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Checklist: Left-to-Right (LTR) Languages

Left-to-Right (LTR) Languages are written and read from left to right, and localization for billions of these native speakers is usual default for software localization.

Localization for LTR languages is often taken as a given, as English has for far too long been considered the default language for digital content. However, it is crucial to plan for RTL (right-to-left) localization in the early stages of product design and kept in mind that it involves more than just text translation. Spatial design changes are necessary when localizing for RTL languages (including navigation, visuals, general layout, numerics, etc).

Enabling Unicode Bidi (or bidirectional script support) should be on your to-do list at the very beginning of the product development process.

Bidi Unicode support

Bidirectional script support means that both writing scripts with different directions (left-to-right and right-to-left) are supported. Unicode’s bidirectional (or Bidi) support includes not just letters, but also numbers, formatting characters, special characters, paragraph and heading levels.

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Script or writing systems of languages can have a different direction of writing, reading and interpreting. While languages such as English, German and Spanish have the left-to-right direction, others are written and read from right to left or in different variants of vertical writing.

Although there are just 12 languages with RTL writing scripts, LTR languages boast with larger numbers.

Which are Right-to-Left Languages?

The left-to-right languages are available in the list below.

ISO 639-2 Code Language ISO 639-2 Code Language
aaAfarlijLigurian
abAbkhazianlmoLombard
afAfrikaanslnLingala
akAkanloLaotian
alsAlemanniclzzLaz
amAmharicltLithuanian
anAragoneselvLatvian
angAngalmap-bmsBanyumasan
angAnglo-Saxon / Old EnglishmgMalagasy
asAssamesemanMandarin
astAsturianmhMarshallese
avAvarmiMaori
awaAwadhiminMinangkabau
ayAymaramkMacedonian
azAzerbaijanimlMalayalam
baBashkirmnMongolian
barBavarianmoMoldovan
bat-smgSamogitianmrMarathi
bclBikolmsMalay
beBelarusianmtMaltese
be-x-oldBelarusian (Taraškievica)musCreek / Muskogee
bgBulgarianmwlMirandese
bhBiharimyBurmese
biBislamanaNauruan
bmBambaranahNahuatl
bnBengalinapNeapolitan
boTibetanndNorth Ndebele
bpyBishnupriya ManipurindsLow German / Low Saxon
brBretonnds-nlDutch Low Saxon
bsBosnianneNepali
bugBuginesenewNewar
bxrBuriat (Russia)ngNdonga
caCatalannlDutch
cdoMin Dong ChinesennNorwegian Nynorsk
ceChechennoNorwegian
cebCebuanonrSouth Ndebele
chChamorronsoNorthern Sotho
choChoctawnrmNorman
chrCherokeenvNavajo
chyCheyennenyChichewa
coCorsicanocOccitan
crCreeojOjibwa
csCzechomOromo
csbKashubianorOriya
cuOld Church Slavonic / Old BulgarianosOssetian / Ossetic
cvChuvashpaPanjabi / Punjabi
cyWelshpagPangasinan
daDanishpamKapampangan
deGermanpapPapiamentu
diqDimlipdcPennsylvania German
dsbLower SorbianpiPali
dzDzongkhapihNorfolk
eeEweplPolish
elGreekpmsPiedmontese
enEnglishptPortuguese
eoEsperantoquQuechua
esSpanishrmRaeto Romance
etEstonianrmyRomani
euBasquernKirundi
extExtremaduranroRomanian
ffPeulroa-rupAromanian
fiFinnishruRussian
fiu-vroVõrorwRwandi
fjFijiansaSanskrit
foFaroesescSardinian
frFrenchscnSicilian
frpArpitan / Franco-ProvençalscoScots
furFriuliansdSindhi
fyWest FrisianseNorthern Sami
gaIrishsgSango
ganGan ChineseshSerbo-Croatian
gbmGarhwalisiSinhalese
gdScottish GaelicsimpleSimple English
gilGilberteseskSlovak
glGalicianslSlovenian
gnGuaranismSamoan
gotGothicsnShona
guGujaratisoSomalia
gvManxsqAlbanian
hakHakka ChinesesrSerbian
hawHawaiianssSwati
hiHindistSouthern Sotho
hoHiri MotusuSundanese
hrCroatiansvSwedish
htHaitianswSwahili
huHungariantaTamil
hyArmenianteTelugu
hzHererotetTetum
iaInterlinguatgTajik
idIndonesianthThai
ieInterlinguetiTigrinya
igIgbotkTurkmen
iiSichuan YitlTagalog
ikInupiaktlhKlingon
iloIlokanotnTswana
inhIngushtoTonga
ioIdotpiTok Pisin
isIcelandictrTurkish
itItaliantsTsonga
iuInuktitutttTatar
jaJapanesetumTumbuka
jboLojbantwTwi
jvJavanesetyTahitian
kaGeorgianudmUdmurt
kgKongougUyghur
kiKikuyuukUkrainian
kjKuanyamauzUzbek
kkKazakhveVenda
klGreenlandicviVietnamese
kmCambodianvecVenetian
knKannadavlsWest Flemish
koKoreanvoVolapük
krKanuriwaWalloon
kshRipuarianwarWaray / Samar-Leyte Visayan
kvKomiwoWolof
kwCornishxalKalmyk
kyKirghizxhXhosa
laLatinxmfMegrelian
ladLadino / Judeo-SpanishyoYoruba
lanLangozaZhuang
lbLuxembourgishzhChinese
lgGandazh-classicalClassical Chinese
liLimburgianzh-min-nanMinnan
  zh-yueCantonese
  zuZulu

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