User Interface Text Localization

🌎 Designing Cross-Cultural And Multi-Lingual UX. Guidelines on how to stress test our designs, how to define a localization strategy and how to deal with currencies, dates, word order, pluralization, colors and gender pronouns. ⦿ Translation: “We adapt our message to resonate in other markets”. ⦿ Localization: “We adapt user experience to local expectations”. ⦿ Internationalization: “We adapt our codebase to work in other markets”. ✅ English-language users make up about 26% of users. ✅ Top written languages: Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese. ✅ Most users prefer content in their native language(s). ✅ French texts are on average 20% longer than English ones. ✅ Japanese texts are on average 30–60% shorter. 🚫 Flags aren’t languages: avoid them for language selection. 🚫 Language direction ≠ design direction (“F” vs. Zig-Zag pattern). 🚫 Not everybody has first/middle names: “Full name” is better. ✅ Always reserve at least 30% room for longer translations. ✅ Stress test your UI for translation with pseudolocalization. ✅ Plan for line wrap, truncation, very short and very long labels. ✅ Adjust numbers, dates, times, formats, units, addresses. ✅ Adjust currency, spelling, input masks, placeholders. ✅ Always conduct UX research with local users. When localizing an interface, we need to work beyond translation. We need to be respectful of cultural differences. E.g. in Arabic we would often need to increase the spacing between lines. For Chinese market, we need to increase the density of information. German sites require a vast amount of detail to communicate that a topic is well-thought-out. Stress test your design. Avoid assumptions. Work with local content designers. Spend time in the country to better understand the market. Have local help on the ground. And test repeatedly with local users as an ongoing part of the design process. You’ll be surprised by some findings, but you’ll also learn to adapt and scale to be effective — whatever market is going to come up next. Useful resources: UX Design Across Different Cultures, by Jenny Shen https://lnkd.in/eNiyVqiH UX Localization Handbook, by Phrase https://lnkd.in/eKN7usSA A Complete Guide To UX Localization, by Michal Kessel Shitrit 🎗️ https://lnkd.in/eaQJt-bU Designing Multi-Lingual UX, by yours truly https://lnkd.in/eR3GnwXQ Flags Are Not Languages, by James Offer https://lnkd.in/eaySNFGa IBM Globalization Checklists https://lnkd.in/ewNzysqv Books: ⦿ Cross-Cultural Design (https://lnkd.in/e8KswErf) by Senongo Akpem ⦿ The Culture Map (https://lnkd.in/edfyMqhN) by Erin Meyer ⦿ UX Writing & Microcopy (https://lnkd.in/e_ZFu374) by Kinneret Yifrah

As a developer living in #Canada, a country with two official languages—English and French—I often find myself navigating the complexities of building multilingual applications. Localization isn't just a feature; it’s a necessity for ensuring that our applications resonate with users from diverse backgrounds. ASP.NET Core .NET 8 provide all I need to effectively implement localization in my APIs. Here’s a quick overview of my approach: Resource Files: I leverage .resx resource files to store localized strings. This allows me to easily manage translations for different languages while keeping my code clean. Request Localization Middleware: By configuring the RequestLocalizationOptions, I can seamlessly handle requests in different languages based on user preferences. This means our APIs can dynamically respond in the user's preferred language, enhancing user experience. String Localizers: Utilizing IStringLocalizer and IStringLocalizerFactory, I can retrieve localized strings directly in my controllers, making it straightforward to serve the right message to the right audience. By implementing these strategies, I’m able to create APIs that not only function well but also communicate effectively with users in their language of choice. What strategies do you use for localization in your applications? #Localization #ASPNETCore #DotNet8 #Multilingual #SoftwareDevelopment #Inclusion #UserExperience

Most localization workflows are broken. Why are we still managing localization like it’s 2009? Developers get buried in translation files. Translators get screenshots in Slack. PMs send Excel sheets and hope for the best. The problem is that most i18n setups were never designed for fast-moving teams. I don't know about you, but I don't want another spreadsheet called “FINAL_FINAL_TRANSLATIONS_v3.xlsx”. It felt like shipping code with one hand tied behind our backs. I came across Tolgee, an open-source tool that completely changes how localization works. Instead of writing JSON files by hand or juggling outdated strings, you can translate the text right there, by clicking on it in the app or in the browser. You can check the repo here 👉 https://tolg.ee/anvzeh Some things I found compelling: • In-context translation directly in the UI • Chrome + Figma integrations for non-dev contributors • SDKs for React, Vue, Angular, Svelte, and mobile • Machine translation + translation memory baked in • Works locally, in the cloud, or self-hosted • Tolgee AI Translator: gives better translations by using screenshots and real context. It’s the first time I’ve seen localization feel like a real-time, collaborative part of the dev loop, not a separate phase that slows everything down. Curious, how do you handle localization today?

