Google Services In English?

[manarak]

Google seems to have changed the way they handle languages and locales.

I'm now unable to get google.com in English, and I found no way to use google maps with the English GUI.

any help please?

I'm wondering what google is doing.

[Tywais]

Try www.google.com/ncr

[lomatopo]

I confess I haven't stayed up to date on this issue, or range of issues but in order to retain google.com in English, and get English search results from the Chrome URL bar I had to follow the procedures detailed here:

http://danpolyuha.bl...se-english.html

http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=54274#c71

But now I see there is a "ServiceState" file in that same directory, which appears to permanently handle your language preference, at least I think it does?

{

"intl": {

"app_locale": "en-US"

}

}

There are a lot of informational threads on the Google support/product forums which may help you in case you are using a different browser, or have slightly different issues.

I use Chrome, am able to view maps.google.com in English, drilling down street names and other place/names are displayed in both Thai and English. My default search engine is Google.com in English and I can search from the URL bar in Chrome.

[manarak]

Try www.google.com/ncr

that directs me to google.com in Thai.

lomatopo, thanks for the help - but I don't use google Chrome at the moment and searched the google support groups/forums already but without success.

[Tywais]

If you go to this Google page does it show the below menu bar with language selection?

[hml367]

Also check your settings for your Google account https://www.google.com/settings/language?ref=home

[manarak]

If you go to this Google page does it show the below menu bar with language selection?

yes, there is.

the page appears in Thai, I select "US english"

but that's it.

when I then go to google maps, it is again in Thai. no language selection there.

it seems language preferences are only applied while signed in to a google account - I wonder why they did this.

[Tywais]

when I then go to google maps, it is again in Thai. no language selection there.

Try clearing your cache then reset to English on the page I have a link to.

[manarak]

cleared the cache, went to the page, set the language... no cigar.

it seems language preferences are only applied while signed in to a google account - I wonder why they did this.

Google seems to slide more and more to the dark side

[Guest]

When you say you go to the Google maps, which one are you using?

maps.google.com or maps.google.co.th

If I open these with chrome incognito window (not logged on to any services) the maps.google.com is in English and maps.google.co.th is in Thai.

[lopburi3]

Are you eating your cookies by chance? Believe that is where the selection is stored so if no cookie suspect each opening will use your current IP address to select web site/language.

[lomatopo]

it seems language preferences are only applied while signed in to a google account - I wonder why they did this.

I think this may be just one, of perhaps several, workarounds created to handle what appears to be a very challenging issue (GoogleURLtracker) which Google is still working through?

Other browsers may offer workarounds? https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/google-language-en/reviews/

Not sure about the maps issue, on some PCs I do enter maps.google.com but do get a Thai UI. This thread seems to indicate it is a flaw?

http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/maps/dxcN3YowkEo

[Chicog]

it seems language preferences are only applied while signed in to a google account - I wonder why they did this.

Can I take a wild guess? So you open, and use, a Google Account?

[manarak]

using maps.google.com and the interface turns up in Thai, ignoring my browser settings and previous languiage choices made on google.

it does the same on adwords, analytics, etc.

funnily enough, this occurs on firefox, in I.E. the proper language appears.

[Thaddeus]

Long shot but, what location are you set to in the Windows Regional and Language Settings?

I do know that if you want to install Google Earth you have to change it from Thailand first or it installs totally in Thai.

[manarak]

Long shot but, what location are you set to in the Windows Regional and Language Settings?

I do know that if you want to install Google Earth you have to change it from Thailand first or it installs totally in Thai.

Google shouldn't have access to these settings.

Anyway, here you go:

Format: German (Switzerland)

Keyboard: Swiss German

Location: Switzerland

Timezone: UTC +7 (Bangkok)

[Thaddeus]

Long shot but, what location are you set to in the Windows Regional and Language Settings?

I do know that if you want to install Google Earth you have to change it from Thailand first or it installs totally in Thai.

Google shouldn't have access to these settings.

You're right, it shouldn't, but it does.

Google has already decided who you are, your personal preferences on a wide range of subjects and predicted what you will like in the near future, because it will tell you.

[Tywais]

Long shot but, what location are you set to in the Windows Regional and Language Settings?

I do know that if you want to install Google Earth you have to change it from Thailand first or it installs totally in Thai.

Google shouldn't have access to these settings.

You're right, it shouldn't, but it does.

Google has already decided who you are, your personal preferences on a wide range of subjects and predicted what you will like in the near future, because it will tell you.

It is impressive. I can do a search on something at my office and when I come home and do the same search, all the sites I visited from the search results at the office show up marked as having visited them already. For me that is a convenience, for others perhaps invasive.

[manarak]

Long shot but, what location are you set to in the Windows Regional and Language Settings?

I do know that if you want to install Google Earth you have to change it from Thailand first or it installs totally in Thai.

Google shouldn't have access to these settings.

You're right, it shouldn't, but it does.

Google has already decided who you are, your personal preferences on a wide range of subjects and predicted what you will like in the near future, because it will tell you.

It is impressive. I can do a search on something at my office and when I come home and do the same search, all the sites I visited from the search results at the office show up marked as having visited them already. For me that is a convenience, for others perhaps invasive.

It's not that impressive if you logged in to your google account from both computers before and didn't wipe your cookies.

If you logged out from google and did wipe your cookies and the links still get marked, then it is worrying, meaning google uses flash cookies or other persistent datastores on the client system to trace users.

[Thaddeus]

Not really relevant to this thread, a cynical look at the net.......

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b012qtwd/Bigipedia_Series_2_Bigipedia_2.0_BigiBuzz!/

Only available for around 40 hours from now.

[ITGabs]

For fix the problem you need to add some values to the url, the next information and examples are for firefox but you can easily use the url as a default page in other browsers. (Firefox have the ability to do the search directly on the address bar)

In the Firefox address bar type about:config and enter, read the “message” and enter again (if is your first time in that area)

search -> keyword

double click on keyword.url

change the default for some of these

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=
or
http://www.google.co.th/search?hl=en&q=

Now you can search directly in the address bar and the result will be in english

you can change the language changing this hl=[languague]

for example for spanish/ESpaniol es

http://www.google.co.th/search?hl=es&q=

You can add more values for example:

&tbs=qdr:d   search default only for today
&tbs=qdr:w   search default only this week
&tbs=qdr:m   search default only this month
&tbs=qdr:y  search default only this year

&tbs=li:1 mode verbatim on (this desactivate the annoying idiot proff search on google that all the time it’s trying to correct your words wihtout asking)

sad that it’s not possible combine verbatim with time

&safe=off this desactivated the default “safe search: moderate”, very useful for find good images and videos.

&safe=on if you have children around this set up the safe search: strict

Examples:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&tbs=li:1&q=
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=on&tbs=qdr:y&q=

[JSixpack]

using maps.google.com and the interface turns up in Thai, ignoring my browser settings and previous languiage choices made on google.

it does the same on adwords, analytics, etc.

funnily enough, this occurs on firefox, in I.E. the proper language appears.

For the search issue in FF, just use this addon:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/always-com-googlecom-in-englis/

Then select it as your default search engine.

Fast & easy, I use it all the time.

[manarak]

Really good advice in this thread, thank you to the experts!