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Screenshot of software programs localised to Italian.

In computing, Internationalization and localization are means of adapting computer software for non-native environments, especially other nations and cultures. Internationalization is the process of ensuring that an application is capable of adapting to local requirements, for instance ensuring that the local writing system can be displayed. Localization is the process of adapting the software to be as familiar as possible to a specific locale, by displaying text in the local language and using local conventions for the display of such things as units of measurement. A city-state is a region controlled exclusively by a city. ... Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixels Full resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 279 KB, MIME type: image/png) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Internationalization and localization ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixels Full resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 279 KB, MIME type: image/png) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Internationalization and localization ... RAM (Random Access Memory) Look up computing in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Computer program. ... Writing systems of the world today. ...

Due to their length, the terms are usually abbreviated to L10n and i18n respectively. The capital L on L10n helps to distinguish it from the lowercase i in i18n.

Scope

Focal points of internationalization and localization efforts include:

• Language
  • Computer-encoded text
    • Alphabets/scripts; different systems of numerals; left-to-right script vs. right-to-left scripts. Most recent systems use the Unicode standard to solve many of these character encoding problems.
    • Spelling variants for different countries where the same language is spoken, e.g. localization (American English) vs. localisation (British English)
  • Graphical representations of text (printed materials, online images containing text)
  • Spoken (Audio)
  • Subtitling of film and video
• Date/time format, including use of different calendars
• Formatting of numbers (decimal points, positioning of separators, character used as separator)
• Time zones (UTC in internationalized environments)
• Currency
• Images and colors: issues of comprehensibility and cultural appropriateness
• Names and titles
• Government assigned numbers (such as the Social Security number in the US, National Insurance number in the UK) and passports
• Telephone numbers, addresses and international postal codes
• Weights and measures
• Paper sizes
• Any other aspect of the product or service that is subject to regulatory compliance

The distinction between internationalization and localization is subtle but important. Internationalization is the adaptation of products for potential use virtually everywhere, while localization is the addition of special features for use in a specific locale. The processes are complementary, and must be combined to lead to the objective of a system that works globally. Subjects unique to localization include: A numeral is a symbol or group of symbols that represents a number. ... The Unicode Standard, Version 5. ... A character encoding or character set (sometimes referred to as code page) consists of a code that pairs a sequence of characters from a given set with something else, such as a sequence of natural numbers, octets or electrical pulses, in order to facilitate the storage of text in computers... Proper spelling is the writing of a word or words with all necessary letters and diacritics present in an accepted standard order. ... For other uses, see American English (disambiguation). ... British English (BrE, BE, en-GB) is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere in the Anglophone world. ... For other uses, see Subtitle. ... This article is about motion pictures. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... ... The promotional Social Security card as distributed by the F.W. Woolworth Company In the United States, a Social Security number (SSN) is a 9-digit number issued to citizens, permanent residents, and temporary (working) residents under section 205(c)(2) of the Social Security Act, codified as 42 U... UK Income Tax and National Insurance (2005–2006) UK Income Tax and National Insurance as a % of Salary (2005–2006) National Insurance is a system of taxes, and related social security benefits, that has operated in the United Kingdom since its introduction in 1911, and wider extension by the government... Postcodes are generally clearly visible outside Australia Post offices. ... Weights and measures is a term used by legal authorities in English speaking countries such as the United Kingdom for a function related to units of measurement in trade. ... Regulatory compliance refers to systems or departments at corporations and public agencies to ensure that personnel are aware of and take steps to comply with relevant laws and regulations. ...

• Language translation,
• National varieties of languages (see language localization)
• Special support for certain languages such as East Asian languages
• Local customs,
• Local content
• Symbols
• Order of sorting
• Aesthetics
• Cultural values and social context

Translation is an activity comprising the interpretation of the meaning of a text in one language—the source text—and the production of a new, equivalent text in another language—the target text, also called the translation. ... Language localisation[1] is the process of translating a product into different languages (see Language translation) or adapting a language for a specific country or region. ... East Asian languages or the East Asian sprachbund describe two notional groupings of languages in East and Southeast Asia, either (1) languages which have been greatly influenced by Classical Chinese, or the CJKV Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese) area or (2) a larger grouping including the CJKV area as well... The Parthenons facade showing an interpretation of golden rectangles in its proportions. ... For other uses, see Culture (disambiguation). ... The social environment or social context is a group of identical or similar social positions and social roles. ...

Difficulties

In making software products, internationalization and localization pose challenging tasks for developers, particularly if the software is not designed from the beginning with these concerns in mind. A common practice is to separate textual data and other environment-dependent resources from the program code. Thus, supporting a different environment, ideally, only requires change in those separate resources without code modification, greatly simplifying the task.

However user requirements might differ significantly over cultures, for example, reading from right to left as in Hebrew or Arabic may require additional changes to the GUI. OpenOffice.Org solves this with compilation switches. “Hebrew” redirects here. ... “Arabic” redirects here. ... “GUI” redirects here. ... OpenOffice. ...

