localiser

IPA/lˈəʊkəlˌaɪzə/
IPA/lˈoʊkəlˌaɪzɚ/

localiser — noun

1. a radio signal sent from the end of an airport runway that pilots follow to keep

1.nounC1
Definition

a radio signal sent from the end of an airport runway that pilots follow to keep their plane lined up with the centre of the runway as they come in to land.

Example

The pilot tuned the cockpit radio to pick up the localiser before starting the approach.

collocation: pick up the localiser

Heavy snow at Heathrow had not damaged the localiser, so flights were still landing safely.

subject pattern: localiser as system noun

Common collocations
  • pick up the localiser
  • follow the localiser
  • lose the localiser
  • test the localiser
Synonyms
  • ILS beam

    broader system that includes the localiser plus a vertical glideslope

  • course beam

    older, less technical term

Grammar Patterns

the localiser at [airport]

follow the localiser

Usage Note

Subject is usually an airport or aircraft system; common with verbs of capture (pick up, follow, lose) rather than verbs of communication. Distinguish from sense 2 (a person who adapts products) by context — aviation contexts almost always mean this sense.

Common Mistakes

The pilot spoke to the localiser.
The pilot followed the localiser.
a localiser is a radio beam, not a person who talks back.

2. someone whose job is to adapt a product, usually software or a game, so that it

2.nounC1
Definition

someone whose job is to adapt a product, usually software or a game, so that it suits the language, culture, and rules of a specific country.

Example

James works as a localiser for a Japanese game studio in Kyoto.

collocation: work as a localiser

The team hired three localisers to prepare the app for launch in Brazil, Egypt, and Vietnam.

pattern: hire [number] localisers for [region]

Common collocations
  • work as a localiser
  • hire a localiser
  • a team of localisers
  • game localiser
  • software localiser
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

a localiser for [language/region]

work as a localiser

Usage Note

Subject is human; often appears in job titles and tech-industry contexts. Distinguish from sense 1 (the airport radio beam) by context — software, games, and websites point to this sense. A localiser does more than a translator: they also adapt graphics, currency, and cultural references.

Common Mistakes

The localiser translated the manual word by word.
The translator translated the manual word by word.
a localiser also adapts cultural details, not just words.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

A translator converts written text from one language into another, staying close to the original meaning and structure. A localiser does the translation work too, but also reshapes the product around the new audience — changing images, money, dates, jokes, and even legal warnings so the result feels native rather than imported. An interpreter, by contrast, works with spoken language in real time, in courts, hospitals, or business meetings, and produces no written output. So if you give a video game to a translator you get the words in another language; give it to a localiser and you get a game that feels as if it were made in that country; give it to an interpreter and you simply hear the dialogue spoken aloud as you watch.

translator ↗localiser ↗interpreter ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • game localiser
  • software localiser
  • ILS localiser

Phrases

  • a team of localisers
  • follow the localiser

Prepositions

  • for [language/region]
  • at [airport]

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Formed in English from the verb 'localise' (itself from Latin 'localis', meaning 'of a place') plus the agent ending '-er'. The aviation sense appeared in the 1930s with the rise of instrument landing systems, while the software-industry sense grew in the 1990s as computer products spread to non-English-speaking markets. British English keeps the '-iser' spelling; American English usually writes 'localizer'.