RTL
Right-to-left scripts, commonly abbreviated as RTL, are writing systems where the writing starts from the right of the page and continues to the left.
In the software world, RTL is a locale property that needs to be considered during l10n processes.
Popular languages with RTL text directionality are:
- Arabic
- Hebrew
- Persian (Farsi)
- Urdu
- Kurdish
- Pashto
- Aramaic
- Syriac
Originally, the Chinese, Japanese and Hangul scripts were written right-to-left. Other ancient languages like Old Norse, Old Hungarian, Phoenician and Egyptian hieroglyphs also used RTL directionality.
Most global languages today, like English or Spanish, are LTR – that’s why localizing RTL scripts requires extra care and attention. A solid translation management system that includes the appropiate design tools to accomodate the differences in directionality and formatting is needed for RTL scripts. This includes post-translation through desktop publishing tools (DTP).
