LokalisierungsWorkflows

Lokalisierung, often referred to by the abbreviation L10n in the context of software and digital media, is the process of adapting a product, content, or user experience to a specific locale or market. It goes beyond direct translation to include cultural, functional, and regulatory adjustments that make the product usable and appropriate for local users. Lokalisierung is typically paired with internationalization (I18n), the engineering work that enables localization by exposing locale-sensitive data and interfaces.

In practice, localization covers translated UI strings, help and documentation, and any media such as images or videos. It also involves locale-specific formatting for dates, times, numbers, calendars, currencies, and measurement units; local legal requirements; and culturally appropriate content, colors, and symbols. For software, localization requires handling plural forms, right-to-left scripts, character encoding, and layout adaptation to accommodate text expansion.

The localization process usually includes content extraction, translation, glossary and style guide development, linguistic review, engineering integration, and quality assurance. Tools such as translation management systems, computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools, terminology databases, and machine translation with post-editing support are commonly used. Global products often employ continuous localization pipelines to accommodate ongoing updates.

Common challenges include maintaining brand consistency across languages, ensuring pixel-perfect UI, handling regulatory differences, and managing terminology. Successful localization aligns product performance with local user expectations while preserving core functionality and messaging.