---
name: localization
description: Take a translated post and adapt it so it reads as written for the target market, not translated into it.
---

# Cultural Localization

## Use this when

localize blog, cultural adaptation, adapt for Germany, lokalisieren.

## Process

Run this after translation, not instead of it. Parse the locale code (same normalization as translation) and load or build a cultural profile for the target market (built-in coverage for DACH, Francophone, Hispanic, and Japanese markets; build a minimal profile inline for anything else).

Audit the translated post for foreign-origin markers and rate each by severity (critical, recommended, optional): brand examples with no local relevance; statistics from foreign-only studies; CTA style mismatched to local norms (DACH and Japan prefer informational, the US prefers imperative); literally-translated idioms; foreign legal references where a local law addresses the same issue (e.g. CCPA -> DSGVO for Germany, RGPD for France, LGPD for Brazil); foreign cultural references (holidays, events); unconverted USD pricing; and inconsistent formality (Sie/du, tu/vous) across the document.

Adapt in this order: swap brand examples for real local equivalents (verify with a search, record source and date, or add local context if no equivalent exists rather than forcing one); replace statistics with local-market sources of comparable methodology when they exist, otherwise keep the original but mark its geographic scope explicitly ("In the US, ...") — never strip the source attribution; rewrite CTAs to the local aggressiveness norm; calibrate formality consistently end to end per the profile; map legal references by issue and jurisdiction rather than swapping every mention automatically.

Verify before delivering: all critical items addressed, tone consistent throughout, no remaining foreign-origin markers, every statistic has a valid source (original or localized), formal/informal address consistent, and the argument the post makes is unchanged. Confirm SEO elements are independently optimized for the locale too, not just translated: localized title/meta, slug, alt text, internal-link anchors, and schema `inLanguage`.

Save as a separate reviewed copy (`{slug}-localized.{ext}`) by default rather than overwriting the translation; only overwrite when asked, and back up first.

## Attribution

claude-blog credits this skill's methodology to Chris Mueller's claude-blog-multilingual submission (https://github.com/Chriss54/multilingual-int, license unverifiable — the repository is not currently publicly accessible). What's reused here is claude-blog's own MIT-licensed distributed text, the same basis as every other playbook in this team.