The Localization and translation industry has grown exponentially in recent years.

Due to the rapid development of AI technology and its immediate implementation in Language-related services, localization has been gaining traction.

Yet many businesses are yet to grasp the wide range of possibilities this service can offer.

A recent study found that less than 20% of businesses are actively implementing a localization strategy.

This means that about one-fifth of all businesses overlook the fact that, in today’s interconnected world, localization is key to business growth in a global market.

Not being well-acquainted with the industry jargon is oftentimes the sole reason why businesses avoid beginning their localization journey.

Indeed, localization jargon can be quite perplexing sometimes, especially for people outside the industry. Not to mention that the localization industry terms are constantly getting updated, following newly emerging technologies, techniques, and trends.

But this shouldn’t be stopping you from going global!

In this blog, we offer you an extensive and comprehensive localization glossary of the 25 most important terms used in the industry.

Knowing them will make your localization journey much less baffling and more effortless, so keep reading!

What is localization?

First, let’s clear up the basics:

What is localization, and why would you need it?

Localization is a process whereby a product or service is adapted to resonate as best as possible with the linguistic and cultural background of the target audience it is intended for.

A successfully localized product would appear as if it had been developed specifically for the given audience.

For instance, when offering a product to a British English-speaking audience, one should focus on British spelling and expressions. What’s more, little details such as currencies, measurements, data format, etc. should be taken into consideration.

In some cases, brands change their colours, logos, and even their names.

Also read: Localization vs Globalization vs Internationalization vs Translation

For instance, Burger King had to change its brand name to Hungry Jack’s when expanding to Australia. The reason was, there was another brand on the Australian market with a name very similar to Burger King.

What’s more, localization goes far beyond languages and aims to transform other aspects, such as currency, time zones, measurements, geographical references, etc., to grant customers an unforgettable experience.

The end goal of localization is to convince the target customers that the product was designed exclusively for them.

Localization Glossary:  A list of 25 key localization terms

We can now dive into the localization terminology. Here is a list of the 25 most important terms (in alphabetical order).

You’ll possibly encounter these when beginning your localization journey, so pay close attention!

1. Back translation

Back translation is a linguistic quality assurance technique whereby a translated text is translated back into its original language.

For instance, if a technical document is translated from German into Mexican Spanish, one can check the quality of the output via back translation. That means that the document is translated from Mexican Spanish back into its original language, German.

This approach aims to ensure that no information is lost and the text does not contain any inconsistencies or ambiguities.

Also read: Back Translation – What Is It and Why Is It Important? 

2. Collaborative Translation

Translation is an integral part of the localization process. At the same time, localization projects can be very complex and, thus, might require a group of people with different expertise and skills to work together.

This is called “collaborative translation”.

For example, when working on the localization of an automobile brand’s website, technical translators might be needed for the translation of more technical content, while legal translators might be working on pages of the website, such as credit and leasing offers. At the same time, marketing translators would focus on social media or blog posts.

As a result, translators with expertise in different fields collaborate on the same project.

Its goal is to ensure fast delivery times and high-quality end translations by distributing various tasks across a group of experts.

3. Computer Assisted Translation (CAT)

Computer-Assisted Translation, often called simply CAT, is a translation software that professional language providers use to optimize and automate the translation and localization processes.

CAT tools have integrated translation memories and quality assurance features (which we will discuss in more detail below).

What’s more, CAT tools automate tedious tasks, such as exporting text from PDF files, keeping the layout of the source material, maintaining consistency across longer projects, etc.

In other words, CAT tools minimize the time translators spend on dull tasks and let them focus on what they do best – translation.

4. Content Management System (CMS)

Content management systems (CMS) have recently become a popular way of managing content on a website or across multiple platforms.

While CMSs are a great tool for managing content, they can also be helpful for translation and localization.

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Some of the most popular CMSs are WordPress, Drupal, and Microsoft SharePoint.

These systems allow clients to directly send in new content for translation and localization. Translators, in turn, can quickly send the translated project back, and it can be posted directly on the website or the social media platform.

Also read: What Is Localization Software?

5. Continuous Localization

Continuous Localization is a specialized approach within the broader domain of localization.

This approach allows for the seamless and automated integration of localization processes into the product development lifecycle.

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What’s more, continuous localization is also used for localization projects that are continuously updated with more content.

For instance, if you have a blog on your multilingual website, you can implement continuous localization so that each new blog post is translated into each of the available languages.

In addition, continuous localization removes manual processes such as tracking changes, uploading strings, and managing version control to maintain a higher quality standard for localized content.

As a result, the workflow is streamlined, which in turn facilitates the simultaneous progression of product development and localization.

Also read: Best Practices For Building A Multilingual Website

6. Do-Not-Translate (DNT)

Do Not Translate (DNT) is a phrase commonly used when you want to ensure that a piece of text remains in the source language and is thus not translated.

For example, DNT can be used for brand names or trademarks. IKEA is written with Latin letters, even in countries where languages with different scripts are spoken.

