Global Markets Localization is very important for international marketing. Marketing depends on appealing to popular tastes, and this means using a language and style that consumers can identify with. When Apple Computer introduced the iMac in 140 countries in 1998, they localized their marketing materials into more than 50 languages and dialects. Obviously, localization is costly. The real question is whether it is cost-effective.
Costs naturally rise as a document is localized into additional languages and dialects.
Human beings speak thousands of languages, including more than 200 languages that each have over 1,000,000 speakers. It is not feasible to translate a document into all of them. There are always going to be some customers who will receive the English version of a document that accompanies a globally marketed product. Complementarity An English text that is used internationally might be only a few short phrases printed on a television carton to highlight the product's new features. On the other hand, it might be a small pamphlet that explains how to use a musical keyboard or a large maintenance manual for a commercial aircraft.