Localization n. (1792): 1: to make local; to orient locally: 2: to assign to or keep within a definite locality. Also known as "L10N," localization is the process of customizing all user elements of a software application and accompanying documentation to conform to the requirements of a given locale. The term locale refers to the languages, cultural conventions, and preferences of a specific human group or population. Localized software exhibits functionality consistent with all locale-specific conditions and variables such as native language, dialects, and grammatical rules; symbols, icons, and sounds; date, time, numeric, and currency formats; data sorting and collating sequences; text display and manipulation; and sentence word-order, directionality, and punctuation. Localization also recognizes and incorporates the legal and competitive preferences of a given locale. Localization may include translation of locale-dependent text, graphics, and data contained in the software's user interface, online help, and documentation.
Internationalization n. (1864): to make international; also: to place under international control. Also known as "I18N," internationalization is the process of engineering locale-neutral software. The core functionality of internationalized software is designed to operate independently of language and locale-specific conditions. An internationalized program will operate worldwide in any locale and language without modification to core functionality because all locale-specific conditions are removed from source code and relocated to separate files. The set of desired language-locale conditions can then be selected by the user and dynamically retrieved at run time from the appropriate modules and propagated throughout the program.
Globalization n. (1944): to make global; esp: to make worldwide in scope or application. Also known as "G11N," globalization describes the business management process and infrastructure necessary to support the development, marketing, and distribution of a company's goods and services worldwide. Globalization seeks to achieve the goal of maximum resource utilization and return on investment. With respect to software, globalization employs the processes of internationalization and localization as a business strategy to deliver locale-specific applications to the greatest number of international users, without limitation of cultural, political, and geographical boundaries.
--D.W.