What is the best UI control for users who need to change language on the fly?

Question

Obviously a subjective question but I figure this site has built up a multinational audience so hopefully there will be some good insight.

The option I am thinking of going with is a combo box with flag images to indicate which language you want to view your application.

Pros

• Everyone recognizes images so you don't have to worry about somebody not being able to select the language of choice because they don't understand what the box is for.
• Combo Box supports many (as many as will fit on the page or more if has scrolling capability) using limited screen real estate.

Cons

• It may not be obvious to everyone using the application that this is the way to select the language of choice.
• The flag chosen to represent the language might offend speakers of that language from another country whose flag was not chosen (Which country's flag do you use for English, Spanish, Portuquese, etc.)

Another option is to use a combo box where each language is represented in its own language so speakers of that language will recognize their language in the drop down.

I am writing this for a desktop application and was curious as to whether a consensus standard has arisen either on the Web or Desktop world that most people "get".

The right answer for me is the control that most user's immediately understand the intended purpose and how to use the control.

Answer 1

Another option is to use a combo box where each language is represented in its own language so speakers of that language will recognize their language in the drop down.

That's a fairly common practice, and it makes good sense.

Next to the flag, put "Language" and don't localize it. Nearly everyone who is familiar with changing languages in software knows what that means, and having the flag next to it will get the rest :)

Answer 2

This is not an easy problem. The flag idea works fairly well, but I need to train myself to look for the Union Jack. Depending on the application, I might want the Stars and Stripes instead because there is a difference between British English and American. It can get tricky if you try to overload too much meaning onto the flag. For instance, what language is meant by the Swiss flag. Or what if I only speak Spanish, but want the application to use US date and time formats. And don't even think about what will happen if you localize into Chinese. (Example: do you have a Taiwanese flag or not?)

I tend to prefer the languages written out. It gives you a lot of flexibility to specify exactly what language is meant. In addition, you can have a bit of fun sometimes. Facebook has a Pirate English option which is good for a few laughs. Google has even more fun interface language choices. And everyone who needs the Español option will know what it means.

Answer 3

My vote: combobox with a list of language name and then dialect in parenthesis.

For example, to list Portuguese:

• English (UK)
• English (US)
• português (Brazil)
• português (Portugal)

Language name comes first and alphabetized and written in the native language, that way it will be easiest to find. Name of dialect second so that all the dialects will be together alphbetically, making it easy to see if, for example, there is both UK and US English or just one of them. Little flags sometimes help but sometimes just add clutter.

Another thing: Let the user select language at install time. It must be the first thing that he sees. The Nullsoft installer does this well. Expecting the user to naviagte menus like Tools->Options->Configuration->International->Language in a foreign language is unacceptable!

Never assume that you can glean language from regional settings! Often Windows is configured for the local currency even though the user doesn't speak the language.

Kudos for recognizing that each language should be written in its own language! Often I see a list of languages, all written in some foreign language, and I can't tell which one to pick.

Answer 4

I personally prefer a smart app that makes its best to detect to detect my language. Of course, a languages submenu tight either to a menu item (such Preferences/Language/) or a toolbar button (image is a world icon) must be there somewhere to let user override the automated choice. But in most cases, they shouldn't have to think about it.

Important: The submenu (or combobox, whatever) should contain native language names. That way, users always find their language.

Flags are not such a good idea IMO: Very small flag icons are not very distinctive. Plus it's easier to find a language name rather than a flag. And flags are related to countries, which is not quite the same as language: Some of your English users might not like a US flag that much.

Depending on the technology you use, you might find my codeproject article interesting:

http://www.codeproject.com/KB/locale/LanguageMenu.aspx