Software localisation is the process of adapting software technically and culturally so that it functions naturally in a specific market or for a target audience that speaks a particular language. It encompasses much more than just translation and includes technical adaptation, cultural adaptation and functional testing.
What does software localisation include?
Software localisation includes translation of user interfaces with menus, buttons, dialogue boxes and forms, system messages, error messages and warnings, help documentation and tooltips within the software, as well as onboarding flows and user guides. Technical adaptation covers date formats and time formats according to local conventions, currencies and price display, numerical formats with decimal points and thousand separators, as well as units of measurement and unit systems. Cultural adaptation includes checking colours and symbols that might have different meanings in different cultures, images and icons that need to be culturally appropriate, as well as sorting order and text reading direction for languages such as Arabic or Hebrew.
Difference between translation and localisation
Translation transfers text from one language to another, whilst localisation adapts the entire product for the target market. A translator focuses on linguistic accuracy, whilst a localisation consultant oversees the entire user experience including technical, cultural and functional aspects. For example, an app might have translated text but still feel foreign if date formats are incorrect, currencies are displayed in dollars instead of local currency, or images and colour choices do not resonate with the local culture.
Technical challenges
Software localisation involves technical challenges such as string variables and placeholder text that must be handled correctly, plural forms that function differently in various languages, text expansion where translated text is often longer than the original text affecting the layout and coding issues for handling different alphabets and special characters. An experienced language partner with localisation expertise works according to ISO standards with ISO-certified system support and employs translators with a technical understanding of software development, localisation tools that handle different file formats, software termbases for consistent terminology and functional testing where localised software is tested to ensure everything functions correctly in the target market. Read more about Fluid Translations’ working processes here.
Read more about software localisation in our case study about ESGgo!