A Practical Guide to Localization (Language International World Directory)

I read the first edition of Bert Esselink's excellent book when I was still a novice to the localization market in 2004. Later, while working for a localization company I bought a copy of this new edition for the company. Now I have my own to read at my leisure. The author has expanded into internationalization and globalization, and covers not just software but web sites and documentation in general. This is an excellent tool for anyone involved in international marketing, easy to read and to find information. The definitive reference work.

I bought this book as on overall introduction on localization, for I'm about to do an internship for a localization agency.
It really covers anything you should know if you are new to localization, both for Windows OS and Mac OS, and goes deep into detail for people who are already inside the business.

A must have.

This book is invaluable to any newcomer in the localization industry, whether you aspire to become a wiz engineer preparing RC-files for translation left and right, or a project manager with the need to understand every step of a project's planning process and actual execution. Industry standard methods, techniques and tools are discussed. Tips and warnings are conveyed. Hard to beat this book as a general yet comprehensive introduction. Any drawbacks? All I can think of is the fact that there is no separate chapter devoted to web site globalization - well, Bert, maybe you could add another 100 pages to the next edition to address this issue? I'll be the first in line...

If you are a translator localizing software under Windows, this book is for you! Buy it first before other books you might get later. However, Esselink views the computing world as if only Windows is worth discussing. A few pages are devoted to the Mac crowd and the only other OS mentioned at all was SunOS, and only in passing. Given Windows' large market share in the desktop market, it deserves substantial coverage. However, it is only one competitor among many in the server and embedded systems markets. With the growth in the markets for wireless access (web enabled cellphones) and PDAs, ignoring other OSs is a serious oversight.

Esselink discusses the tools that will be used in the Windows environment and how to use them effectively. He deserves a great deal of praise for his thoroughness in that respect. I want to reiterate, if you are a translator localizing software under Windows, buy this book!

Programmers will find that the main value Esselink provides is a discussion of deliverables. He stresses some points that are independent of the tools used, such as glossaries and hints to guide the translators. For a programmer, this isn't the first book you should buy on internationalization and localization, but if you are the expert on it in your organization or you are a project manager responsible for scheduling it, buy this book! It won't show you how to write internationalized code. It will tell you what needs internationalization, what to deliver to your translators and when to deliver it.

This is a good book. For the audiences it addresses, it deserves 5 stars. Other audiences simply need to be aware that it may not be the book for them.

This is an excellent and practical guide. I found all the chapters very useful. The guide is an excellent resource for translation project managers, localization specialists or anyone else that wants to learn more about the localization process. Easy to read and with information that is current and USEFUL (unlike other authors which go into long and theoretical dissertations about Localization). A much better and updated guide than "Software Internationalization and Localization" by Emmanuel Uren.