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After installing Ubuntu and updating the system, the first thing I usually do is make sure that all applications use the preferred locale. To do so, I start Language Support from the Dash which automatically downloads the remaining localisation packages:

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This works well, but as I'm doing most of my Ubuntu post-installation work from the terminal, I'd like to do this from the terminal, too.

Is there a way to do so?

2 Answers 2

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Use this command (I used English (en) in the example):

sudo apt-get install language-pack-en language-pack-en-base

Depending on the desktop environment you use, you also need those:

For Gnome/Unity

sudo apt-get install language-pack-gnome-en language-pack-gnome-en-base

For KDE:

sudo apt-get install language-pack-kde-en language-pack-kde-en-base

Also, there is a utility to check which programs you have installed and then determines the needed language packages. It will also cover Firefox and Thunderbird, for example. It is intended to use with apt-get together:

sudo apt-get install $(check-language-support -l en)
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  • That worked! Thanks, this will make everything go even faster. Jan 8, 2016 at 14:08
  • Since the second package is a dependency of the first, just this also works: sudo apt install language-pack-en
    – tanius
    Apr 29, 2019 at 20:28
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According to this guide, you first edit the file /etc/default/locale, or use:

$ update-locale LANG=de_DE.UTF-8 LC_MESSAGES=POSIX

and then you run:

$ dpkg-reconfigure locales
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  • Thanks, but that one didn't work. For instance, Firefox still uses the default language. Jan 8, 2016 at 14:05

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