Localization of software

Additionally, many other devices and machines also contain software: household appliances, cars, industrial production systems, etc. To increase the user-friendliness and the user experience, such software is often needed in a variety of languages apart from the language in which it was originally developed.

This is where software localization comes in, a subject area that is becoming increasingly important. In the context of the translation of software as well as marketing texts , the translation process is often referred to as localization.

Localization is usually defined as the technical, linguistic, and cultural adaptation of a product—in this case of software—to a regional market.

Thus, localization comprises more than the mere translation. By the way: The term "localization" is often abbreviated as L10N , consisting of the first and last letters of the word and the 10 letters in between.

The localization of software comprises the translation of the program files that make up the software as well as the localization of other software-related components, such as the online help, the product documentation, and the associated web pages.

The software content that needs to be localized mainly comprises texts that are displayed in the user interface, especially the menus and dialog windows including dialog elements such as checkboxes, drop-down lists, and buttons.

Strings that the software displays under certain conditions, such as error and status messages, also need to be localized. Moreover, the software localization may also comprise keyboard shortcut for executing certain functions as well as version information.

The version information contains basic information on the software, e. This information can be accessed by opening the properties of the respective file. The software content that needs to be localized mainly comprises texts that are displayed in the user interface. Sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest news from Across. Localization of software usually takes place using computers and software, such as special software localization tools or conventional Translation Management Systems.

Both types of software work in the same way: The software extracts the content to be localized from the program code. Simply stated, the program code consists of the commands that are written in the programming language of the software. In addition to text, the content to be localized may also contain information on the graphical display of the software, especially of dialog windows and their components. The so-called WYSIWYG mode can be used to ensure that the localization result is correct especially also with respect to the graphical design of the software.

The term Echtzeitvorschau , or real-time preview, is sometimes used to refer to this approach in German graphical user interfaces. Even while the elements of dialog windows are being localized, you can see what they will look like later on. Apart from providing a preview and thus a visual context of the elements to be localized, the WYSIWYG mode enables the translator to resize and reposition the graphical elements of the dialog windows.

If a button is too small for the target-language designation, the button can simply be resized directly without the need for a software developer to intervene. Software usually consists of a small or large number of program files. Unfortunately, few users outside the US knew what red flags on mailboxes meant, adding confusion rather than clarity to the function. Other symbols can cause even greater problems. The hand gesture that symbolizes "OK" in the US, where the thumb touches the forefinger to make an "O," is an offensive sign in some countries.

Even your choice of images can be controversial in other countries. US-based learning software might use an owl symbol to represent learning, but the owl represents stupidity in some parts of Asia. The Red Cross, for example, uses a red crescent symbol for its Middle Eastern operations to avoid causing offense.

Be sure to localize graphics that won't resonate with your target audience. If you have a picture of a red hand that means "don't walk," you might want to change that when you localize it for a British audience. They'll be accustomed to crossing signs which say "don't walk" with stick-like figures instead of hands. This can differ significantly between cultures. For example, Japanese users often prefer to have more options and information visible to them on a particular page in the form of sidebars, information boxes and hyperlinks.

A more sparse and streamlined design that would be popular in the US might leave them feeling like they lack the necessary information to proceed. This could cause a big problem for your conversion rates. Before you make any assumptions about your software, you should always perform extensive user research. Talk to as many people in your target audience as possible and collect samples of successful applications and competitor products in your target language.

You should particularly focus on the amount of text and information offered, the placement of action buttons and form fills and which pieces of information are typically grouped together on a page. Your research should uncover the unspoken conventions that guide software design in that market, and help you structure your product in a way that puts users at ease.

If your app's utility is specific to your region or community, then you might not need to worry about localizing the software for multilingual audiences. But even then, consider whether your region has minority language communities that could benefit from software localization and translation. For example, you might think that you wouldn't need to localize an insurance marketplace for your state, but what if there are large Filipino, Chinese, or Haitian communities in the area?

You might get better buy-in if you localize your software for those groups. It might make more sense for you to focus on your home region at this stage, but you can always plan to localize your software later on. In that case, prep your content as much as possible for future localization solutions.

Take small steps, like adding international character and number file formats, so you don't have to do too much reworking later. When writing your copy, try to keep your sentences brief and your colloquialisms to a minimum. Many pieces of software need to reach a critical mass of users, after which growth increases exponentially. This is due to the power of network effects , a term which describes how every new user adds value to the existing users of a platform. Eventually, network effects create a tipping point, where the value of joining a platform far outweighs the cost of actually joining due to the benefits of being part of that network.

Often, new software needs to reach this point to ensure scalability and long-term success. The diagram below outlines the key features to look for to determine if your software can support internationalization efforts. Translated text may take up more space, or in some cases, less space, causing your neat and perfectly laid-out design to appear crowded or even indecipherable when translated.

The design of your user interface must allow room for expansion and contraction in translated languages. To ensure that your content is viewed how you intended, we recommend programming dynamic UI expansion into your software. If you are developing an iOS app, for instance, you should use Auto Layout to ensure that your views realign suitably for every locale.

For an Android app, you can build a dynamic UI with Fragments. Make use of features supported by your application framework to program dynamic UI expansion. During the internationalization phase, strings must be extracted, localized, and reinserted back into the code.

Strings that have been prepped for localization must be externalized, meaning you will have to save your strings to a translation file. Resource files in the use case of software localization contain resources specific to a given language.

Recent application frameworks typically define a key-delimiter-value syntax for resource files, which will determine how you create pairs of keys and values for all user-visible strings in your application.

Below, you can see how to make use of properties files to externalize your localizable strings. It is common to create multiple.

Strings files For an iOS app, the files that contain localizable strings are referred to as the Strings file and you must make use of these and the NSLocalizedString macro.

Your application should have specific locale directories and you must localize the Localizable. Try to:. Internationalization should not be treated as a separate step in your software development process, but rather a fundamental thought in every stage of your design and development process. In the past, people often localized content using spreadsheets, requiring developers to copy and paste strings and source content into the spreadsheets before sending it off to a single or multiple translators.