The term Internationalization is defined as the process of designing a product in order to adapt it to worldwide use without performing deep subsequent structural changes. As a result, a product is defined as “internationalized” if it has been developed to satisfy the requirements of an international community, and in virtue of its status it can be used in a specific market or environment once "localized". Internationalization procedures (I18n), then, are applied in the designing stage, whereas every single element is programmed in relation to a potential and future use. It is, in a way, similar to the localization process (L10n) since it also involves the process of adapting, but it basically has a complementary and consecutive relationship; a product is first prepared for an international marked (internationalized) and then it is modified through the addition of special characteristics which enable it to be used in specific markets or environments defined as local.
Any kind of internationalization process requires the employment and the interaction of different skills. It always implies, for instance, the participation of professional figures specialized in the understanding and the conveying of different languages and cultures. They can then support the developers of a product during the separation of the basic parts that cannot be modified and the cultural determined texts which need to be localized in accordance with the requirements of each recipient.
As the leading provider of translation and localization services, GlocalExpert has delivered internationalization services since 2003. Our internationalization services team is made up of highly-skilled, full-time staff members located around the world, with a core team based in Suzhou, China. Because i18n is a critical first step in producing a globally acceptable software product, our goal is to educate our customers on how to develop global-ready applications that are ultimately easier and less expensive to localize.
Q: What is I18n/L10n?
A: Internationalization (I18n) is the process of designing an application so that it can be adapted to various languages and regions without engineering changes. The abbreviation is based on the fact that the rather lengthy word 'internationalization' starts with an 'i' followed by 18 characters followed by an 'n';
Localization (L10n) is the process of adapting software for a specific region or language by adding locale-specific components and translating text. The abbreviation is based on the fact that the rather lengthy word 'localization' starts with a 'l' followed by 10 characters followed by an 'n'.
And the same interpretation goes with G11n (globalization) and T9n (translation).
Q: What does the abbreviation GILT refer to?
A: GILT is an alphabetic acronym for Globalization, Internationalization, Localization and Translation.
Q: What is the relationship among translation, localization, internationalization and globalization?
A: The relationship between translation and localization/internationalization/globalization can be described as follows,
GILT = G11n + I18n + L10n + T9n;
G11n = I18n + L10n;
L10n > T9n.
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