Set a language code for translated pages
How to set a page to display a different script or font for languages that don't use the Latin alphabet.
We need to tell the CMS what language is being used so it can display the content correctly - using the correct font and also setting the reading direction (for languages that read right-to-left).
ISO 639 is the international standardised naming system that Drupal uses to classify languages. If a language is not listed on 639-1, check 639-2 and 639-3.
For information about preparing content for translation, see our Producing multilingual content – digital guide.
How to set the language code
Find the code in the table below and open your content page in the CMS.
On the right side of the screen you'll see a sidebar. Click on the Metatags heading to reveal more detail. Use Ctrl + F to search for the word ‘locale’. You’ll find it in the Open Graph section of the Metatags.
In the Locale field, enter the code in the Content language field. (Use the codes provided below.
Save your page.
Note that fonts that read right-to-left (such as Arabic) will display that way on the live page when the language code is set.
List of language codes and the fonts currently in use on SDP
Where the font column has 'NA' the language uses the same font as English.
If there is a language not found below that you would like on vic.gov.au, please submit a platform enhancement request.
Language | Code | Right-to left? | Font |
Acholi | ach | Â | TBC |
Albanian | sq | Â | TBC |
Amharic | am | Â | |
Arabic | ar | Yes | |
Assyrian | aii | Yes | |
Bengali | bn | Â | |
Bosnian | bs | Â | NA |
Burmese | my | Â | |
Chaldean | cld | Yes | |
Chin - Hakha Chin | cnh | Â | NA |
Chinese – simplified | zh-Hans |  | |
Chinese - traditional | zh-Hant | Â | |
Cook Islands Maori - Kuki Airani | rar | Â | NA |
Croatian | hr | Â | NA |
Dari | prs | Yes | |
Dinka | din | Â | Arial |
Falam | cfm | Â | TBC |
Farsi (Persian) | fa | Yes | |
Fijian | fj | Â | NA |
Filipino | fil | Â | NA |
Filipino - Tagalog | tl | Â | NA |
French | af | Â | NA |
Greek | el | Â | |
Gujarati | gu | Â | |
Hakka | hak | Â | NA |
Hazaragi | haz | Yes | |
Hebrew | he | Yes | TBC |
Hindi | hi | Â | |
Indonesian | id | Â | NA |
Italian | it | Â | NA |
Japanese | ja | Â | |
Karen | kar | Â | |
Karenni | kyu | Â | |
Khmer | km | Â | |
Korean | ko | Â | |
Kurdish (Northern) - Kurmanji (کورمانجی) | kmr | Yes | |
Kurdish (Central) - Sorani (کرمانجیی خواروو) | ckb | Yes | |
Macedonian | mk | Â | |
Malay | ms | Â | NA |
Malayalam | ml | Â | NA |
Maltese | mt | Â | NA |
Nepali | ne | Â | |
Niuean - Vagahau Niue | niu | Â | NA |
Nuer | nus | Â | Arial |
Oromo | om | Â | NA |
Pashto | ps | Yes | |
Polish | pl | Â | NA |
Portugese | pt | Â | NA |
Punjabi | pa | Â | |
Rohingya | rhg | Â | NA |
Russian | ru | Â | |
Samoan | sm | Â | NA |
Serbian | sr | Â | |
Sinhalese | si | Â | |
Somali | so | Â | NA |
Spanish | es | Â | NA |
Swahili | sw | Â | NA |
Tamil | ta | Â | |
Thai | th | Â | |
Telugu | te | Â | Â |
Tigrinya | ti | Â | |
Tongan | to | Â | NA |
Turkish | tur | Â | NA |
Urdu | ur | Yes | |
Vietnamese | vi | Â | |
Zomi | ctd | Â | NA |