Monday, June 13, 2016

localization - Is it default that an English version is always Title Case, while other languages like Dutch don't use Title Case?



I have a multilingual site, and I wondered about this. It feels really inconsistent to use Title Case for one language, but normal casing for another language.


Despite that, it seems to be common. Take a look, for example, at the iPhone.


iPhone menus in Dutch & English


I used to have Title Case for my Dutch version, but apparently people thought it looked 'weird'. Now I use normal casing for the English version to keep it consistent with the Dutch version, but I guess this is again weird for the English users.


So I wonder: is this a design decision or is this more of a cultural 'fact' with which your localization process should comply?



Answer



I would imagine the typical user will only ever use one language version. The only time they will ever see another is if it installs in a different language and they have to change it.


As such you should stick to the conventions for each language. It doesn't matter if it is inconsistent with others- afterall, if you were doing the Chinese version then it would be using Chinese script and look very different to other language versions.


When designing a multi-lingual system there is potentially trouble in some languages taking a lot of characters to write something others can cover in one or two, and that is definitely something to consider with mobile design where space is limited.


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