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Flags Are Not Languages

flagsarenotlanguages.com

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Re: Flags Are Not Languages

#91

Post by James_K »

untech wrote: post #90
James_K wrote: post #2

Counterpoint to this website: it is convenient to have symbols to represent things. I don't see them suggesting anything better than flags.

Well, why not use currency symbols to represent language? Same amount of correctness. If you like flags because they are colorful and memorable icons, you can use them to represent time zones. Much more convenient than some obscure "UTC+7" or "PT", isn’t it?

> Same amount of correctness.

Because a currency symbol is less correct (think $) and isn't as recognisable. Flags have colours that make them easier to pick out, and can be displayed at much smaller resolutions.

Re: Flags Are Not Languages

#92

Post by untech »

James_K wrote: post #91
untech wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, why not use currency symbols to represent language? Same amount of correctness. If you like flags because they are colorful and memorable icons, you can use them to represent time zones. Much more convenient than some obscure "UTC+7" or "PT", isn’t it?

> Same amount of correctness. Because a currency symbol is less correct (think $) and isn't as recognisable. Flags have colours that make them easier to pick out, and can be displayed at much smaller resolutions.

Why using $ symbol to represent English is less correct than using the US flag?

(Re: colors: see my suggestion to use these colorful icons to represent time zones)

Re: Flags Are Not Languages

#93

Post by jumasheff »

dgan wrote: post #57

Tangential rant: Anything that tries to second-guess what user meant is doomed for failure in some (not even so obscure) cases I prefer all my UI in English, because it's easier to navigate settings. But i also hate when google tries to be smart and (poorly) auto translates the reviews in Maps from one of the languages I fluently speak, to English. I didn't find any way to separate those settings. Also, i believe, Li…

What's annoying is that Google is forcing me to use some of its products in Russian which is offensive to me!

Re: Flags Are Not Languages

#94

Post by dgan »

jumasheff wrote: post #93
dgan wrote: post #57

Tangential rant: Anything that tries to second-guess what user meant is doomed for failure in some (not even so obscure) cases I prefer all my UI in English, because it's easier to navigate settings. But i also hate when google tries to be smart and (poorly) auto translates the reviews in Maps from one of the languages I fluently speak, to English. I didn't find any way to separate those settings. Also, i believe, Li…

What's annoying is that Google is forcing me to use some of its products in Russian which is offensive to me!

Explain? Why can't you use English for example?

Re: Flags Are Not Languages

#95

Post by kuschku »

untech wrote: post #92
James_K wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Same amount of correctness. Because a currency symbol is less correct (think $) and isn't as recognisable. Flags have colours that make them easier to pick out, and can be displayed at much smaller resolutions.

Why using $ symbol to represent English is less correct than using the US flag? (Re: colors: see my suggestion to use these colorful icons to represent time zones)

If you differentiate between different types of english, it makes sense to show a US flag or UK flag for the different regional variations.

If you have only one version per language, just show the flags side by side. UK/US/AU/NZ for english, DE/AT/CH for German, etc.

On the other hand € stands for 20+ languages and $ means USD, NZD, CAD, many kinds of Peso and many other types of dollar.

Re: Flags Are Not Languages

#96

Post by Nullabillity »

quadhome wrote: post #8
peterhi wrote: post #4

But the flag was useful to show in the ui where the language setting was. This is especially useful when the language has been set to something I cannot read. I don't know which of 语言设定 and 重置设备 will allow me to set the language back to English. Also flags in the menu means that I can find English easier than 英语

Wikipedia uses a “文Ａ” icon; IMHO far better than a flag. What flag would you expect to see? As for finding the language in the menu, listening a language in the foreign language seems like bad design too. The menu should list “English” as an option! See: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language#/languages

The flag representing the currently active language, typically.

Re: Flags Are Not Languages

#97

Post by Nullabillity »

kuschku wrote: post #95
untech wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why using $ symbol to represent English is less correct than using the US flag? (Re: colors: see my suggestion to use these colorful icons to represent time zones)

If you differentiate between different types of english, it makes sense to show a US flag or UK flag for the different regional variations. If you have only one version per language, just show the flags side by side. UK/US/AU/NZ for english, DE/AT/CH for German, etc. On the other hand € stands for 20+ languages and $ means USD, NZD, CAD, many kinds of Peso and many other types of dollar.

Not to mention that many currencies don't have symbols at all.

Re: Flags Are Not Languages

#98

Post by throw__away7391 »

dgan wrote: post #57

Tangential rant: Anything that tries to second-guess what user meant is doomed for failure in some (not even so obscure) cases I prefer all my UI in English, because it's easier to navigate settings. But i also hate when google tries to be smart and (poorly) auto translates the reviews in Maps from one of the languages I fluently speak, to English. I didn't find any way to separate those settings. Also, i believe, Li…

If only there was some two decades old standardized way for users to specify which languages they prefer, and, dare I dream, the order and relative level of preference.

Re: Flags Are Not Languages

#99

Post by thfuran »

untech wrote: post #92
James_K wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Same amount of correctness. Because a currency symbol is less correct (think $) and isn't as recognisable. Flags have colours that make them easier to pick out, and can be displayed at much smaller resolutions.

Why using $ symbol to represent English is less correct than using the US flag? (Re: colors: see my suggestion to use these colorful icons to represent time zones)

Because about two dozen countries use $ as their currency symbol and another half dozen or so $ with another letter or two and not all of them have English as an official language (or an only technically not official language like the us).

Re: Flags Are Not Languages

#100

Post by lolinder »

morbicer wrote: post #87
jiehong wrote: post #60

I always thought they should be using the flag of the UN to indicate the location of a language selection dropdown, and just list the name of the languages in their native form in the list. But being able to choose the language is always much better than sites forcing you to use a specific version of a site depending on your location, which is such a pain. Side note: seeing the Taiwanese flag for traditional Chinese…

How do they call the language they speak? French? You know where the language originates and why is it called French? I kinda understand some of the arguments and sensitivities and some examples on the website are dumb but it's also dumb to deny that French language can't be associated with France. I bet people in Quebec and Niger can make the connection when they open the dropdown that this will be the language they…

> The bigger conondrum might be which flag to choose for Arabic.

By your logic I'm not sure why this is a conundrum—Saudi Arabia, of course!

Arabic is actually the perfect example of why flags for languages are problematic—just because two countries share a language doesn't mean they're on good terms with each other. That's easy to see with Arabic because tensions in the Middle East are always in the news. You know instinctively that using the Saudi flag to represent Arabic would be a terrible idea.

But the same problems apply to other countries, just less prominently. African people often have... complicated feelings towards the countries that were their former colonizers. The language is theirs now, for better or worse, but that doesn't mean that they're comfortable picking a French flag when selecting the language for their personal device.

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