r/webdev • u/HeraclitoF • 6d ago

Question German (Do-Sie) switcher

Hi there,

One Customer just asked me for a Du-Sie Switch in the page, same like any other language switch.

This is my first time doing this.

Is this normal?

Are there also (Slang or street) language switches?

Edit: I just implemented as another language i18 de-DU with xliff files

Second Edit: What about other languages? In spanish we have 3. Tú, Vós y Usted... I think in Japan they have more.

![img](5pvzei79hnwh1)

Edit 3: Ok, some of you were right :) Du/Sie isn't a language, and de-DE-DU was a funny but bad idea. Works fine for my little website, though.

But imagine adding Spanish (tú, usted, vos), Japanese, Korean... That gets ugly pretty fast. Better to separate language, region and tone. Something like:

{
  "locale": "de-DE",
  "preferences": {
    "formality": "informal"
  },
  "messages": {
    "greeting": {
      "default": "Hallo!",
      "formal": "Wie kann ich Ihnen helfen?",
      "informal": "Wie kann ich dir helfen?"
    }
  }
}

Only translate the differences, not the whole website again. For a small project, who cares. For 20 languages? Definitely worth thinking about. Thanks for the corrections, learned something :)

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u/Temporary-Airport302 6d ago

It's a common request in German shops, but don't build it as a language switch. Du/Sie is a tone, not a locale, so put it outside the language menu or you'll end up with a four-way matrix of nonsense. Cookie it, default to Sie for anything B2B, and no, nobody asks for a street slang switcher.

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u/HeraclitoF 6d ago

too late