| Q: | Why should we internationalize software or Internet applications? |
| Software or Internet applications should be internationalized when one wants to access global markets. Internationalization also makes it possible to localize software or Internet applications very efficiently and at a lower cost. In fact, an internationalized application can be localized even for a smaller market since internationalization substantially reduces the costs of the localization, some say by approximately 50 %. Additionally, internationalization of an application reduces the time required to access a market. | |
| Q: | When should we internationalize a computer application? |
| The best time to think of the internationalization of a computer application is during the planning stage where it can become part of the design or the engineering steps. At this stage, one can plan how the cultural and linguistic elements of the application will be placed in resource files outside the application’s source code. At the start, it is more expensive to proceed this way but the initial investment is quickly recovered when it is time to carry out the localization of the application. | |
| Q: | What do I need to do to localize an application? |
| The localization of an application consists in adapting it to a linguistic group, or to a specific area or country. During this process, it is necessary to adapt the cultural and linguistic contents of the application to the features of the population or the targeted market. This process is much easer if the application has been internationalized at the start.
In the internationalization of an application, two types of elements, that is cultural and technical, need to be modified. Technical elements include the formatting of the dates, telephone numbers, numbers and currency. This adaptation with respect to the technical elements is relatively easy to make and is well-documented on the Internet and current literature. On the other hand, the cultural adaptation is much more difficult to carry out and not as well-documented on the Internet. In several cases, the cultural adaptation often requires the participation of a person coming from the linguistic group, the area or the targeted country to make the final verification of the localization. |
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| Q: | What should be done to localize an application if it has not been internationalized? |
| It is necessary to ask an expert in the field to make what is commonly called a “localization audit” of the application in question. This professional will analyse the application and, thereafter, will be able to make his recommendations as to the extent of work to be done. The localization audit expert can also estimate the costs of localization. | |
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