that this company
has major offices in a dozen countries and needs a specifically designed
website in each of these countries. Before deciding how to localize the
website and the products offered in any given country, a professional in the
area might advise the company to create an overall strategy: to globalize the
way the organization does business. The company might want to design a framework
to codify and support this global strategy. The globalization strategy and
the globalization framework would provide uniform guidance for the twelve
separate localization efforts. Globalization is especially important in
mitigating extra work involved in the long-term cycle of localization. Because
localization is a cycle and not a one-time project, there will always be
new texts, updates, and projects to localize. For example, as the original
website is updated over time, each of the localized websites already
translated will also need to be updated. This cycle of work is continuous as long
as the original project continues to evolve. It is therefore important for
globalization processes to be created and streamlined in order to implement
ongoing changes. Language tags and codes
Language codes are closely related to the localizing process because they
indicate the locales involved in the translation and adaptation of the
product. They are used in various contexts; for example, they might be
informally used in a document published by the European Union or they might be
introduced in HTML element under the lang attribute. In the case of the
European Union style guide, the language tags are based on the ISO 639-1 alpha-2
code; in HTML, the language codes are generally defined within the Internet
Engineering Task Force's Best Current Practice 47. The decision to use one
type of code or tag versus another depends upon the nature of the project
and any requirements set out for the localization specialist.
Most frequently, there is a primary sub-code that identifies the language,
and an optional sub-code in capital letters that specifies the national
variety. The sub-codes are typically linked with a hyphen, though in some
contexts it's necessary to substitute this with an underscore.
There are multiple language tag systems available for language codification. For
example, the International Organization for Standardization specifies both two-
and three-letter codes to represent languages in standards ISO 639-1 and ISO
639-2, respectively. Notes
See also Internationalization and localization
Localization Services Globalization
American and British English differences Spanish dialects and varieties
Variety References
External links Globalization and Localization
Association Localization World Conference
Worldware Conference - Global Software Strategies
Localisation Research Centre Mozilla Localization Project
22 Ideas for Better Game Localization - Tips and ideas on how to improve the
localization process for video games I18nguy: Internationalization,
Localization, Standards, and Amusements Developer Tips for Localizing Texts
Foreignword - List of translation magazines
W3C: Internationalization - Language tags in HTML and XML
Library of Congress List of ISO 639-2 Language Codes