AI in this case means Adaptive Internationalised.
- BL = Browser preferred display Language as set in browser preferences or inherited from the OS.
- BR = Browser Region
- BD = Browser Date
- BT = Browser Time
Adverts: In it's simplest and now quite commonplace form, adverts on websites will adapt according to BR. When browsing, I frequently see adverts localized to the midlands of England which is where I most usually browse. One can also incorporate BL by having different language versions of the advert. When adapting to both BR and BL then one can also culturally style the advert according to BR. Many adverts display for a fixed period of time. These adverts could be seasonal or for the duration of a campaign. Thus the adverts can also be adapted according to BD and maybe in the case of short term special offers, according to BT.
Background: Many websites have a fixed width area for webpage content. The area outside the content is the background I am referring to. This background can be used creatively from an AI perspective. The background could adapt to BR with, for example, iconic images of a region. The background for region China could, for instance, be a collage of images such as the Forbidden City, qípáo and Chinese Lanterns. The background could also adapt to BR + BD by incorporating festivals. A more contemporary approach would be to incorporate images of the latest fashions and memes. One such China Meme is: Dù Fǔ is busy 杜甫很忙. There is much creative scope to make the background interesting, eye catching and ever changing using AI techniques.
Censorship: By this I mean self censorship according to BR. There are regions in which some content could, for example, be politically sensitive. An AI website can be self censoring and restrict or modify content for some regions.
Date Format: Regions can have different formats for dates and so date formatting would be according to BR. The following illustrative examples use the date 10th November 2011, as per the Gregorian Calendar:
Twitter: Using the twitter Search Widget one can embed a live twitter feed in which the tweets displayed will be determined by search keyword(s) twitter.com/about/resources/widgets/widget_search. These keywords can be dynamically changed to produce a live AI twitter feed. Lets take the single search keyword chocolate. When BL is English set the keyword to chocolate. When BL is Japanese set the keyword to チョコレート. In this case the twitter feed is being adapted to BL, hence different tweets will be displayed. Other combinations could, for example, include:
Background: Many websites have a fixed width area for webpage content. The area outside the content is the background I am referring to. This background can be used creatively from an AI perspective. The background could adapt to BR with, for example, iconic images of a region. The background for region China could, for instance, be a collage of images such as the Forbidden City, qípáo and Chinese Lanterns. The background could also adapt to BR + BD by incorporating festivals. A more contemporary approach would be to incorporate images of the latest fashions and memes. One such China Meme is: Dù Fǔ is busy 杜甫很忙. There is much creative scope to make the background interesting, eye catching and ever changing using AI techniques.
Censorship: By this I mean self censorship according to BR. There are regions in which some content could, for example, be politically sensitive. An AI website can be self censoring and restrict or modify content for some regions.
Date Format: Regions can have different formats for dates and so date formatting would be according to BR. The following illustrative examples use the date 10th November 2011, as per the Gregorian Calendar:
- Japan ➠ 2011年11月10日
- Russia ➠ 10.11.2011
- UK ➠ 10/11/2011
- USA ➠ 11/10/11
Festivals: There are many festivals celebrated in different parts of the world. There are a small number of festivals, such as Christmas, which are celebrated in most parts of the world. Most festivals are regional. Festivals would be displayed according to BR and BD. The festival information displayed could be translated according to BL. If BL is not the native language of or predominant language in BR then one could reasonably assume that the person browsing may not be familiar with the festival, hence, one could provide additional information. This additional information could, for example, be an explanation of the history, customs and traditions of the festival
- Chinese Festivals/Holidays: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_festivals
- Japanese Festivals/Holidays: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_festivals
- Korean Festivals/Holidays: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivals_of_Korea & english.visitkorea.or.kr/festival/eng/korea_festival.html
Flags: Display of flags should be according to BR. I agree with flagsarenotlanguages.com/blog/ that flags should not be used to represent languages and so should not be according to BL. If you still want to use flags to represent language then one should consider that many countries can share a common official language. English, for example, is the official language of many countries. Invariably, I see the UK or American flag to represent English. The flag used to represent English could be according to BR eg when BR is Australia then use the Australian flag to represent English.
