L10n – What is it? | Locize
L10n is the common abbreviation for localization: the process of adapting a product or service to the language, culture, and conventions of a specific target market. The "10" stands for the ten letters between the "l" and the "n" in "localization". L10n covers translation plus formats (dates, numbers, currencies), cultural adaptation, layout direction, and legal requirements, and it builds on internationalization (i18n), the engineering work that makes a product adaptable in the first place.
L10n – What You Need to Know
Maybe you've come across the terms L10n and i18n and are wondering what they mean.
These abbreviations stand for Localization (L10n) and Internationalization (i18n) in the context of software development.
They are crucial if you plan to offer your products or services in multiple countries, as they ensure that your offerings are linguistically and culturally adapted to the respective markets.
They help you tailor your offerings to the cultural and linguistic requirements of your target markets, enabling you to successfully enter new markets.
What is L10n?
L10n is short for "Localization," where the "L" stands for the first and the "n" for the last letter of the English word "Localization," while the number "10" represents the number of letters between the two.
Localization refers to adapting a product or service to meet the cultural, linguistic, and other local requirements of a specific market or region.
It’s not just about translating text but comprehensively adjusting to cultural norms, local laws, currency units, date and time formats, measurement units, and many other aspects to make your offerings accessible and relevant to your target audience.
L10n, and thus localization, is an essential part of globalization as it enables you and your company to reach an international audience by maximizing the user experience.
An Example
With Localization L10n, you don’t just translate all the content of your website for the UK market, but you also adjust graphics, colors, and symbols that may have different meanings in the UK than in other countries.
Moreover, you add legal notices and privacy policies that comply with British laws.
Another critical aspect of L10n is cultural sensitivity. This means designing your content to respect and reflect the values, beliefs, and practices of your target audience.
For example, certain images or symbols considered polite in one culture might be viewed as rude or offensive in another. It may also be necessary to change or remove specific topics or content that are acceptable in one culture but not in another.
Advantages of L10n
Now that you know what L10n is, let's briefly discuss the advantages of localization before we move on to i18n.
Your benefits with L10n:
- You can enter new markets and expand the reach of your offerings.
- You ensure a better user experience and increase customer satisfaction.
- You gain a competitive edge as localized sites appear more professional and appealing to target audiences.
- Your market perception becomes more positive as you cater to the needs and preferences of your international customers.
- You build a foundation for better market positioning, increasing sales and revenue.
- You ensure compliance with all local legal and regulatory requirements, reducing the risk of penalties.
What Is Needed for L10n?
To successfully implement L10n, you'll first need a professional translator and linguist who not only perfectly understands the target market’s language but also has an understanding of cultural nuances and local customs.
Just as important
Use appropriate tools and technologies that support the localization process. These include Translation Management Systems that store and reuse already translated texts and software that manages the entire terminology, ensuring consistent use of technical terms.
Also necessary is a structured, internationalized codebase to adapt to different languages and regions without requiring extensive technical changes.
To fully leverage the benefits of L10n, multiple departments need to collaborate, including developers, designers, product managers, and marketing experts. This ensures that all aspects of the product – from the user interface to technical functionality to marketing messages – are fully aligned with the needs of your target market.
Finally, don’t forget to establish quality assurance measures to ensure a local, accessible experience.
How teams run L10n today
In practice, modern l10n runs on a translation management system (TMS), sometimes called a localization platform or translation automation platform. Developers keep writing code with translation keys; new and changed strings flow into the platform automatically; machine and AI translation produce the first draft; translators and reviewers work in an editor with translation memory, a glossary, and in-context preview; and the finished translations are delivered over a CDN so updates go live without redeploying the application. Run continuously alongside development, this is called continuous localization, and it replaces the old pattern of batch handoffs and manual file exchange.
What is the Difference Between i18n and L10n?
i18n and L10n are two related but different concepts in adapting products and services for various markets. i18n stands for "Internationalization" (from the English "Internationalization"), with the "i" and "n" representing the first and last letters of the word, and the number "18" indicating the number of letters between them.
Internationalization refers to designing a product or service so that it can easily be adapted for different languages and regions without requiring significant code changes.
This includes separating linguistic content from the program code, supporting multiple writing systems, and adapting functions to accommodate different cultural, legal, and technical requirements.
L10n, or "Localization," as previously defined, refers to the actual adaptation of the product or service to the specific linguistic, cultural, and legal requirements of a particular market.
While internationalization creates the framework for localization to take place, localization focuses on the actual implementation of these adjustments for a specific market.
Simply put: Internationalization is the preparation, and localization is the execution.
Frequently Asked Questions
L10n is the abbreviation for "localization": the word starts with an l, ends with an n, and has 10 letters in between. It follows the same numeronym convention as i18n (internationalization) and g11n (globalization).
i18n (internationalization) is the engineering preparation: designing software so it can support any language and region without code changes. L10n (localization) is the execution: actually adapting the product for a specific market, including translation, formats, cultural adaptation, and legal requirements. Internationalization comes first; localization builds on it per target market.
No. Translation converts text from one language to another and is one part of l10n. Localization additionally adapts date, time, and number formats, currencies, images, colors, symbols, layout direction, and legal content so the product feels native in the target market rather than merely translated.
The core tool is a translation management system (TMS), also called a localization platform: it stores translations centrally, provides translation memory and a glossary for consistency, supports in-context translation and review workflows, and in modern setups delivers translations over a CDN. Teams combine it with an i18n library in the code (such as i18next for JavaScript) and, increasingly, machine and AI translation with human review, run as a continuous localization workflow.
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