need help with deciding languages to support

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Created Nov ’15

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I am localizing my app. I have learnt the entire process. I got some 571 words in my app and whether I use google translator kit or some other service, localization isn't inexpensive!

My problem is I am having a hard time finding statistics which would tell me the most important languages to support. Can someone tell me if there are any official Apple statistics on this? Like percentage revenue distribution based on countries?

For example, I know that apart from the base english... chinese, arabic and european languages are a must for wider acceptance of the app. But then which european languages?

So basically I need some initial perspective on which languages are a must and which are good to go with.

Maybe if someone can tell me a credible source to rely on in making such decisions.

Thanks.

Neerav

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Answer 1

KMT OP

Nov ’15

We can support the obvious, simply by numbers...

Most Widely Spoken Languages in the World

Language ~ Approx. number of speakers

1. Chinese 1,197,000,000

2. Spanish 414,000,000

3. English 335,000,000

4. Hindi 260,000,000

...but for my apps, I'm doing Chinese (both T & S) and the 'gateway' languages English, Spanish and French, at a minimum.

A “gateway language” is a language of wider communication through which second-language speakers of that language can gain access to content and translate it into their own language. For devs, this means not having to go nuts supporting tons of languages, otherwise.

I then track sales and add others based on activity in various locales and feedback/requests from users.

As for Apple's stats, I've only seen hardware sales, and we all know how many languages they support. Stats for app sales would seem to vary depending on the type of app being tracked as well - what categories do you publish in now?

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