A Brief History of Localization
In the age of intelligence and limitless access, localization is the power that unites all languages under one roof and makes the information flow globally active. The art of navigating through language obstacles and cultural differences has long been the core concept behind localization, and with the beginning of the 21st century, technology and localization has become inseparable. Yet it was only in the 1980s that localization came into our lives, evolving in parallel with computers — another invention of the century that redefined the future of humanity.
Naturally, the first product that was ever localized was computers. When desktop computers were introduced in the 1980s, intelligence became the center of civilization. By the end of the decade, they were no longer luxury gadgets for very specific tasks but personal items. Computer companies were expanding out of the United States into Europe and Asia, and as they opened up to the world, they realized that computer hardware and software had to be adapted to the local standards of many countries. Interfaces, word processors, hardware such as keyboards and other functional elements had to be designed according to language-specific requirements.
Thus and so, localization came into our lives. In 1985, all computer keyboards sold in Spain were decreed to have the ñ key. In the following years, software giants like Microsoft and Oracle established their own localization teams. The need for localization brought up a new issue: internationalization. During the localization of computer hardware and software, companies were facing many obstacles that resulted from the interfaces and design being built around English. In other words, the products were not suitable for localization to begin with. As a result, products began to be designed in a way that enabled localization.
Throughout the 1990s, many translation companies reestablished themselves as localization service providers. Localization became even more intertwined with technology, as software developers introduced tools that changed the course of translation and localization such as TM databases and globalization management systems (GMS). With these advancements, localization became a professionalized industry on its own.
Today, localization is no longer restricted to software and computers, but an essential step in many fields from digital marketing to e-commerce and multimedia. What was first introduced as the “seemingly incompatible marriage of language and technology” is now considered as a game changer by global companies who wish to have a say in the global marketplace. Localization stands where local meets global, and marks the beginning of the global age.
