SharePoint GB 2057 Localization

I was recently asked to dig around into an issue with an international SharePoint site we are setting up. I personally have little experience with globalization other having to read about it to pass a MS certification test.

There are language packs for SharePoint which are used to support configurable text for globalization. Well the issue was how is LCID 2057 for England handled? The English language pack supports 1033, which is for US English. LCID 2057 is a considered a sub language of 1033. So, would it be possible to create a unique resx file for GB that maps to 2057? After digging and stumbling around, the answer is it is not possible.

The only resolution would be in the web application set the regional settings to LCID 2057 (GB), and then modify the resx for US English (1033) in that specific web application.

This is what I was able to find out:

• There is only a language pack for English (1033).
  
• It is possible to have formatted text, like dates, formatted to 2057. It is possible to change the locale to 2057 by accessing the SPWeb.Locale. You can try to change the locale through the SharePoint Regional Settings screen in Site Settings, but you will not see a GB option, only US. Another way to change the locale is to go to Webs table in the site collection database; HOWEVER that is not supported by Microsoft.
  
• In the Webs table you will see another column called language. What I was able to find out is that the value in this column MUST correspond to a language pack that has been installed. Otherwise SharePoint will bomb. So setting Language = 2057 and Locale = 2057 will not work. However Language = 1033 and Locale = 2057 will work. What this will do is make sure that things like dates are formatted correctly. The reason why it fails is because in several places, including the 12 hive, SharePoint is building a relative path to resources installed when the Language Pack was installed. You will 1033 folders throughout the 12 hive. So if the Language is set to 2057, it will start looking for a 2057 folders and things will start breaking. At this point I said, it would not be possible to create a dedicated unique resx file for GB. Bummer.
  

Here are some references:

• http://www.i-arif.com/blog/post/2009/01/17/What-is-1033-.aspx
  
• http://nickgrattan.wordpress.com/2007/09/01/regional-settings-and-central-administration/
  
• http://grounding.co.za/blogs/brett/archive/2008/04/09/sharepoint-locale-id-lcid-table.aspx
  
• http://lumbgaps.blogspot.com/2007/08/sharepoint-2007-set-mysite-locale.html
  
• http://vspug.com/mirjam/2008/04/29/changing-the-language-of-an-existing-sharepoint-site/
  
• http://blogs.msdn.com/brianwilson/archive/2008/07/12/how-to-install-multiple-language-packs-for-office-sharepoint-server-2007.aspx