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When adapting content for global audiences, both translation and localization play critical roles, but they serve different purposes.
Many people often confuse “Translation and Localization”, thinking they mean the same thing. While they do overlap, they serve different roles in adapting content for global markets. Translation primarily focuses on converting text accurately between languages, ensuring the original message is preserved. Localization, on the other hand, adapts the entire user experience, tailoring tone, visuals, and cultural elements to fit the target audience. In short, translation is about language accuracy, while localization ensures a culturally relevant experience and few other important bits explained below.
Key Differences
- Translation “ensures the accurate conversion of language”
- Localization “adapts the entire user experience, making content feel native to the target audience.”
In practice, localization often includes translation, but it goes further by adjusting content to make it resonate with local audience.
Translation
Translation is about converting text from one language to another while preserving its original meaning. The focus is on accuracy and clarity.
Key Aspects of Translation:
Legal Texts: Includes terms, conditions, privacy policies, and compliance documents.
Textual Content: Includes manuals, guides, contracts, websites, UI text, software strings, subtitles, and marketing materials.
Email Templates: Covers customer support emails, newsletters, and notifications.
SEO Translation: Adjusting keywords for web content to match local search behavior.
Voice and Audio Translations: Transcription and translation of voice-over scripts or audio content.
Localization
Localization goes beyond translation, adapting content to the cultural, technical, and contextual needs of specific markets or purpose. It considers tone, idioms, visuals, legal requirements, user preferences or characters length and distribution
Key Aspects of Localization:
Market-Specific Adjustments: Modifying products, services, payment methods, keywords for SEO/ASO, social media strategies, and customer support to fit local expectations.
Cultural Adaptation: Adjusting tone, idioms, product names, and taglines to align with local customs.
Formats and Standards: Adapting date formats, currency, pricing, and units of measurement to local conventions.
Compliance Adjustments: Ensuring adherence to local laws and regulations, like GDPR or CCPA.
Graphics and Multimedia: Changing images, icons, and symbols to fit cultural norms and avoid misunderstandings.
Technical Adaptation: Adjusting software, UI/UX, and design to support different languages and layout styles.