When you use airline ops systems with translated labels, does something still feel... off? Like you're working harder than you should be? A user in DOH makes the same quality decisions as one in LHR. But she is working cognitively 30% harder to get there. New research published by Cambridge University just proved something that changes everything about "global" airline ops systems. Your native language shapes how you process information in ANY interface. Forever. The study tracked eye movements of readers across 12 languages. The finding: Native language cognitive patterns explained 49-72% of how people processed information, even when reading in a second language. If this is true for reading text, it's true for processing operational displays. That's when I realized: Every "localized" airline system deployed worldwide is systematically overtaxing non-Western users. Here's what we call "localization" today: Design a Gantt chart for Western left-to-right, top-down scanning. Translate the labels into Arabic. Deploy in DOH. Call it "internationalized." But you haven't adapted the information architecture. You've labeled a Western cognitive pattern in Arabic. Now users work harder to process it. The user in DOH can: → Read every Arabic label correctly → Make accurate decisions → Complete all tasks successfully → Tell you "the system works fine" But she's fighting the interface on every interaction. Her brain's native right-to-left scanning pattern fights the left-to-right Gantt chart. Hundreds of micro-corrections per shift. Unconsciously. Automatically. By hour 10? Not fatigued from decisions. Fatigued from fighting interface cognitive patterns that don't match native processing. The research explains why she'd never tell you: When processing information in patterns that don't match native language structure, people adapt successfully but at higher cognitive cost, and lose conscious awareness they're working harder than necessary. Just like the users I measured with eye-tracking who said "system works fine" while their eye movements showed cognitive chaos. What would real cognitive adaptation look like? For right-to-left processors: → Radial timeline displays (no left-right bias) → Right-anchored navigation panels → Information flow matching natural scanning direction For top-down column scanners: → Vertical priority columns → Dense information presentation leveraging native strengths → Right-to-left column progression For holistic pattern recognizers: → Spatial situation maps over sequential lists → Pattern-based priority indication → Non-linear navigation The technology exists. Eye-tracking can measure native patterns. Adaptive interfaces can respond. Nobody's using it in airline operations. The invisible cost: Users in DOH, BOM, TLV, BKK, TYO working harder than colleagues in LHR or NYC to process the same information. Not because they're less skilled. Because interfaces are optimized for someone else's brain.

ON / OFF Badges & Localization: Have you bridged with your UX design team yet? Something as seemingly simple as an ON / OFF badge in a UI can create outsized challenges for localization. 👉 In English, we often lean on phrasal verbs or clipped labels like ON and OFF. But many locales don’t have this option. Instead, they need to use the full past participle as a verb (Activated / Deactivated), which: • Expands text length and risks breaking layout. • Introduces gender and number agreement in languages like Spanish, French, or Italian. That last point is critical: a string like Activated might be stored as a 100% match in your TM, but when the UI gesture changes (Activate profile vs Activate notifications), the correct target form might differ. A “perfect” match isn’t always correct. 💡 Localization teams and UX designers need to align early on these gestures. A badge isn’t just a label, it’s a linguistic act that depends on context. Bridging design and localization here saves costly fixes later, keeps the UI natural for every market, and avoids awkward mistranslations that your users will notice immediately.

For those of us working in #softwarelocalization is hard to not notice when localized UI creates friction and frustration between the user, the expected experience and the negative impact such issues have on brand perception. During a recent flight with Iberia, the Spanish version of the official app was showing truncated text in sections as relevant for the user journey at the check-in such as: 🧳 paid baggage ⏱️ boarding priority These text truncations lead to incomplete information, making it difficult to understand important details about the flight, booking and services. This lack of clarity is a source of frustration and confusion, especially when dealing with time-sensitive travel information. Even after the check-in process, other areas of the app like partner sections for booking hotels or customer feedback were also showing truncated calls to action. I can only guess why these UI issues are being displayed to a real customer and not being noticed before: Not testing text appearing at different sections of the app? Not testing multiple screen-sizes? Not testing when texts are updated? Not testing new layouts? A combination of the above? Despite these issues with the UI, I will obviously still fly with Iberia again, but I can't help thinking about how this lacks of attention to detail: contradicts the expected reliability of an airline undermines their marketing efforts This is a missed opportunity to better engage with customers and promote their services effectively. For a company that is so tied to the Spanish/LATAM regions, it would expected for such issues not to be displayed in the Spanish version of the app, which is assumed to be one of their core markets/locales. The irony? When trying to communicate this feedback using the proper customer support & feedback section within the app (as shown in the second screenshot), the embedded Typeform form doesn't let me to upload the actual screenshots. 😥 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠? 1️⃣ Comprehensive Localization Testing Rigorous user interface testing, especially Spanish for this particular case 2️⃣ Testing on Multiple Devices Test the application on a wide range of screen sizes and resolutions 3️⃣ Implementation of Automated Testing Develop and execute automated tests that verify the correct display of text in different scenarios and device configurations 4️⃣ Responsive Design Adopt a design approach that dynamically adjusts to different screen sizes 5️⃣ Use of Flexible Text Techniques Implement automatic font size adjustment or controlled truncation with ellipsis 6️⃣ Contextual Review Contextual review of translations to ensure they fit within the available interface space 7️⃣ Character Limits Establish and communicate clear character limits for each interface element to translation teams #Localization #DigitalMarketing #UserExperience #Iberia

