[Sigia-l] Multiple languages on a single web page

[diannes at dbfields.com]

On Tue, 20 Aug 2002, Chiara Fox wrote:
> The idea of having language preferences and having the
> site automatically serve up the page in a preferred
> language is something we are thinking about.
> 
> Are the browser-based language preferences widely used
> though?

It's part of the HTTP 1.1 protocol--if a user has set language
preferences in their browser, they is sent out as part of each 
& every HTTP request that browser makes. More information is 
available at http://www.w3.org/International/O-HTTP.html

I too am working on a localized site--that is, identical 
content will be served up in 5 different languages. I've worried, 
however, that it might be confusing to users if some perceive 
http://www.example.com as being an English-language site and 
others think it is a French-language site. So my plan (unless
someone can give me a good reason for changing it) is to deliver 
http://www.example.com in the user's preferred language and 5 
alternate "sites" at http://en.example.com, http://fr.example.com
etc. Each page will have a menu listing the alternate languages
and if the user clicks on the "Francais" link from the page
http://www.example.com/somepage.html it will take them to
http://fr.example.com/somepage.html. (I note this because I
have often seen selecting an alternate language always take the
user back to the entry page, i.e. http://www.example.com/index.html
--and I *don't* like that approach at all.) I am really uncertain 
of whether or not to rename "somepage.html" as "certainepage.html"
in the French-language version--it seems to me that there are 
good arguments to be made both ways. So any feedback on that 
issue, and on IA of localized/internationalized sites in general, 
would be welcome.

Dianne