Forms: There are several considerations when implementing AI web forms. Text labels on forms could be written according to BL. When a form requires user input of a postal address then said address input format should be according to BR. In the UK postal addresses are ordered minor to major and in China, major to minor when written in Chinese en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Address.... Personal names are also a consideration for form design. In the UK, full names start with a Given name ad in China full names start with the Family name www.w3.org/International/questions/qa-personal-names. If a form requests a web address then it should be able to correctly and natively handle IDNs schappo.blogspot.com/2011/08/chinese-companies-5.html
Maps: Embedded Google maps, if set up correctly, will auto adapt according to BL. If your embedded code contains hl=xx where xx is a language tag then simply remove and the map will then auto adapt to BL. Google maps will display menus and information according to BL. When BL is Japanese, Korean or Russian it will display the transliterated/translated place/street names. Most Impressive. By way of example, here are Google maps of Loughborough, ラフバラ, 러프버러 and Лафборо. When BL is Chinese (language tag zh-CN) place names are displayed in Chinese but not street names: 拉夫堡. The map service used could, where appropriate, be regional and hence according to BR. A Japanese map service is goo eg link.maps.goo.ne.jp/map.php?MAP=E139.46.23.658N35.40.31.302&ZM=2 Daum is a Korean map service eg local.daum.net/map/index.jsp?map_type=TYPE_MAP.... Russia's Yandex has a map service eg maps.yandex.ru/?ll=-... In a previous article I described three Chinese map services schappo.blogspot.com/2011/03/baidu-3d-maps.html
Maps: Embedded Google maps, if set up correctly, will auto adapt according to BL. If your embedded code contains hl=xx where xx is a language tag then simply remove and the map will then auto adapt to BL. Google maps will display menus and information according to BL. When BL is Japanese, Korean or Russian it will display the transliterated/translated place/street names. Most Impressive. By way of example, here are Google maps of Loughborough, ラフバラ, 러프버러 and Лафборо. When BL is Chinese (language tag zh-CN) place names are displayed in Chinese but not street names: 拉夫堡. The map service used could, where appropriate, be regional and hence according to BR. A Japanese map service is goo eg link.maps.goo.ne.jp/map.php?MAP=E139.46.23.658N35.40.31.302&ZM=2 Daum is a Korean map service eg local.daum.net/map/index.jsp?map_type=TYPE_MAP.... Russia's Yandex has a map service eg maps.yandex.ru/?ll=-... In a previous article I described three Chinese map services schappo.blogspot.com/2011/03/baidu-3d-maps.html
News: News would be according to BR. There is the consideration of the region scope of news displayed. One could display National or City/Town news. Alternatively one could simultaneously have an International news section, a National news section and a (nearest) City/Town news section. Furthermore one could adapt the news items to BL by having these news items translated according to BL. News items are inherently subject to BD and BT.
Star Ratings: Star ratings are a common method for indicating quality. Usually there are between 0 and 5 stars awarded, with 5 stars being the best. One could replace the star symbol with a BR relevant symbol. In the case of England, the symbol used in place of the star could, for instance, be an image of Big Ben.
Star Ratings: Star ratings are a common method for indicating quality. Usually there are between 0 and 5 stars awarded, with 5 stars being the best. One could replace the star symbol with a BR relevant symbol. In the case of England, the symbol used in place of the star could, for instance, be an image of Big Ben.
- When BL = Japanese & BR = Loughborough, then set keyword to ラフバラ
- When BL = English & BR = Loughborough & BD = 9th November ⇰ 12th November 2011, then set keywords to street fair
- When BL = Japanese & BD = 1st December ⇰ 25th December, then set keyword to クリスマス
URL: A URL path can be rewritten according to BL. Given a URL of the form:
- http://domain-name/learn/webfonts/unicode6.html
- http://domain-name/習う/ウェブフォント/ユニコード6.html
With Unix it is relatively straight forward to set up a set of directory/file names in different languages that all resolve to a master directory/file using the ln command. The syntax for one of the forms of this command is:
- ln [options] target link-name
So, given the directory webfonts, one can create a japanese named symbolic link to it with the ln command:
- ln -s webfonts ウェブフォント
Here is a working URL with the path rewritten in Korean. As I am not administrator for the server I am restricted to what I can rewrite. I have rewritten as much of the path as I can as a standard user.
Given that one registers a set of IDNs in different languages/scripts for the website then one can also rewrite the domain name part of the URL according to BL.
