Globalization

Frequently asked questions

Globalization

globalization, Globalization is term used in many different ways, Globalization, Localization, Translation, Retrofitting, product globalization, Software internationalization, software localization, and technical document translation, content globalization, internationalization, i18n


What is globalization?

The Localization Industry Standards Association (LISA) defines globalization as follows:

"Globalization addresses the business issues associated with taking a product global. In the globalization of high-tech products this involves integrating localization throughout a company, after proper internationalization and product design, as well as marketing, sales, and support in the world market."

Globalization is term used in many different ways. For example, there is the top, geopolitical level that deals with globalization of business as an economic evolution. Secondly, there is the globalization of an enterprise that establishes an international presence with local branch or distribution offices. Thirdly, there is the process of creating local or localized versions of web sites, which we will refer to as "web site globalization". Web site globalization refers to enabling a web site to deal with non-English speaking visitors, i.e. internationalizing the site's back-end software, designing a multi-lingual architecture, and localizing the site's static or dynamic content.

Publishers "go global" when they start developing, translating, marketing, and distributing their products to foreign language markets.

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What is the difference between globalization and localization?

Globalization is the process of designing and developing applications that function for multiple cultures. Localization is the process of customizing your application for a given culture and locale. ... Format and parse numbers, dates etc. according to the user's locale.

  • Globalization is the process of making a product multi-lingual. All language-related aspects of the program are separated from the code, and all aspects, which vary with target country, are handled in a country-independent way.
  • Localization is the process of adapting a global product for a particular language and country. Localization includes translations and other conversion, and takes into account local practices and culture, providing a product, which is comfortable to use in the target country.
  • Translation is involved in most aspects of localization. Accuracy and appropriateness of translation are key to overall product quality.
  • Retrofitting is an informal term for localization of a product, which was not designed to be global. It is the first step taken by most companies entering the global marketplace.

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What is a product globalization?

Product globalization is a multi-step process for creating local language versions of products and software applications. Software internationalization, software localization, and technical document translation result in user interfaces, on-line help systems, and documentation that are adapted to the cultural, linguistic, and technical requirements of specific international markets.

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What is content globalization?

Content globalization is the adaptation of Web content, interactive media, printed documents, or packaging to meet the cultural, linguistic, and business requirements of a global audience. Since dynamic content is the product of an ongoing business process, Opticentre content globalization solutions address process optimization, technology integration, and content automation requirements.

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What is the best tool to internationalize my software?

Find out what the globalization experts use to address each stage of the globalization process, from the internationalization tools used by software engineers to prepare your software for localization, to the computer-aided translation tools used by translators to leverage previous translations, to the content management systems that keep your multilingual web site perfectly synchronized.

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What is internationalization?

The Localisation Industry Standards Association (LISA) defines internationalization as follows:

"Internationalization is the process of generalizing a product so that it can handle multiple languages and cultural conventions without the need for re-design. Internationalization takes place at the level of program design and document development."
In general, a product is internationalized during the product development cycle, as a precursor to the localization of a product.

An important aspect of internationalization is the separation of text from the software source code. Translatable text, i.e. text, which is visible to the user, should be moved to separate strings-only resource files. This will prevent translators from changing - or breaking - the program code, because the resource files only contain translatable components and no coding.

Central to internationalization is the ability to display the character sets and support local standards of a particular language and country. For example, before a software product can be translated into Japanese, it must support double-byte characters. If the application has been programmed to support only Western European languages, it must be double-byte enabled first, for example by using Unicode character support. Likewise, different foreign keyboard layouts, input methods, and hardware standards must be supported.

Internationalization is not limited to software. Online help, documentation, and web sites, in particular, also need to be internationalized. For technical writers this process is often called "writing for translation" or "writing for a global audience". In the case of web sites, internationalization, translation, and adapting the content to specific target markets is usually referred to as "web site globalization."

Internationalization is often abbreviated to "i18n", where "18" indicates the number of letters between the "i" and the "n". For more information on internationalization, refer to Chapter 2, Internationalization.

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How to play an AVI file with subtitles?

To play an AVI file with subtitles first - install a media player capable of playing subtitles. One that does is BSPlayer.
Then put the .sub (.srt) file in the same directory/folder which your video/movie file is in. Now open BSPlayer and enable subtitles. Also make sure your subtitle file has the same name as your video/movie file.

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