NLS_LANGUAGE

Property	Description
Parameter type	String
Syntax	`NLS_LANGUAGE =` `language`
Default value	Operating system-dependent, derived from the `NLS_LANG` environment variable
Modifiable	`ALTER SESSION`
Range of values	Any valid language name
Basic	Yes

NLS_LANGUAGE specifies the default language of the database. This language is used for messages, day and month names, symbols for AD, BC, a.m., and p.m., and the default sorting mechanism. This parameter also determines the default values of the parameters NLS_DATE_LANGUAGE and NLS_SORT.

Note:

The value of this initialization parameter NLS_LANGUAGE is used to initialize the session value of this parameter, which is the actual value referenced by the SQL query processing. This initial value is overridden by a client-side value if the client uses the Oracle JDBC driver or if the client is OCI-based and the NLS_LANG client setting (environment variable) is defined. The initialization parameter value is, therefore, usually ignored.

Examples

See these examples of using the NLS_LANGUAGE parameter:

For an example of setting NLS_LANGUAGE to Italian, see Oracle Database Globalization Support Guide.
For an example of overriding default values for NLS_LANGUAGE and NLS_TERRITORY during a session, see Oracle Database Globalization Support Guide.