Localization, Globalization and Internationalization Services
Localization, Internationalization and Globalization refer to the facets of translating software from one language to another. The terms are the translation industry's contribution to the world of confusing jargon. Luckily, the concepts are simpler to understand than the words are to say.
Localization - L10N
Localization is the process of translation for a particular locale. So, for example, if you wanted to translate Microsoft Windows into French for the Québec target audience, or into Spanish for the Mexican target audience, you would ask us to perform localization.
Our localization customers appreciate the level of detail we bring to our language work. We work with our customers to understand the target regions (locales) that they intend on addressing. From there, we research the target culture to develop a comprehensive understanding. Only then do we perform cultural adaptation of the language, taking into consideration any dialects and groups that make up the distinct market.
Traducta ensures accurate localization processes and output by researching and involving native speakers of the intended regions in the project, or using in-country language professionals. This ensures the integrity of the translation for the intended audience.
When the item to be localized is software, then localization is directly connected with Globalization and Internationalization.
Globalization - G11N
Globalization is an engineering task that prepares the software to support localization.
Let's return to our Windows example. Imagine your Windows OS in English. Now imagine the same menus in German. The German words are typically 30% longer than their English equivalents. Suppose Microsoft hadn't anticipated having that interface in German. The menu items would be truncated, the interface field labels would be too short to view properly. The button text would be off. A usability nightmare, even though every word was translated appropriately.
Designing and creating software to easily respond to language requirements for the entire world is a huge challenge. Traducta helps our customers with their software conception from the very start to minimize the post-development costs and efforts.
Traducta is experienced in all language related projects. We help you understand the concepts of language expansion and ensure that your application will not encounter truncated text strings or character corruption due to encoding issues.
Internationalization - I18N
The trick to localizing software is the effective management of the separation of language and code. Think of internationalization as the umbrella to Localization and Globalization.
To use an oversimplified example, if you have a software product with multiple language options. In the English version, it gets all its language from a file called English.txt that holds all the text items in the application. When you change the language preference and click "French", the software swaps out the English.txt file for a new file called French.txt. Internationalization is management that enables the rather complex process of making this switch simple.
Internationalization encompasses the planning and execution of all actions involved in localization and globalization. That is, the management and processes involved in separating any cultural and language-specific content from the application to ensure code and content can be easily accessed, managed and adapted.
From a technical standpoint rather than a language industry standpoint, this concept is also referred to as National/Native Language Support (NLS).
Testimonial
I would be extremely upset if we lost Traducta as a supplier; upset and frustrated at finding a translation service as half as good.
NCR
Proud Member of
Traducta's latest Tweets