Chapter 22. Localization - i18n/L10n Usage and Setup
Prev | Part III. System Administration | Next

## Chapter 22. Localization - i18n/L10n Usage and Setup

Contributed by Andrey Chernov.
Rewritten by Michael C. Wu.

## 22.1. Synopsis

FreeBSD is a distributed project with users and contributors located all over the world. As such, FreeBSD supports localization into many languages, allowing users to view, input, or process data in non-English languages. One can choose from most of the major languages, including, but not limited to: Chinese, German, Japanese, Korean, French, Russian, and Vietnamese.

The term internationalization has been shortened to i18n, which represents the number of letters between the first and the last letters of `internationalization`. L10n uses the same naming scheme, but from `localization`. The i18n/L10n methods, protocols, and applications allow users to use languages of their choice.

This chapter discusses the internationalization and localization features of FreeBSD. After reading this chapter, you will know:

- How locale names are constructed.

- How to set the locale for a login shell.

- How to configure the console for non-English languages.

- How to configure Xorg for different languages.

- How to find i18n-compliant applications.

- Where to find more information for configuring specific languages.

Before reading this chapter, you should:

- Know how to install additional third-party applications.

Prev | Up | Next
21.8. FreeBSD as a Xen™-Host | Home | 22.2. Using Localization

All FreeBSD documents are available for download at https://download.freebsd.org/ftp/doc/

Questions that are not answered by the documentation may be sent to <freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org>.
Send questions about this document to <freebsd-doc@FreeBSD.org>.