Localizing Linux, using the Debian distribution as an example

Localizing Debian Linux to Polish is simple! Learn step by step how to make your system speak Polish. Overcome the language barrier and enjoy Linux.

For many computer users, a foreign language is still an insurmountable barrier. I've come across opinions like: "maybe I'd try this Linux thing, but it's in English". Well, no. Linux speaks Polish, and has for a long time.
For this we install and configure the locales package
#installation as root
aptituide install locales
#then we configure our package, selecting pl_PL.UTF-8
dpkg-reconfigure locales
#installing Polish fonts
aptituide install fonty-rg
#we download manuals in Polish
aptituide install manpages-pl

We need to decide whether we're localizing Linux globally or locally (for a specific account) : export LC_ALL=pl_PL.UTF-8
export LANG=pl_PL.UTF-8
export LANGUAGE=pl_PL.UTF-8
GLOBALLY: we save the three "exports" above to the /etc/profile file
LOCALLY: we save the three "exports" above to the .profile or .bash_profile file in the user's home directory

The last step is to log back into the system.