# How do you support languages?

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-do-you-support-languages/148996>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [September 19, 2008, 4:30am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-do-you-support-languages/148996 "2008-09-19T04:30:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![mekdigital](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@mekdigital](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/mekdigital)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 4:30am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-do-you-support-languages/148996/1 "2008-09-19T04:30:52Z")

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I want to customize notices and interfaces, would you use  
session[:language]  
and a YAML file ?  
I don’t want things automatically translated, just accurate text in  
Italian,  
Portuguese and English!

lang.yml

it:  
welcome: _Benvenuto_ sul Sito  
en:  
welcome: _Welcome_ to the Website

application\_helper.rb

def say(string)  
RedCloth.new(@lang[session[:language]][string]).to\_html  
end

–  
Emanuele T.  
+1 (619) 549 3230  
4955 Narragansett Ave Apt #9  
San Diego Ca 92107-3157

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![mekdigital](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@mekdigital](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/mekdigital)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 9:19am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-do-you-support-languages/148996/2 "2008-09-19T09:19:03Z")

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Quoting Emanuele T. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid):

> I want to customize notices and interfaces, would you use session[:language]  
> and a YAML file ?  
> I don’t want things automatically translated, just accurate text in Italian,  
> Portuguese and English!

I use Globalite,[Google Code Archive - Long-term storage for Google Code Project Hosting.](http://code.google.com/p/globalite/). There are many,  
see  
[http://wiki.rubyonrails.org/rails/pages/InternationalizationComparison](http://wiki.rubyonrails.org/rails/pages/InternationalizationComparison).  
And a “standard” way is coming in Rails  
2.2, see  
[http://www.artweb-design.de/2008/7/18/the-ruby-on-rails-i18n-core-api](http://www.artweb-design.de/2008/7/18/the-ruby-on-rails-i18n-core-api).  
And  
Google will find even more.

HTH,  
Jeffrey