Do people care about flags when selecting a site language?
nfnaaron: I agree, a specific flag does not necessarily mean a specific language, and it's unnecessarily provocative.However, flags in general are associated with the idea of language.To show that a dropdown means "choose a language" you could put a cluster of neutral, solid-colored flags, a different color for each flag. In the dropdown include the standard country code along with the language name rendered in its own language.As for what language to start with, either:
- "your" language, or the predominate language that the site is developed and operated in, or
- geo-location, or
- what makes sense to you.But don't expect "foreign" speakers to speak the default language just because they happen to be reading your site from a particular country.That said, I think most people these days can find the "choose a language" knob, so just try not be rude and you'll be OK.