Text directionality

Scripts that are written horizontally usually have one type of directionality:

• Left-to-right (LTR), which is prevalent in Western countries. Many global languages like English, Spanish, French, Hindi or Russian are written left-to-right.
• Right-to-left (RTL), which is the standard in languages like Arabic, Hebrew, Urdu or Persian. In the past, tongues like Japanese, Chinese, Old Norse or Egyptian hieroglyphs were also written right-to-left.

Bidirectional scripts can be read in both directions and are usually common in languages where several alphabets are used, like Arabic or Hebrew, which combine the use of RTL scripts with other elements typical of LTR scripts, like Latin characters and numbers. The antique writing style known as Boustrophedon, where alternate lines of writing are reversed like a mirror, is bidirectional as well.

Some traditional scripts, like Korean, Vietnamese,or Japanese, can also be written vertically, either from top-to-bottom and from bottom-to-top.

In localization, text directionality is a locale property that needs to be considered. Challenges can arise when multilingual translation tools are not set to adapt to the different conventions. TMS like Localazy ensure that LTR, RTL and bidirectional scripts can be read and adapted appropriately during the process.