The NLS_LANG
environment variable determines the language of the user interface and the globalization behavior for components such as SQL*Plus, exp, and imp. It sets the language and territory used by the client application and the database user session. It also declares the character set for entering and displaying data by the client application.
The NLS_LANG
environment variable uses the following format:
NLS_LANG=language_territory.characterset
In this format:
language
specifies the language used for displaying user interface, error messages, sorting, day names, and month names
territory
specifies the conventions for default date, monetary and numeric formats
characterset
specifies the encoding of the database client, which is the character set for data entered or displayed by a client program
In most cases, this is the Oracle character set that corresponds to the Windows ANSI Code Page as determined by the System Locale.
The NLS_LANG
parameter on Windows can be set
in Registry under the subkey corresponding to a given Oracle home,
as an environment variable.
When you install Oracle Database components and the NLS_LANG parameter is not yet set in the Registry subkey of the target Oracle home, Oracle Universal Installer sets the NLS_LANG parameter to a default value derived from the operating system locale for the current user.
For example:
Japanese - JAPANESE_JAPAN.JA16SJISTILDE
English (United Kingdom) - ENGLISH_UNITED KINGDOM.WE8MSWIN1252
English (United States) - AMERICAN_AMERICA.WE8MSWIN1252
Please refer here for more information : Installing and Using Oracle Components in Different Languages