The usual reason is that your web browser is improperly configured. Skip to How to set up the language settings section for more information. You may use this online tool to see what languages your browser requests.

If your browser is configured, the problem may be that your ISP or your internal network is using misconfigured cache or proxy server. They are servers without any content which sit in the middle between users and real web servers. They grab your requests for web pages and fetch the page. After that, they forward the page to you but also make a local, cached copy, for later requests. This can really cut down on network traffic when many users request the same page.

Problem is when they do not understand content negotiation and keep a cached copy of a page in only one language. The only way you can fix this is to complain to your ISP in order for them to upgrade or replace their software.

Third problem may be that you are unable or do not want to change browser settings. If you have JavaScript and cookies enabled, our server will store your language preference in a cookie every time you change language manually by clicking on a link. The next time you click on link to another page, your language selection will be preserved.

Generally, you should include all languages you can read in preferred language, ordered by preference. It is good idea to include English ('en') as last item in your list, to use it as a fallback language. You need to be careful with sub-categories of languages; en-GB will not include en, so you need to include both en and en-GB in your list.

All translations are available as an effort of the GNOME Translation Project (GTP).