Localization: Translating labels in TYPO3
In TYPO3, two types of texts require translation:
- Labels and messages
- Short texts shown in the frontend or backend,
usually stored in XLIFF format in the file system,
for example,
locallang..xlf - Content
- Editorial content, such as localized database records and language-specific files (for example, PDF versions).
This section covers the first type: labels and messages. For translating editorial content, see the Localized content chapter in the Frontend Localization Guide.
TYPO3 uses translatable strings for backend labels, so that the backend is fully localizable. All text uses UTF-8 encoding.
The default language is American English (en_US). The TYPO3 Core ships with English labels only, and extensions should do the same.
All label files use the XLIFF format and are typically stored in
Resources/. (Older extensions may still use legacy
paths.)
This chapter explains the XLIFF format specific to TYPO3 and tools for managing translations.