SOFTWARE LOCALIZATION AND THE TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY
July 8, 2024
Bridging geographical barriers, the software industry has been growing swiftly, while computerization and mobile facilities are increasingly present in the way we interact with the world, whether through platforms for management, consumption, entertainment, or others. Just like these segments, the market is exporting more and more programs and applications that demand attention from developers for software internationalization (or globalization) and localization.
In 2007, the US held 90% of this market, but between 2013 and 2014 the scenario changed and Brazil took 8th place among global players, shouldering a slice of this market valued at US $ 61.6 billion. This distribution implies fierce competition combined with the need to think of a global concept to circumvent competition.
When developing software today, one needs to think about product internationalization in order to make it viable for users and also to prevent waste of resources with the need to readapt it for export. This action consists of neutralizing the program so that it is ready to be adapted to any idiomatic and cultural need, without changing its structure.
The next step is localization, which entails adjustments including language, local currency, date and time, symbols, icons and colors, as well as checking legal requirements and analyzing elements that might lead to user misinterpretations. In localization, the product is targeted to a specific country or audience, representing a key stage for the product’s acceptance by the target audience. It also warrants emphasis that localization is not just doing the translation, given that symbols and signs carry different meanings in a cultural context.
However, software internationalization should not be confused with localization. They are different concepts implemented procedurally in order for the product to bring the best results, especially for the user who will interact with such features.
It is therefore advisable for translators and editors to always work with access to a beta version of the software, for preliminary contextual reference and to resolve terminological doubts in advance, establishing quality from the outset and facilitating the final stage of system testing.
Software localization is one of the products with which ZAUM has the most expertise, entailing integrated work in order to respect terminology and enhance system testing from the linguistic and user interface standpoint, which is crucial in software localization.
Source:
http://goo.gl/r6HgmS – Internationalization and localization in computer software
https://goo.gl/xxYE5Y – Internationalization vs. Localization
http://zaum.flywheelstaging.com/ – Software Localization
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