Localization vs Internalization

Localization (also known as ”l10n”, with 10 referring to the number of letters in between) is the process of adapting your product to a target market. If you are reading this guide, then you are already aware of the various aspects to consider such as language, UI, and culture. But before you localize, you must understand another concept called internationalization (“i18n”).

l10n cannot exist without i18n, especially for apps and games. So far your app is only in one language, but you must enable your app to support various languages and symbols across different markets and cultures (e.g. left to right script vs. right to left, $ vs. €).

Different platforms have different ways to internationalize, which can be pretty overwhelming for any app developer or localization manager.

After becoming an i18n expert, you are ready for l10n. As a l10n solutions provider, we will teach you how to complete your l10n process with OneSky.

App Localization involves Internationalization (i18n), which is the process of preparing an application for adaptation to multiple contexts by framing and enabling the following Localization (l10n) aspects:

• Language-specific texts
• Cater to multiple dialects
• Formatting and parsing dates, lists, currencies, and units
• Locale-aware texts sorting
• Proper Unicode handling and bidirectional texts handling

i18n frameworks for Web

Basic JavaScript website

A website without i18n framework support lacks several localization aspects. Using 3rd-party libraries is strongly recommended.

Single-page app

For a web app to have i18n supported, we recommend the following i18n frameworks / plugins based on the JavaScript stacks picked by your development team

React

React Intl Universal
Part of FormatJS that provides React components and an API to format dates, numbers, and strings, including pluralization and handling translations. Compared to React Intl, it can be used not only in React.Component but also in Vanilla JS.

Moment.js
Since it is pretty hard to use React Intl Universal for localizing dates and times, we use Moment.js to handle them.

Vue

Vue I18n
A popular internationalization plugin for Vue.js

i18n frameworks for Mobile app

iOS

For iOS apps, we recommend following the official Internationalization and Localization Guide.

Android app

For android apps, we recommend following the official Localize your app.