If I guess correctly, the language of the portal is selected according to the first language in the browser definition (known as Accept-Language in HTTP). Selecting a language brings me to the homepage of Wikipedia in that language, but I couldn't find a way to change this language. It would be nice to have this possibility. I guess that the language could be stored in localStorage.
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- Mentioned In
- T253652: Consider an expanded view of the Wikimedia portals
T275597: Portal ignores Accept-Language header, content always in English language
T227794: Add the ability to change the page language on Wikipedia.org - Mentioned Here
- T26767: Multilingual search on project portals (e.g. www.wikipedia.org)
T140152: [EPIC] Wikipedia.org A/B Test: add display of languages by region
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Hi @Amire80 - I'm not quite getting by what you say here:
Selecting a language brings me to the homepage of Wikipedia in that language, but I couldn't find a way to change this language.
Can you explain what you're wanting in this instance? Thanks!
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Because it's possible that I want to read the portal page, with product descriptions, etc., in another language.
If it's taken from the browser, then it also happens on other websites for the same user, but websites that have different languages usually allow people to change the language. We allow to change the language on the portal page, but we also take the user to a completely different page, which is somewhat confusing.
Technically it's also possible to change the browser's language settings, but very few people know how to do it.
It's not a high priority issue, but a nice-to-have.
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Ah...so - to be able to swap the portal page into a different language but not necessarily to go to that particular language wikipedia. The mobile app does something like that - see below image - but they also search on that particular language wiki.
Would a button or something help to be able to change the portal page's language without leaving the page?
Assuming that it'd be best to leave cookie on that preferred language of course, so that when the user returns to the portal, they'd keep the portal in the same language they previously selected without having to change their browser settings.
We have a few things we'd like to try - by adding in language links based on region, etc (T26767 and T140152) but this is a new ask for the portal page and I want to be sure I'm understanding properly. :)
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Probably possible with relatively simple JavaScript, but reloading the page in the new language wouldn't be a disaster either.
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This seems like a useful feature, especially on mobile where language features are often buried in some OS settings.
Providing a UI to change languages on the portal is something we've discussed in the past, as @JGirault might recall. I can't find that discussion right now, but it revolved around how do we then handle multiple language pickers on the page, and how those should interact.
There is already a language picker on the search input. If we add a language picker to change the language of the page, should it change the value of the search input? This is just one question we should ask when designing this feature, but my point is that I think it needs careful consideration for it not to be confusing.
A modal 'settings' popup was one option we were considering, or maybe a widget in the corner of the page, similar to the language settings in the rest of wikipedia.
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I think such a thing is mandatory on international sites: If a person comes to another country and tries to visit this site, he may have problems with irremovable language.
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At first glance, this certainly sounds necessary. It's a multilingual site, and should work for everyone.
However... This isn't actually the front page. It's a nice collection of links to monolingual sites, which already have the correct interface language. It would take just as much work to select an interface language as it would to select a content language, and once one has already done that, there's no point in continuing being on the central portal.
I could see having the portal store a cookie to know which language the user last selected, and using that as the interface language if the user (for some reason) shows up at the central portal again. (Maybe also put that language in the big circle.) Maybe even have the interface change when the user selects a language in the search bar box. But having a separate language selection system for just the interface, of a page the user should have already left by that point, doesn't make sense in my opinion.
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If I guess correctly, the language of the portal is selected according to the first language in the browser definition (known as Accept-Language in HTTP). Selecting a language brings me to the homepage of Wikipedia in that language, but I couldn't find a way to change this language. It would be nice to have this possibility. I guess that the language could be stored in localStorage.
The localization feature on the portals takes into account all the languages in the browser preferences (similar, but different to Accept-Language) so even if a user sets multiple browser languages, they will all be visible in the top-ten circle. I think going beyond this and providing a GUI just to rearrange those links is probably overkill.
I'm declining this due to the fact that the portals are is mostly maintenance mode and not resourced to add new features.
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Hi! :) This task is not about rearrange links, but about the language of the content. There are a lot of links and text that only appears in the browser's language :)