How to get actual language in a WinRT app?

Question

Is it possible to get the actual language of the OS like on Windows Phone? I'm using CultureInfo.CurrentCulture.TwoLetterIsoString, but I recieve always en and not the right language, which is de in my case.

So how can I get the actual language in a WinRT app?

Avi · Answer 1 · 2013-01-17T18:28:27.883

26

There are actually many "kind-of wrong" answers to this.

Windows.Globalization.Language.CurrentInputMethodLanguageTag as pointed out by Thomas will not work in all the scenarios. It only returns the language in which user's keyboard is displayed.
You can also use Windows.Globalization.ApplicationLanguages.Languages but it is a combination of user language preference and applications supported languages.

For most acurate user preference language, You'll need to use Windows.System.UserProfile.GlobalizationPreferences.Languages[0].

edited Jan 17 '13 at 18:28

answered Jan 10 '13 at 01:06

Avi

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I'll use "Windows.System.UserProfile.GlobalizationPreferences.Languages[0]" for now. – Quincy Aug 17 '15 at 21:38

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 09 '12 at 12:13

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You can use

Windows.Globalization.Language.CurrentInputMethodLanguageTag

to get the actual language. It returns for example de-DE, if you are using a german verison of Windows 8.

answered Oct 09 '12 at 12:13

Thomas Sebastian Jensen

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Actually, that returns the current keyboard language, not the user Regional Settings selection! WinRT doesn't have a direct equivalent to CurrentCulture, but `Windows.Globalization` namespace does provide alternatives to it! – Pedro Lamas Oct 30 '15 at 20:41
My keyboard layout does not reflect my preferred language. This is common when you belong to a local minority (as actually the majority of the people of the world do), and when you prefer English as the system language because you interact internationally. – tripleee Dec 14 '20 at 04:48

score 2 · Answer 3 · edited Dec 14 '20 at 04:45

2

According to MSDN the correct answer is:

Windows.System.UserProfile.GlobalizationPreferences.Languages[0]

This should be user's most preferred language.

edited Dec 14 '20 at 04:45

tripleee

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answered Feb 28 '13 at 12:05

miro smelko

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score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Oct 09 '12 at 12:05

1

As far as I remember:

Windows.Globalization.ApplicationPreferences.PreferredLanguage

answered Oct 09 '12 at 12:05

EgorBo

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That doesn't exists on UWP :( – Marco Luglio Apr 05 '16 at 22:05

score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Oct 09 '12 at 17:02

1

If you create a HTML5/javascript Windows App. You can use this:

var language = window.navigator.userLanguage || window.navigator.language;
alert(language);

answered Oct 09 '12 at 17:02

user1731468

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score 0 · Answer 6 · edited Dec 14 '20 at 04:45

0

String topUserLanguage = GlobalizationPreferences.Languages[0];
Windows.Globalization.Language userLanguage = new Windows.Globalization.Language(topUserLanguage);

if (userLanguage.Script.Equals("Arab") || userLanguage.Script.Equals("Hebr"))
{
....................
}

edited Dec 14 '20 at 04:45

tripleee

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answered Jan 04 '13 at 05:07

psw

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score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Dec 14 '20 at 04:43

The Windows Community Toolkit now offers an easy API for this: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/microsoft.toolkit.uwp.helpers.systeminformation.culture?view=win-comm-toolkit-dotnet-stable#Microsoft_Toolkit_Uwp_Helpers_SystemInformation_Culture

Usage:

using Microsoft.Toolkit.Uwp.Helpers;


var cultureInfo = SystemInformation.Instance.Culture;

Sample code: https://github.com/windows-toolkit/WindowsCommunityToolkit/blob/c40264008e596b23e7342dd15fdb0e3f2551a699/Microsoft.Toolkit.Uwp.SampleApp/SamplePages/SystemInformation/SystemInformationPage.xaml.cs#L25

How to get actual language in a WinRT app?

7 Answers7

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