Janet Chang’s Blog about Design

Most commonly asked localization question

People are often curious how localization deal with Asian languages that’s traditionally written and read vertically from right to left. It’s a valid question and not often one can get a solid answer. I was involved in several localization projects, the most recent one in Japanese. Being a native Chinese speaker, the discussion and examples here will be Chinese-specific.

Historically, the right to left convention

Traditional Chinese manuscripts and letters are written right to left. The characters can be written both vertically and horizontally. This is the more traditional writing style. Readers associate this writing style with formality, tradition, and authority.

Then comes the left to right convention
Influenced by Western languages, left to right writing is now widely accepted. The layout is more flexible especially when parts of the content are displayed in Western languages. This layout is perceived as more modern or informal.

When I was researching for this topic, I learned that China has abandoned the right to left style. However, Taiwan still utilizes both writing styles. It is possible to see a page layout with both horizontal and vertical writing coexist. It does cause confusion and interrupt readers’ visual flow. In addition to making sense out of the content, one has to pause and figuring out the layout styles as well.

Recommendations
For general purposes, Western-influenced left to right convention is equally effective and more flexible than the traditional right to left. As a bonus, the modern, friendly associated left to right style establishes proper tone for technology related content.

The wiki “Horizontal and vertical writing in East Asian scripts” provides a broader view of this subject matter.