# Localization
Components can be localized by importing the appropriate translation file and setting the desired [`lang` attribute](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Global_attributes/lang) on the `` element. Here's an example that renders Shoelace components in Spanish.
```html
...
```
Through the magic of a mutation observer, changing the `lang` attribute will automatically update all localized components to use the new locale.
?> Shoelace provides a localization mechanism for component internals. This is not designed to be used as localization tool for your entire application. You should use a more appropriate tool such as [i18next](https://www.i18next.com/) if you need to localize content in your app.
## Available Translations
Shoelace ships with the following translations. The default is English (US), which also serves as the fallback locale. As such, you do not need to import the English translation.
- `en` - English (US)
- `de-CH` - German (Switzerland)
- `de` - German
- `es` - Spanish (Latin America)
- `fr` - French
- `ja` - Japanese
- `pl` - Polish
- `pt` - Portuguese
- `ru` - Russian
The location of translations depends on how you're consuming Shoelace.
- If you're using the CDN, [import them from the CDN](https://www.jsdelivr.com/package/npm/@shoelace-style/shoelace?path=dist%2Ftranslations)
- If you're using a bundler, import them from `@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/translations/[lang].js`
You do not need to load translations up front. You can import them dynamically even after updating the `lang` attribute. Once a translation is registered, localized components will update automatically.
```js
// Same as setting
document.documentElement.lang = 'de';
// Import the translation
import('/path/to/shoelace/dist/translations/de.js');
```
### Translation Resolution
The locale set by `` is the default locale for the document. If a country code is provided, e.g. `es-PE` for Peruvian Spanish, the localization library will resolve it like this:
1. Look for `es-PE`
2. Look for `es`
3. Fall back to `en`
Shoelace uses English as a fallback to provide a better experience than rendering nothing or throwing an error.
### Submitting New Translations or Improvements
To contribute new translations or improvements to existing translations, please submit a pull request on GitHub. Translations are located in [`src/translations`](https://github.com/shoelace-style/shoelace/blob/next/src/translations) and can be edited directly on GitHub if you don't want to clone the repo locally.
Regional translations are welcome! For example, if a German translation (`de`) exists it's perfectly acceptable to submit a German (Switzerland) (`de-CH`) translation.
If you have any questions, please start a [discussion](https://github.com/shoelace-style/shoelace/discussions) or ask in the [community chat](https://discord.gg/mg8f26C).
## Multiple Locales Per Page
You can use a different locale for an individual component by setting its `lang` attribute. Here's a contrived example to demonstrate.
```html
...
```
For performance reasons, the `lang` attribute must be on the component itself, not on an ancestor element.
```html
...
```
This limitation exists because there's no efficient way to determine the current locale of a given element in a DOM tree. I consider this a gap in the platform and [I've proposed a couple properties](https://github.com/whatwg/html/issues/7039) to make this possible.
## Creating Your Own Translations
You can provide your own translations if you have specific needs or if you don't want to wait for a translation to land upstream. The easiest way to do this is to copy `src/translations/en.ts` into your own project and translate the terms inside. When your translation is done, you can import it and use it just like a built-in translation.
Let's create a Spanish translation as an example. The following assumes you're using TypeScript, but you can also create translations with regular JavaScript.
```js
import { registerTranslation } from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/utilities/localize';
import type { Translation } from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/utilities/localize';
const translation: Translation = {
$code: 'es',
$name: 'Español',
$dir: 'ltr',
term1: '...',
term2: '...',
...
};
registerTranslation(translation);
export default translation;
```
Once your translation has been compiled to JavaScript, import it and activate it like this.
```html
...
```
?> If your translation isn't working, make sure you're using the same localize module when importing `registerTranslation`. If you're using a different module, your translation won't be recognized.