Pseudolocalization

Use Pseudolocalization if you don't have real translations yet but you need some kind of demo data.

Ilya Krukowski avatar
Written by Ilya Krukowski
Updated over a week ago

Pseudolocalization, or pseudo-localization, is a method of software testing focused on evaluating the internationalization features of software. It differs from localization in that it doesn't translate text into a foreign language. Instead, it modifies the application's textual elements by replacing them with an altered version of the original language.

This technique allows developers to populate languages with placeholder content in preparation for the actual translation work by translators.

For instance, after pseudolocalization, the term "Account Settings" might appear as [!!! Àççôûñţ Šéţţîñĝš !!!].​

Applying pseudolocalization

To get started, proceed to Lokalise and open your project. Then, choose the keys that you want to apply pseudolocalization to by ticking the checkboxes next to their names:

In the bulk actions menu choose the Pseudolocalize action:

Pseudolocalization will be performed using the base language values therefore it cannot be applied to the base language itself. Moreover, it will be applied only to the currently displayed languages. To hide or reveal a language, tick or untick checkboxes in the languages dropdown:

Before applying the bulk action, you can adjust two settings:

  • Increase length, % — enter a number if you'd like to increase the length of the pseudolocalizes string relative to the original text. This is very useful when pseudolocalizing into languages that are known to be longer than the source language (i.e. German is generally around 30% longer than English).

  • Add brackets — it is recommended that brackets are added to psuedolocalized strings so they are easier to spot in the app/on the website. This option will enclose the resulting string in brackets with exclamation points [!!!  !!!].

Once you are ready, click Proceed.

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