Some say that the development team needs someone who understands foreign languages and cultures and has a technical background and such a person may be difficult to find. Others argue that the commercial case to localise products into multiple languages is very obvious, and that all is needed is a budgetary commitment from the producer to finance the considerable costs. It costs more to produce products for international markets, but in an increasingly global economy, English only is scarcely an option. For instance, if a message displayed to the user in one of several languages is modified, all of the translated versions must be changed. Software libraries that aid this task are available, such as gettext. In computer science, a library is a collection of subprograms used to develop software. ... gettext is the GNU internationalization (i18n) library. ...

Since open source software can generally be freely modified and redistributed, it is more prone to internationalization. Most proprietary software is only available in languages considered to be economically viable whereas the KDE project, for example, has been translated into over 70 languages^[1]. Linux is generally available in many languages. The Debian distribution currently loads over 200 languages. Ubuntu's LiveCD allows you to conveniently pick to load any and all choices you want from dozens of languages when you boot up or when you choose System>Administration>Language Support. Ubuntu's 7.04 version covers languages from Afar to Zulu including dialect choices such as Ancient or Modern Greek or several varieties of English. GnomeSword makes the Bible available in 57 languages and many dialects in the space of a small USB stick or other storage device. ... KDE (K Desktop Environment) (IPA: ) is a free software project which aims to be a powerful system for an easy-to-use desktop environment. ... GnomeSword is an open source Study Bible application that uses The Sword Project. ...

Methods

The current prevailing practice is for applications to place text in resource strings which are loaded during program execution as needed. These strings, stored in resource files, are relatively easy to translate. Programs are often built to reference resource libraries depending on the selected locale data.

Thus to get an application to support multiple languages one would design the application to select the relevant language resource file at runtime. Resource files are translated to the required languages. This method tends to be application-specific and at best, vendor-specific. The code required to manage date entry verification and many other locale-sensitive data types also must support differing locale requirements. Modern development systems and operating systems include sophisticated libraries for international support of these types. However, many development environments still lack full Unicode support, which drastically hampers the translation effort, especially to East Asian languages.

New methods are evolving all the time to handle these complex issues. One such method, known as NLSO or Natural Language Support Objects uses databases to store resource strings. Another approach is the elimination of all references to culture, politics, history, etc.; avoidance of images (especially text embedded in images); and use of a controlled language. An example of an implementation of these principles is Uwe Muegge's website that uses Google's language tools to create virtual versions of his site in eleven languages. NLSO or Natural Language Support Objects, is a software library being developed as an open source project for the purpose of easy translation of web sites and applications to different languages Natural Language Support Objects are the creation of Peter Ivan Dunne The class library attempts to manage language dependent... Controlled Natural Languages are subsets of natural languages whose grammars and dictionaries have been restricted in order to reduce or eliminate both ambiguity and complexity. ... Uwe Muegge (pronounced []), (b. ... This article is about the corporation. ... This list of Google products includes all major desktop, mobile and online products released or acquired by Google Inc. ...

Pseudolocalization is a software testing method that is used to test a software product's readiness for localization. Pseudolocalization is a software testing method that is used to test internationalization aspects of software. ... Software testing is the process used to measure the quality of developed computer software. ...

Alternative names

Internationalization is often abbreviated as the numeronym i18n (or I18n or I18N) where the number 18 refers to the number of letters omitted (nternationalizatio).^[2][3] Localization is often abbreviated L10n or l10n in the same manner. (The most common forms are i18n and L10n, respectively. These forms won out because many fonts do not readily distinguish uppercase "I" and lowercase "l", but lowercase "i" and uppercase "L" are always clear.) A numeronym is a number based word. ...

A related concept is a11y (accessibility), which is concerned with adapting products for people with disabilities or age-related limitations. In human-computer interaction, computer accessibility (also known as Accessible computing) refers to the accessibility a computer system to all people, regardless of disability or age-related limitations. ...

See also

• Bidirectional script support
• CJK
• Globalization Management System
• Glocalization
• Separation of concerns
• Sustainable development
• Region code
• Language localization
• Game localization
• Computer russification, localization into Russian language

The writing systems of some languages, such as Hebrew and Arabic are written from right to left. ... CJK is a collective term for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, which comprise the main East Asian languages. ... A globalization management system (GMS) is a type of software for automating many parts of the human language translation process and maximizing translator efficiency. ... Glocalization, a neologism and portmanteau of globalization and localization, entails one or both of the following: The creation or distribution of products or services intended for a global or transregional market, but customized to suit local laws or culture. ... In computer science, separation of concerns (SoC) is the process of breaking a program into distinct features that overlap in functionality as little as possible. ... anyone doing this homework. ... Regional lockout is the programming practice, code, chip, or physical barrier used to prevent the playing of media designed for a device from the country where it is marketed on the version of the same device marketed in another country. ... Language localisation[1] is the process of translating a product into different languages (see Language translation) or adapting a language for a specific country or region. ... Game localisation refers to the preparation of video games for other locales. ... In computing, Russification is the localization of computers and of software, i. ...

Notes

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st Century. ... is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that W3C Markup Validation Service be merged into this article or section. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st Century. ... is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

is the 219th day of the year (220th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Look up internationalisation, localisation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

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FOSS Localization