Most companies treat Arabic localization as a final task on a checklist. It shouldn’t be a task; it should be a strategy. 📈 "Translating" your English content into Arabic is just the starting line. True localization is about re-engineering the user journey to align with how Arabic speakers think, navigate, and build trust with a brand. Proper Arabic localization is a multi-layered process: ➡️ Linguistic Precision: Choosing the right register: whether it’s the authority of MSA or the relatability of a neutral Pan-Arab tone. ➡️ UI/UX Optimization: Adapting layouts for Right-to-Left (RTL) flow and managing text expansion without breaking the design. ➡️ Psychological Transcreation: Refining marketing hooks to ensure they persuade and resonate, rather than just inform. ➡️ Cultural Alignment: Navigating sensitivities and meeting the high expectations of a digital-first audience. ➡️ Glossary Integrity: Maintaining a unified voice across apps, web, gaming, and educational ecosystems. The goal is to always have "invisible localization". When done correctly, the user never feels like they are using a "translated" tool. They feel like the product was built for them from the ground up. This is the bridge between a product being "correct" and a product that "converts." If you are scaling in the MENA region, make localization your growth engine.

🌍 Localizing Your Website: Key Elements to Consider!✍️ When expanding your business globally, translating textual elements such as headings, buttons, and product descriptions is not enough to be sure to effectively connect with your target audience. 🤔 So what are other essential features that have to be localized, according to the target market you wish to win over? Let's focus on some fundamental elements to focus on to ensure a seamless user experience and accurate communication: 👉 Date and Time Formats: Adjust date and time formats to match conventions of the target language and region. Consistency is key, including the order of day, month, and year, as well as time display formats. 👉 Currency and Numeric Formats: Localize currency symbols, decimal separators, and thousand separators to conform to the target language's standards. Ensure accurate display of numeric values like prices and quantities. 👉 Sizes: Clothing and product sizes vary across different regions and countries. By localizing sizes, you ensure that customers in the target market can easily understand and select the appropriate size, increasing their satisfaction and minimizing returns. 👉 Images and Graphics: Evaluate the need for localizing images and graphics based on cultural relevance and sensitivity. Adapt visuals to resonate with the target audience and their cultural preferences. 👉 Cultural Considerations: Pay attention to cultural nuances, idioms, and local preferences. Adapting the tone, imagery, and messaging to resonate with the target audience enhances engagement and builds trust. Website localization is a complex process. Working with professional translators or localization experts ensures the accuracy and quality of your localized content! 💡Can you think of other elements to always keep in mind when it comes to website localization? Let me know in the comments! 👇 --------------- I'm a Translator, Localizer and Subtitler from English and French into Italian. Reach out at melissa.borgnino@gmail.com and let's bring your project into the Italian market together! 💪 #Localization #WebsiteTranslation #LITranslators #Translation

"🌍 Crafting Inclusive UX Writing for a Global Audience Designing for a global audience transcends mere translation. It requires a deep understanding of cultural nuances, linguistic structures, and user expectations. Here's how UX writers and content designers can create experiences that resonate across diverse markets: 🧭 Key Concepts Translation: Converting text from one language to another. Localization: Adapting content to align with cultural, regional, and linguistic nuances. Internationalization: Designing content and systems to support multiple languages and regions from the outset. 📊 Global User Insights English users constitute approximately 26% of internet users. Top languages online include Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, and Portuguese. User preference leans towards content in their native language. Text length variations: French texts can be 20% longer, while Japanese texts may be 30–60% shorter than their English counterparts. ✅ Best Practices for UX Writers Design for Expansion: Allocate at least 30% additional space to accommodate text expansion in translations. Pseudolocalization: Use this technique to test how your UI handles different languages and scripts. Flexible UI: Ensure your design can handle varying text lengths, directions (LTR and RTL), and character sets. Cultural Sensitivity: Be mindful of colors, symbols, and imagery that may have different connotations across cultures. Inclusive Language: Use gender-neutral terms and avoid idioms or colloquialisms that may not translate well. 🚫 Common Pitfalls to Avoid Flags for Language Selection: Flags represent countries, not languages. Use language names instead. Assuming Name Structures: Not all cultures use first and last names. Opt for a single ""Full Name"" field when possible. Overlooking Context: Provide translators with context to ensure accurate and meaningful translations. 🔍 Deep Dive into Cultural Nuances Arabic Interfaces: Often require increased line spacing for readability. Chinese Users: Prefer dense information layouts. German Audiences: Expect detailed and comprehensive information to establish trust." Read also Designing Cross-Cultural and Multi-Lingual UX ( https://lnkd.in/d-7WFrMF) by Vitaly Friedman