Cultural adaptation is a critical aspect of DITA localization. When localizing content for different regions and cultures, several considerations should be made to ensure that the content is not only linguistically accurate but also culturally appropriate. This ensures that your content resonates with the target audience and avoids cultural insensitivities.

Understanding Local Norms

Before embarking on the localization process, it’s essential to understand the cultural norms, customs, and practices of the target audience. This includes awareness of any cultural taboos or sensitivities that might exist. For example, colors, symbols, or images that are innocuous in one culture may carry negative connotations in another. This understanding should guide decisions on visual elements, tone, and style of communication.

Cultural Localization in DITA

In DITA XML, cultural adaptation often involves replacing or modifying content to better align with the cultural preferences of the target audience. For instance, you might need to adjust examples, images, or scenarios to be more relatable and culturally relevant. You can use DITA elements like <ph> to define placeholders for culture-specific content, which can then be replaced during the localization process.

Example:

Here’s an example of using <ph> in DITA for cultural adaptation:

<ph id="greeting">Hello, <ph keyref="target-language-code" /> World!</ph>

In this DITA snippet, <ph> is used to insert the target language-specific greeting. During localization, the placeholder <ph keyref=”target-language-code” /> would be replaced with the appropriate language-specific greeting, ensuring cultural adaptation.