[RS] writes that " i18n stands for that word with 'i' in front, 'n' at the end, and 18 letters in between - internationalization, adapting software to non-English language environments." Also, he provides an algorithmlet to produce such abbreviations:
 proc n2n s {
   return [string index $s 0][string length [string range $s 1 end-1]][string index $s end]
 }
 % n2n internationalization
 i18n
 % n2n localization
 l10n

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Introduction to i18n: http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/intro-i18n/