Locale
A locale is a combination of a language code and a region code that together define how content should be formatted and written for a specific audience. For example, en-US means English as used in the United States, while en-GB means English as used in Great Britain.
Locales affect far more than just translation: date formats (MM/DD/YYYY in en-US vs DD/MM/YYYY in en-GB), number formats (1,000.00 in en-US vs 1.000,00 in de-DE), currency symbols, paper sizes, address formats, and time conventions (12-hour vs 24-hour) all vary by locale. This is why localization requires more than just translation — a fully localized product adapts all these conventions.
Locale codes follow the IETF BCP 47 standard. The primary language tag comes first (e.g. 'fr'), followed by an optional region subtag (e.g. 'CA' for Canada), giving 'fr-CA'. Some locales also include script subtags, like 'sr-Latn-RS' for Serbian in Latin script in Serbia.
Key concepts
- Locale = language code + region code (e.g. en-US, fr-FR, zh-CN)
- Affects date, number, currency, and address formats — not just text translation
- Locale codes follow the IETF BCP 47 standard
How Vernacia uses this
Use the free Locale Format Preview tool at /tools/locale-preview to see how dates, numbers, and currency render in any locale. Vernacia translates document text; locale-specific formatting adjustments (like date formats in spreadsheets) may need manual review.
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