locallanguage

Locallanguage is a term used in software localization to describe a set of concepts, conventions, and tooling for representing translated content and locale-specific data within applications. It aims to unify how strings, formatting rules, and locale metadata are expressed so that translations can be produced, validated, and consumed consistently across platforms.

Origins lie in the need to manage multilingual content in software projects; locallanguage is not a single standard but a family of approaches that emphasize message formats and locale-aware behavior as first-class citizens in the development pipeline, alongside existing resource formats like JSON, YAML, or XML.

Key features include support for pluralization rules and gender, context-driven translations, and locale-aware formatting for dates, times, numbers, and currencies. It often relies on a message format syntax (for example, ICU MessageFormat-inspired) to express complex strings with placeholders and plural rules. It also includes mechanisms for locale fallbacks, translation memory integration, extract-and-merge workflows, and tooling for validation, testing, and continuous deployment.

In practice, locallanguage can be implemented as an abstraction layer over traditional resource files, or as an embedded DSL in a hosting language, enabling project teams to manage translations more efficiently. It is commonly used in content management systems, mobile and web apps, and static site generators.

Example: a locallanguage entry might express a greeting with a variable name and a pluralized message for item counts, ensuring correct grammar across locales.

See also: internationalization, localization, ICU MessageFormat, CLDR, translation management systems.