Software localization

The launch of any software program on the international market is pointless without localization. Quality and understandable translation is mandatory, but alone these are not enough. Local users expect culture-specific features of a program to behave according to local standards: date and time are in local format, list sorting is correct, currencies and measurements are used properly, etc. The more locale-sensitive the product is, the more loyal its customers. On highly competitive markets localization is a key requirement to ensure customer satisfaction and, therefore, an integral part of success. Neglect of localization can render pointless all that is spent on software.

Our company has vast translating experience in software and information technologies and our specialists have successfully executed a range of localization projects.

What is localization and how does it differ from pure translation?

Localization is the complex process of adapting a software product to the cultural context of the target language country.

Localization addresses the following tasks:

Translation of user interface, online help and documentation.
Adjusting the program to become locale-sensitive and to behave according to local expectations (e.g. sorting, formatting of numbers, dates, time, and currencies).
Adding or removing certain functionality in accordance with local market needs.
Ensuring that the language, layout, iconography and color schemes used in the application are appropriate to the local culture.
Building, testing and debugging the localized version.

As you can see from the list above, in the process of localization many technical tasks are solved in addition to the translation itself. One of the most common tasks is the different number of symbols in the source and target text. For example, when translating from English to Russian, the character ratio is 1:1.2. That’s why longer messages often require changes in the size of interface elements.