Another example of DNT terms would be acronyms, such as NASA. These are usually left untranslated.

Slogans, such as McDonald’s’ “I’m lovin’ it!” are sometimes regarded as DNT content.

7. Internationalization (I18n)

Internationalization is the practice of designing products and services in a way that facilitates their expansion into international markets.

In other words, internationalization ensures that a product or piece of content can be localized for various languages and regions with minimal effort.

For example, the latest version of the company’s logo is minimalistic in design. The removal of text from the logo allows it to be seamlessly incorporated into diverse global markets without modifications. While the logo maintains its distinct Starbucks identity, the absence of English text broadens its appeal beyond English-speaking regions.

Internationalization is commonly written as “i18n”, which stands for “i is followed by 18 letters ending with n”.

Also read: Top Global Brands With Exceptional Localization Strategies

8. Language Pair / Language Combination

A language pair or combination refers to the working languages (two or more) of a localization/ translation project.

For example, if you localize a website from English into Japanese, the language pair would be English/Japanese.

However, a localization project might involve more than two languages. For instance, there can be a language combination of English/Danish/Norwegian when localizing for both locales. This means that the content is localized from English into two other languages – Danish and Norwegian.

9. Linguistic Quality Assessment (LQA)

Linguistic Quality Assessment (LQA) is a process of evaluating the quality of the translation.

This type of quality assurance focuses on the language and its correctness.

LQA usually operates by identifying areas for improvement and then implementing the necessary changes.

During the LQA process, a professional translator looks over the project and seeks out errors. Then they have to fill out an LQA form with various error categories and severity levels.

Also read: Top Qualities Of A Good Translation

10. Locale

Locale is a term used to describe a specific geographic region (usually a country) where a specific language variety or dialect is spoken.

For instance, if you want to target the European market, you should be aware of the fact that Europe is composed of various locales with different languages. One locale would be France, where French is spoken. Another locale is Germany, where the most widely spoken language is German. Serbia is yet another locale, and its language is Serbian.

11. Localization Testing

Localization testing is the last phase of the localization process, and it involves verifying and validating the localization done for a software or mobile application product.

This process aims to ensure that the localized software or application can be used successfully in various markets.

It covers aspects such as Unicode support for internationalization, RTL (right-to-left languages) support, language-agnostic database input, data format support for multiple continents, text in images, etc.

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Also read: SaaS Localization: What, Why & How To Do It?

12. Localizability

Localizability is the degree to which a program or a website can be translated.

For example, if all the strings in the code of a program are fixed strings and hence cannot be changed, the program would have a rather low localizability.

13. Matches and Repetitions

Matches and repetitions are common terms concerning translation tools.

When a translator is working on a document, the translation software will highlight matches and repetitions in the text.

Matches are strings of text that have either been translated before or are very similar to previously translated sentences. Depending on the similarity of the matches, they are allocated a percentage, with 100% being the highest degree of similarity.

Repetitions, on the other hand, occur when the same string of text comes up a few times in the same document. They are regarded as 100% matches.

Also read:  A Comprehensive Guide To Machine Translation Post Editing

14. Metadata

Metadata is data that provides information about other data.

Metadata is used to define, structure, and organize the data. In this way, machines can manipulate the data following the metadata.

For example, if you want a piece of text in your app to be italicized, you need to include this information in the metadata.

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15. Proofreading

Proofreading is a process whereby a translated text is reviewed by a professional linguist to identify and correct spelling, coherency, grammar, syntax, and other errors.

Proofreading is usually part of the linguistic quality assurance process and takes place in the final stage of the localization process.

16. Quality Assurance (QA)

Quality assurance (QA) is the process that aims to determine whether a product or service complies with specified localization and internationalization requirements.

Quality assurance includes practices, such as testing, auditing, and inspecting translation projects to ensure they contain no errors.

Additionally, in the context of localization, QA includes a review of the project by the project manager and customer representative, which aims to make sure that everything is running smoothly.

Also read: Translation Agency vs Freelancers: Who Is Better For Your Business?

17. Right-To-Left (RTL)

Right To Left (RTL) languages are languages that are written from right to left. Such languages are Arabic, Urdu, Farsi, and Hebrew.

RTL languages are very challenging when it comes to the localization of websites and apps. Thus, experts advise you to optimize your products for such languages in advance.

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18. Source File

A source file is a file that contains the original content from which the translation will be done.

This can be any type of file, such as Word, PDF, etc.

19. Source Language

Similarly to the source file, the source language is the original language of the localization project that is later translated into another language.

20. Target Language

The target language is the language into which the translation is done.

21. Terminology Management

Terminology Management is the practice of creating and maintaining dictionaries and glossaries that aim to improve consistency across all translations of the same project.

Terminology management is used across various types of content and domains, such as legal, marketing, and technical translations.

A terminology management system contains databases with terminology and their corresponding translations. What’s more, additional information like definitions, example sentences, explanations on how and when to use a specific term, etc. can be integrated into the databases.

