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Setting Language and Territory Parameters

Establishing a Globalization Support Environment
Working in a Global Environment 6-9
locale-dependent behavior for the client and also to override the default values set for
the session in the initialization parameter file. For example, on a Linux system:
% setenv NLS_SORT FRENCH
Setting Language and Territory Parameters
Setting different NLS parameters for local territories allows the database session to use
different cultural settings. For example, you can set the euro (
EUR
) as the primary
currency and the Japanese yen (
JPY
) as the secondary currency for a given database
session, even when the territory is defined as
AMERICA
.
Using the NLS_LANGUAGE Parameter
The
NLS_LANGUAGE
parameter can be set to any valid language name. The default is
derived from the
NLS_LANG
setting.
NLS_LANGUAGE
specifies the default conventions
for the following session characteristics:
Language for server messages
Language for day and month names and their abbreviations (specified in the SQL
functions
TO_CHAR
and
TO_DATE
)
Symbols for equivalents of
AM
,
PM
,
AD
, and
BC
Default sorting sequence for character data when the
ORDER
BY
clause is specified
(the
GROUP BY
clause uses a binary sort order unless
ORDER
BY
is specified.)
To set the NLS_LANGUAGE parameter:
You can change the
NLS_LANGUAGE
parameter value and see the effect in the display
of results from a query. The following examples show the effect of setting
NLS_
LANGUAGE
first to Italian and then to German.
1.
In SQL Developer, make a note of the current language in which Oracle Database
was installed.
Under Connections, expand Data Dictionary reports, then About Your Database,
and then National Language Support Parameters. In the Select Connection dialog
See Also:
"Setting NLS Parameters" in Oracle Database Globalization
Support Guide
for details on setting the NLS parameters
Oracle Database SQL Language Reference for more information
about the
ALTER SESSION
statement
Oracle Database SQL Language Reference for more information
about SQL functions, including the
TO_CHAR
function
Oracle Database Administrator's Guide for information about the
initialization parameter file
Oracle Database Reference for information about initialization
parameters used for globalization support
See Also:
Oracle Database Globalization Support Guide for locale information,
including supported languages and territories
Choosing a Locale with the NLS_LANG Parameter
on page 6-8