Achieving App Multi-Language Support with AI: A Game Changer for Indie Devs

Keywords: AI Dev, Localization, i18n, Indie Dev, LLM

For indie devs, Internationalization (i18n) is often "important but not urgent." We know the global market is huge, but agencies are expensive, and Google Translate is robotic. Enter LLMs (like GPT-4, DeepSeek). They changed the rules.

Context-Aware Translation

The problem with old APIs (Google Translate) is lack of context. Is "Book" a noun or verb? Is "Home" a page or a house? LLMs understand your App's context.

The Prompt

I use prompts like:

"You are a pro UI/UX localization expert. Translate this JSON to Japanese. Note: This is a Fitness App. Tone should be energetic and concise. Keep {placeholders} intact."

Batch Workflow

My current workflow:

1. Extract en.json.
2. Run a Python script calling AI API.
3. Script loops through target languages (DE, FR, JP, KR, ES...).
4. AI returns JSONs, saved directly to folders.

In 5 minutes, my App goes from English-only to 10 languages.

Beyond Translation

AI also handles Cultural Adaptation. For App Store descriptions:

• "For Japan: Be humble, emphasize detail/quality."
• "For US: Emphasize 'Win', 'Efficiency', 'Change'."

This is the superpower AI gives us: One person, acting like a multinational team.