For example, if a company wants to refer to their clients exclusively as “customers,” they can include the word and the corresponding translations in the terminology database. In addition, they might include supplementary explanations that terms such as “client”, “buyer” “shopper”, etc. are not accepted and should be avoided.

Also read: What Is A Translation Style Guide? Free Template + Examples

22. Term Extraction

Term extraction, as its name suggests, is a process whereby important terminology is identified and extracted for later use. The extracted terminology is usually stored in terminology databases.

Term extraction tools analyze a given text or a collection of texts. Then the software identifies relevant term candidates.

Once this first step of the terminology management process is finished, the next step is to eliminate any inconsistencies or errors.

Term extraction is a great tool since it improves the quality of the translations while also reducing delivery times due to easy access to essential terminology.

23. Transcreation

The process of adapting content from one language to another while maintaining the existing intent, style, and tone is called transcreation.

Transcreation oftentimes has little to do with language, however, and more with culture. Thus, this service can be applied to any type of content.

For example, if a baby product brand uses an image of a stork carrying a baby, which is a very common concept among European nations, this image would evoke confusion outside of the Old Continent.

Thus, it needs to be transcreated.

In Japanese folklore, there is a similar belief that newborns arrive on a huge peach floating down the river.

Transcreation is used in cases like this one – when a concept does not resonate with the culture of the target locale and therefore, needs to be re-created or transformed into a more familiar one.

24. Translation Memory (TM)

A translation memory is a database of previous translations that can be reused during the translation and localization processes.

Once matches are identified in the translation memory, translators don’t need to spend time translating them again. They simply reuse the stored translations in the TM database.

TM can be greatly beneficial since it reduces translation costs and delivery times. What’s more, TMs are the best solution for achieving terminology consistency, especially across longer localization projects.

25. Transliteration

The process of transferring a word from one script to another is called transliteration.

It is different from translation because it does not aim to transfer the meaning of a word or a phrase but rather to re-create it in a new script.

For example, the word for the festival of lights holiday in Hebrew is “חנוכה”. When transliterated into the Latin alphabet, the word becomes Chanukah or Hanukkah, which resembles its pronunciation in Hebrew.

Also read:  Translation, Transcreation and Transliteration: What’s The Difference?

Common localization challenges and their solutions

Localization is a complex endeavour, and as such, challenges are very common.

However, being aware of any possible challenges ahead of time is a great advantage since you can look for suitable solutions.

In this section, we offer you an overview of the three most common localization challenges and the respective best practices to overcome them.

Challenge 1: Not knowing where to start

Beginning your localization journey can be intimidating, especially when you don’t know where to start.

Indeed, many give up before they have even tried. Others dive right into it without organizing their localization strategy and thus, fail miserably.

Best practice: Find a reliable partner

Look for a reliable localization service provider and discuss your project with them.

Think about the locales you want to target, your customers, and your goals. Consider your budget for your localization project—how much are you willing to invest in localization?

A professional localization service provider will help you create the best localization strategy for your goals and budget. They will be more than willing to guide you along the way, so don’t hesitate to discuss your project with them.

Also read: Top Translation Companies In The UK: How To Choose The Best One?

Challenge 2: Inefficient localization strategy

Successful localization goes beyond translating the website of your product or your mobile phone application.

Many companies often underestimate the importance of SEO localization, providing customer service in the local language, etc.

Localization aims to grant your customers an experience, specifically catered to their needs. Therefore, localization must cover a wide range of aspects to achieve that goal.

Best practice: Research the target market and create your localization strategy

Conduct thorough market research in your target locale. Get to know the competition on the market as well as your target customers’ habits.

For instance, if your target locale is Germany, you should be aware of the fact that German customers like to do their research before making a purchase.

Thus, besides website localization, it would make sense to do SEO localization, which would ensure better visibility among search results.

Challenge 3: Not preparing for localization

Many companies do not create their products and services with expansion in mind. In other words, they do not optimize their content, such as videos and graphs, or their platforms, such as websites or apps, for localization.

Thus, when they finally decide to go global, they have no other choice but to start from scratch.

Needless to say, this can be very time-consuming and costly.

Best practice: Create your products and services with localization in mind

When creating your products and services, make sure they are internationalized and localization-friendly.

You might not be planning to begin your localization journey in the upcoming years, but at some point, you’ll be tempted to test the potential of the global market. And this might be happening sooner than expected.

Thus, make sure that little details, such as optimization for RTL languages, are integrated. You might as well start gathering different materials and documentation, which could later be integrated into terminology databases and translation memories.

Doing the extra work now will be extremely beneficial later in terms of localization process efficiency and costs.

Also read: 11 Elements To Consider For A Successful Localization Strategy

Conclusion

The localization industry has grown exponentially in recent years due to the huge potential of the global market.

Many companies attempt to establish their brands on the international stage, but only a few are successful. The reasons for their success often boil down to a good localization strategy.

If you want to be among the few successful international companies, getting well-acquainted with the nitty-gritty of the localization process is the right way to start!