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Ask HN: Do people care about flags when selecting a site language?

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Re: Ask HN: Do people care about flags when selecting a site language?

#21

Post by pbhjpbhj »

rdouble wrote: post #7

I built this: translate.songbirdnest.com You don't see flags on the site, but in the language package you download, there are flags. I can't remember if we used to display the flags on the site - it's been redesigned since I left. 1. US citizens are not annoyed by the UK flag. As someone else pointed out, if someone in the US sees a British flag they will probably think the site is not for them. I don't think it work…

I'd say using the USA flag will disenfranchise Brits (to varying degrees) - we're generally annoyed when those in the USA assume everyone reading an English language page is centred in the culture of the USA. Or at least that's the impression I get.

Personally I'd try and go for a dropdown list of language names in that language - probably choosing the default selection from the UA string or the accept-language; then keeping the language setting in a cookie.

Re: Ask HN: Do people care about flags when selecting a site language?

#23

Post by Semiapies »

Why not just a menu of the written-out names of the languages, with each language name in its own language?

"English", "Deutsch", "Português", etc.

Depending on how many languages you're supporting, you might just make it a short list of links up in the header, at least until one is selected.

Re: Ask HN: Do people care about flags when selecting a site language?

#24

Post by foldr »

ErrantX wrote: post #13
rdouble wrote: post #7

I built this: translate.songbirdnest.com You don't see flags on the site, but in the language package you download, there are flags. I can't remember if we used to display the flags on the site - it's been redesigned since I left. 1. US citizens are not annoyed by the UK flag. As someone else pointed out, if someone in the US sees a British flag they will probably think the site is not for them. I don't think it work…

> We supported US and UK English. The UK people loved this and it was one of the first translations we received. As a brit I can back that up. There's no malice in the feeling but a common consensus here is that our English is very different from the US version (coff the first coff :D) so it's nice to see it recognised and supported.

Speaking as another Brit I really don't get it. Leaving aside differences in pronunciation, the only thing that separates the two dialects is a few minor spelling/vocabulary differences. I don't remember ever bothering to change from US to UK English on sites that support both. The one exception might be if dates are involved, in which case it is confusing to have the US order.

Re: Ask HN: Do people care about flags when selecting a site language?

#25

Post by jacquesm »

GiraffeNecktie wrote: post #18
jacquesm wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The differences are mostly in the 'locale' issues, especially dates. I got around that by doing 'Jan 1st 2009', in stead of the strictly numerical options. The language issues are less of a problem, they're minor spelling issues such as 'colour' vs 'color'. I never had any complaints about those. Australians and Canadians have long ago dropped most of their English spelling details, Americans don't care too much from…

It's not quite true that Canadians have dropped British spelling. Careful writers still follow British conventions, but no Canadian will be bothered by US spelling on a site that is directed at an American or international audience. Some people will notice and mind if the site appears to be a Canadian site targeted at Canadians (e.g. a Canadian government site).

Well, I've lived there in total for about 5 years and nobody in all that time ever remarked on this, but I did notice that older Canadians tend to favour (...) British-English spelling, the younger generation is much more US-English slanted.

Agreed on the governmental stuff, that's where the big differences are, but then again, those have to be bi-lingual anyway.

Re: Ask HN: Do people care about flags when selecting a site language?

#26

Post by gstar »

foldr wrote: post #24
ErrantX wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We supported US and UK English. The UK people loved this and it was one of the first translations we received. As a brit I can back that up. There's no malice in the feeling but a common consensus here is that our English is very different from the US version (coff the first coff :D) so it's nice to see it recognised and supported.

Speaking as another Brit I really don't get it. Leaving aside differences in pronunciation, the only thing that separates the two dialects is a few minor spelling/vocabulary differences. I don't remember ever bothering to change from US to UK English on sites that support both. The one exception might be if dates are involved, in which case it is confusing to have the US order.

Go to the US, and ask for a 'glass of water' anywhere. Honestly, hardly anyone will get it first time - and usually you have to break down and ask for a 'wadder'.

Same with Butter.

There are some major differences that aren't obvious - us brits tend to be more flexible with mangling of the pronunciation (because everyone here does), but in the US they like it their way or the highway, so to speak.

Re: Ask HN: Do people care about flags when selecting a site language?

#27

Post by gstar »

jacquesm wrote: post #6
DavidHogan wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, we could do that, although there are a lot of countries that speak English but people seem to either use the US or UK variant as far as I can tell.

The differences are mostly in the 'locale' issues, especially dates. I got around that by doing 'Jan 1st 2009', in stead of the strictly numerical options. The language issues are less of a problem, they're minor spelling issues such as 'colour' vs 'color'. I never had any complaints about those. Australians and Canadians have long ago dropped most of their English spelling details, Americans don't care too much from…

Ha. I double dare you to ask an Australian how you spell colour or authorise. They'd argue with you about them not being English 'details' but rather American 'misspellings', too.

Re: Ask HN: Do people care about flags when selecting a site language?

#28

Post by xiaoma »

>Would a Taiwanese person be annoyed if the Flag for Chinese Traditional was China's flag?

Yes. Identity is the single biggest issue in Taiwanese politics. It would be very difficult to get any more offensive than showing a PRC flag for Taiwan. Don't even go there.

Re: Ask HN: Do people care about flags when selecting a site language?

#29

Post by nfnaaron »

I agree, a specific flag does not necessarily mean a specific language, and it's unnecessarily provocative.

However, flags in general are associated with the idea of language.

To show that a dropdown means "choose a language" you could put a cluster of neutral, solid-colored flags, a different color for each flag. In the dropdown include the standard country code along with the language name rendered in its own language.

As for what language to start with, either: - "your" language, or the predominate language that the site is developed and operated in, or - geo-location, or - what makes sense to you.

But don't expect "foreign" speakers to speak the default language just because they happen to be reading your site from a particular country.

That said, I think most people these days can find the "choose a language" knob, so just try not be rude and you'll be OK.

Re: Ask HN: Do people care about flags when selecting a site language?

#30

Post by foldr »

gstar wrote: post #26
foldr wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speaking as another Brit I really don't get it. Leaving aside differences in pronunciation, the only thing that separates the two dialects is a few minor spelling/vocabulary differences. I don't remember ever bothering to change from US to UK English on sites that support both. The one exception might be if dates are involved, in which case it is confusing to have the US order.

Go to the US, and ask for a 'glass of water' anywhere. Honestly, hardly anyone will get it first time - and usually you have to break down and ask for a 'wadder'. Same with Butter. There are some major differences that aren't obvious - us brits tend to be more flexible with mangling of the pronunciation (because everyone here does), but in the US they like it their way or the highway, so to speak.

I live in the US and that's not really my experience, but I was thinking more of written communication, where the differences are very small. (I did say "leaving aside differences in pronunciation.")
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