Pseudo-localization
Pseudo-localization is a software testing method used to verify that a user interface is ready for localization. It replaces source text with dummy characters (often accented or expanded) to test how the UI handles special characters, text expansion, and font compatibility before real translation begins.
Testing Before You Pay for Translation
German text is often 30% longer than English. If your "Save" button breaks when it becomes "Speichern," you'll discover this AFTER paying for translation—expensive! Pseudo-localization simulates these issues by transforming "Account Settings" into "[!!! Àççôûñţ Šéţţîñĝš !!!]" and testing if buttons overflow, layouts break, or special characters render as ���. It's quality assurance insurance: fix all UI bugs before translation, not after. Most professional development teams run pseudo-localization during QA to ensure i18n implementation is solid.
Real Translation vs. Pseudo-localization
Impacto en el mundo real
Dev team translates app to German without testing
Button labels overflow, crash mobile UI
Pay $15K for translation + $8K to fix bugs
Run pseudo-localization in QA, find 47 UI bugs
Fix all bugs before translation
Translation works perfectly, zero post-launch fixes