English is not listed as a European language, why not?

[Bass]

There are also various spelling mistakes (e.g. "center" for centre, "color"
for colour) in the user interfaces. This appears to be a fault also in MS
Office, which claims to take its UI language from the Windows locale but in
the case of English this doesn't work. The interface language appears to be
American.

Using Windows Vista Home Premium

 

[Donald L McDaniel]

There are also various spelling mistakes (e.g. "center" for centre, "color"
for colour) in the user interfaces.

These are NOT "spelling mistakes", but REGIONAL varieties of English
spellings.

This appears to be a fault also in MS
Office, which claims to take its UI language from the Windows locale but in
the case of English this doesn't work. The interface language appears to be
American.

Actually, it would be "American English", since we both speak the same
language, which is "English".

Anyway, This is because you have apparently installed an "English, US"
version of Vista Home Premium.

The "Locale" is installed when the OS is installed. If you purchased
a US edition of VHP, the locale will always be "English, U.S.", NOT
"English, UK", and vice versa.

Using Windows Vista Home Premium

Just a dumb question:

Where did you purchase your copy of Vista? In the UK or Canada? If
so, you purchased the WRONG edition. You NEEDED an UK Edition of Home
Premium, if you wanted to stay with Home Premium and have an UK UI.

If you are willing to upgrade to Vista Ultimate, you will be able to
freely download any of the European GUIs (including the UK GUI)

They aren't included with any versions of Vista except Ultimate or
Enterprise. Even then, one must download them via Windows Update.
They will be found under "Windows Ultimate Extras". This section will
NOT appear in Vista Home Premium.

If you don't want to Update to Vista Ultimate, you will have to
purchase a UK copy of Vista Home Premium.

It would probably be just as cheap to upgrade to Ultimate as it would
be to purchase a UK edition.

Additionally, if you did this, you would have a minimum of 35
European/Far Eastern language packs available to you at no extra cost.

These language packs will change the UI language itself, not just the
keyboard input method.


--
Donald L McDaniel

How can so many otherwise very intelligent people screw up
something so simple so badly? If you stick a computer
keyboard in front of most people, they'll suddenly drop
30 points off their IQs. Much like placing a "Pork Barrel"
bill in front of a politician: He'll forget all about
"cooperation" the minute he counts the zeroes before the
decimal point.

 

[Bass]

The Vista was pre-installed, I will get on to Sony who may be pre-installing
the wrong version.

The locale and all available regional options are set to English (Ireland)
in any case.

Back to the original question, when I click on Europe for multilanguage
packs in Office I get a good variety of languages offered, but not English.
This is bizarre. I am very happy to see Welsh and Irish catered for, but with
all due respect surely the 60M native English speakers (6 countries have
English as one of their official languages) deserve a little more
consideration. Does this mean there is no English UI offered for Office?

These are NOT "spelling mistakes", but REGIONAL varieties of English
spellings.

In this "region" of the world they are incorrect spellings, pure and simple.
I for one get a little tired of every new computer arriving with printer
settings that block the printer or result in strange and useless paginations
(we use ISO standards), dates that are the wrong way round for us,
automatically set up news feeds telling me about daily life in Smalltown USA
and UIs "localised" to a locale that is 5000 km away. I would not object to
any of this if I lived in the US, or if I had ordered from a US supplier
directly but I don't. What you are saying is that this is a problem of the
equipment supplier, which may be true - but its Microsoft's UI I see, and
Microsoft could for example encourage or insist that their suppliers use the
appropriate versions for the region.

 

[Donald L McDaniel]

The Vista was pre-installed, I will get on to Sony who may be pre-installing
the wrong version.

Good choice. I encourage you to do that FIRST.

The locale and all available regional options are set to English (Ireland)
in any case.

But language versions are NOT "locales". They are LANGUAGE packs,
which change the UI LANGUAGE to the installed version. These MUST be
downloaded from Microsoft, or you must order a language version
Installation media for the COUNTRY you are in.

LOCALE basically means "the GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION the OS is installed
in" (i.e., the "country of installation"), NOT the LANGUAGE the OS
is installed with.

Back to the original question, when I click on Europe for multilanguage
packs in Office I get a good variety of languages offered, but not English.
This is bizarre. I am very happy to see Welsh and Irish catered for, but with
all due respect surely the 60M native English speakers (6 countries have
English as one of their official languages) deserve a little more
consideration. Does this mean there is no English UI offered for Office?

Actually, there are MANY MORE than "60 millions of native English
speakers". Probably, 98% of US Citizens are "native English
speakers". Which 300 Millions of US Citizens are "native English
speakers." We outnumber you British English-speakers in Ireland and
Great Britain 5 to 1.

Maybe you should move to the Gaeltecht region, where you can learn
your native language, Irish Gaelic.

BTW, your last sentence makes no sense, since I am a "native English
speaker", and I've been using Office for quite some time, with English
as the UI language.

In this "region" of the world they are incorrect spellings, pure and simple.

Irrelevant. They ARE correct for the American variety of our common
English language. As a general rule, we do not write "center" as
"centre", "color" as "colour". This is because we are not closely
associated with French speakers ("re" and "our" are both French
suffixes). If you can't accept this, I really feel sorry for you
because of your insular attitude.

I for one get a little tired of every new computer

Such localizations are easy to accomplish from within any version of
Windows, as far as I know. All you have to do is install the correct
language pack.

arriving with printer
settings that block the printer or result in strange and useless paginations
(we use ISO standards), dates that are the wrong way round for us,
automatically set up news feeds telling me about daily life in Smalltown USA
and UIs "localised" to a locale that is 5000 km away. I would not object to
any of this if I lived in the US, or if I had ordered from a US supplier
directly but I don't.

