Introduction to Internationalization

This book deals with four main concepts:

• Internationalization
• Localization
• Translation
• Accessibility

Part I will cover the first two of these — internationalization and localization — in these three chapters:

Chapter 1 — Introduction to Internationalization

Chapter 2 — Understanding Localization

Chapter 3 — Tools and Technologies

The Relationship Between Internationalization and Localization

Before exploring the deep-dive into internationalization, it will be helpful to clarify what is meant by internationalization and differentiate it from localization, and to how they relate to each other.

If a website or application is to support multiple countries and languages, then localization is the goal, and internationalization is the foundation that makes it possible.

Localization is the process of adapting a product or content to meet the language, cultural, and other specific needs of a country or region.

Internationalization is the process of laying the foundation to make that possible. It means designing and framework in such a way that localization is not just possible, but relatively straightforward. Internationalization is what makes localization possible without requiring significant changes to the core codebase.

Internationalization is primarily an activity of system design and development, whereas localization is primarily an activity of administration.

Analogy: Building an Apartment Complex

Imagine internationalization and localization as analogous to building an apartment complex.

Internationalization is like constructing the foundation, installing the electrical and plumbing systems, and framing the structure of the building. This is the essential groundwork that makes it possible to later build out and customize each individual apartment. The foundation ensures that the building is stable, while the electrical and plumbing systems, as well as the framing, provide the services and structure necessary to support the apartments. These systems are universal and must be designed to accommodate various apartment configurations.

Localization, on the other hand, is like customizing each individual apartment for its occupants. Once the building's infrastructure is in place, each apartment can be tailored to suit the specific needs and preferences of the residents. Just like apartments can be personalized with different layouts, appliances, and interior design elements, localization adapts a product for users in specific regions, with their particular languages and cultural preferences. Localization changes the surface-level experience (content language, UI design, fonts, text direction, units of measure, etc.) without altering the underlying infrastructure.

The Importance and Goals of Internationalization

In the spirit of beginning with the end in mind, it is worth starting with clear objectives for our internationalization efforts. Internationalization should make localization fast, easy, and predictable. In a well-internationalized system, localization is a process that takes hours or days, not weeks or months. If you are struggling to localize your app or website, it is almost certainly because you tried to take shortcuts in internationalization. Those shortcuts cause pain, bugs, unpredictable site behavior, and all sorts of general agony.

The more problems you address in the internationalization phase, the fewer you have to deal with during localization. This is important, because if a problem solved in internationalization only has to be solved once; problems left for localization have to be solved for each individual locale. Skipping proper internationalization is false economy, because you end up solving the same problems over and over again.

There is one especially reliable indicator of whether you've shortchanged internationalization: coding during localization. If localizing a website for a particular language or country requires you to add or modify core system code, you skipped something in internationalization.