Localization

Purpose

KDE address a world wide audience and is therefore fully localized. Localization means to adopt language, text layout, numerals as well as cultural aspects and regulatory compliance.

Guidelines

• Provide bidirectional mode dependent to language (left-to-right vs. right-to-left).

• Make sure your GUI displays correctly in languages written from right-to-left

• Allow translation with multiple plural forms.

• Design GUI with enough room for long captions.

• Respect system-wide locale settings (unit systems, date and time format, currencies etc.).

• Take cultural comprehension of icons (Red Cross vs. Red Crescent) into account.

• Don’t localize standard short-cuts.

• Be aware of intercultural (mis-)comprehension of acronyms.