Localization
Localization also known as L10N can be viewed as a process of targeting and adapting particular software and its components as well as the documentation to a specific locale. For example, if an antivirus is in English, it might show a good sales figure in the sales records in the United States than in a country like China where people are comfortable using software written in Chinese (Simplified or Traditional). So, to ensure a good sales figure in China too, the company needs to translate the software text and its documentation to suit to that particular Chinese market.

However, the official definition of localization as defined by the Localisation Industry Standards Association (LISA) is as follows:

“Localization involves taking a product and making it linguistically and culturally appropriate to the target locale (country/region and language) where it will be used and sold.”

Internationalization
Internationalization also known as “i18n” can be viewed as the process of adapting an application for a specific region or language by adding locale-specific components and translating the text. It is mainly concerned with the technical aspect of the software or any product that has to be localized. For example, if Microsoft decides to localize software, let’s say Windows in Japanese; internationalization is concerned with ensuring that the Windows interface is Japanese.

The official definition of Internationalization as defined by the LISA is 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.”

The best example of a localized as well as an internationalized product can be Microsoft Windows.

Globalization
Globalization also termed as “g11n” is the process of integrating localization throughout a company, after proper internationalization and product design, as well as marketing, sales and support in the world market. The term is used in a number of ways. For example, it has often been used in context of sales and marketing in foreign markets to pursue business opportunities. However, in the software field, the term is often used in context of Web sites as they have a global presence. They are often not concerned with the local markets but affect the global markets as a whole. So, the term “Website globalization” is quite common. The globalized Web sites often have various localized versions to cater to non-english speaking customers by internationalizing the Web site’s backend software, designing a multilingual architecture and localizing the site’s static or dynamic content .

The official definition of Internationalization as defined by the LISA is 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.”

Some of the best examples of globalized Web sites can be:

http://www.google.com/
http://www.ca.com/
http://www.hp.com/

Translation
The emergence of localization, internationalization and globalization has led to the development of an important field known as translation or “t9n” which is ought to be an essential part as all the text in the software or on the Web site has to be translated in different languages. So, to automate the translation and check the quality, various translation tools like SDL Trados have been developed. This has resulted in faster delivery of localized products saving costs due to the translation memories and reducing the time required for the translation.