Nativization

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The practice of adjusting external influences to harmonize with local traditions and sensibilities
2. A technique of integrating foreign ideas into familiar social customs in a way that resonates culturally
3. The act of adapting a concept, practice, or element to become indigenous or familiar within a particular region or culture

Etymology: "Nativization" is a plain English formation: the noun "native" with the suffix "-ization" attached. The suffix itself has a long pedigree. It passed into English through Old French "-acion" and Latin "-ātiō", which derive from Latin verbs ending in "-āre", and its partner "-ize" came through Middle French and Late Latin from Ancient Greek "-izein", a verb-making ending. Combined, "-ization" turns a verb or adjective into a noun for the process of making something that way. The base, "native", reaches back to Latin "nativus", meaning "natural" or "belonging by birth", which gave English the sense of something born in a particular place. Attaching "-ization" to it produces a term for the process by which something foreign takes on local character. Its meaning therefore sits close to "localization", though it is usually applied to ideas, art, religion, or cultural practices adapting to a new setting rather than to software or products.