This is NOT Microsoft's fault. It is the fault of a user somewhere
along the line, or the fault of the OEM which sold the machines to
you.

What you are saying is that this is a problem of the
equipment supplier,

Actually, what I am saying is that YOU probably failed to order your
machines with UK versions of the UI, rather than "English (Ireland)."
You actually want "English (U.K.)"

which may be true - but its Microsoft's UI I see, and
Microsoft could for example encourage or insist that their suppliers use the
appropriate versions for the region.

As far as I know, Microsoft does do this (encourage that their
distributors use the appropriate versions for the region.)

How do you propose that Microsoft should accomplish "insisting" that
their OEMs use the appropriate versions for the region? They aren't a
governmental body, after all, and cannot make such demands. Blaming
Microsoft is kind of unhelpful. Better you should talk to your local
M.P. instead.


However, OEMs will almost always put the language version which YOU
order on their machines at the factory.

If they failed to do this, either you failed to order the correct
language version, or they hornswaggled you famously.
("hornswaggled" is one of our Americanisms, and means "rooked you", or
"flim-flammed you", or "cheated you through deception"), or they
simply made a mistake, in which case you should talk to them about the
version of Windows they installed.

If your Windows UI language version is "Engish (United States), Office
will use "English, (United States)" as its UI Language.

If your Windows UI language version is "English (Ireland)" Office will
use "English (Ireland)" as its UI language.

If your Windows UI language version is "English (U.K), Office will use
"English (U.K.) as its UI language.

Got the picture yet?

This is because Office takes its UI language from the INSTALLED
Windows Locale, not the EXPECTED Windows Locale.

After all, even Office (good as it is) cannot read the minds of its
users to determine the version of UI to use.

Apparently you have a US version of English as the Windows Locale.

Which means:

(Choose one below
1) You have an "English (United States)" language pack installed.
or
2) You have a version of Windows produced for the United States, which
installs the "English (U.S.)" UI language by default.
or
3) "English (Ireland)'s" UI language is closer to the "English (United
States)'s" UI language than it is to the "English (U.K.)'s" UI
language.
or
4) You have truly f***ed-up installations of Windows and Office.
or
5) all the above.


--
Donald L McDaniel

How can so many otherwise very intelligent people screw up
something so simple so badly? If you stick a computer
keyboard in front of most people, they'll suddenly drop
30 points off their IQs. Much like placing a "Pork Barrel"
bill in front of a politician: He'll forget all about
"cooperation" the minute he counts the zeroes before the
decimal point.

 

[Mick Murphy]

Office comes in the language you bought it in, and nothing else!

 

[Curious]

If using Office 2007 the following link should help you to change the
language:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc179091.aspx

 

[Nigel Molesworth]

Actually, it would be "American English", since we both speak the same
language, which is "English".

If only that were true

 

[Nigel Molesworth]

Nigel, if it weren't true, you would not have been able to understand
a word I wrote.

Lighten up, it was a joke!

However, if I said that I walked along the pavement to the shops, wearing my
pants, a vest and suspenders. Then I can assure you that someone in the UK
would get a totally different image.

 

[Michael A. Covington]

The Vista was pre-installed, I will get on to Sony who may be
pre-installing
the wrong version.

The locale and all available regional options are set to English (Ireland)
in any case.

Back to the original question, when I click on Europe for multilanguage
packs in Office I get a good variety of languages offered, but not
English.

Until recent decades Britain did not consider itself part of Europe.

 

[Nigel Molesworth]

As to your supposition that a UK citizen would see something
completely different,

On this side of the Atlantic, "the pavement" normally refers to "the
middle of the street", "the shops" would mean "the local shopping mall
or town center", and your "pants...and suspenders" would be exactly
what they appear to be on your side of the Atlantic: slacks held up by
suspenders rather than a belt, as they would here in the States.

Which proves my point rather well.

In the UK, the pavement is what you call the sidewalk, at the side of the
road.

Pants are underclothes, worn under trousers or slacks, such as boxers.

Suspenders are worn by ladies only (or men with a fetish), and hold up
"nylons" or stockings - you call it a garter belt.

A vest is also an undergarment, worn under a shirt - you call it a tank-top.

So in the USA, my clothing would be normal. In the UK, I would get arrested!

 

[Nigel Molesworth]

It appears that you are simply too insular
for the rest of the world. You should probably stay there on your
side of the Atlantic.

But I understand the problem precisely because I have lived in the USA.

You simply have different words for everyday things, there was no
implication that there was anything wrong in this. It does, however, require
caution in certain circumstances, as I outlined.

A further example: to you, an ass and a fanny are the same thing. In the UK,
one is a donkey, the other is a lady's genitals.

It was George Bernard Shaw who observed that "England and America are two
countries divided by a common language".

 

[Justin]

Dear Donald,

Not only is your spelling, meaning of words and occasionally grammar
American, so are your manners.

I was brought here as I too suffer from Americanisations in my new Vista
menu system. I have a version of Vista set up for the UK. It is strange that
you demand we use your spellings as you seem to be quite xenophobic and
closed off to other cultures, but we should be open and accept yours?

American English (actually there is no such thing as you rightly say) along
with Australia, New Zealand, Canada and India to name a few were based on
British English, and most countries still follow the British Spelling of many
words.

I would prefer to have the correct spelling for my region on my computer,
and to that end I am going to continue searching elsewhere as I am not happy
with your comments here.

Well said Nigel, I completely agree.

Justin.