Do you ever get lost trying to read tweets in multiple languages? With over 300 million active users tweeting in over 40 tongues, Twitter can get pretty multilingual. Fortunately, you can easily customize Twitter‘s settings to see content in your preferred languages.
In this guide, I‘ll walk you through how to:
- Change the interface language on desktop
- Switch tweet language preferences
- Translate tweets with one click
Follow the steps below to make Twitter work for you, regardless of where you tweet from.
Why Change Twitter‘s Language Settings?
There are a few great reasons to modify your Twitter language experience:
- Accessibility – Use an interface language you understand well for ease of use.
- Location – See local content when living abroad or traveling.
- Learning – Read tweets in languages you‘re studying.
- Interests – Follow topics across languages and borders.
With over 300 million users worldwide, Twitter contains a treasure trove of ideas and conversations – no matter what languages you speak! Tweaking these settings helps you access all that richness.
Key Differences: Interface vs Tweet Languages
Before diving in, it helps to understand how interface and content languages work on Twitter:
| Interface Language | Tweet Content Language | |
|---|---|---|
| Affects | Menus, buttons, search, etc. | Tweets shown in your timeline |
| Customization | Change on desktop only | Change on desktop and mobile |
| Limitations | Doesn‘t affect tweets | Only works for supported languages |
| Benefits | Makes navigation easier | See tweets in multiple languages |
Now let‘s look at how to change each setting on desktop and mobile.
Method 1: Changing Twitter‘s Interface Language on Desktop
Twitter picks interface language based on your location, so it likely defaults to your native tongue. Changing it is easy:
Step 1: Click "More"
Log into Twitter.com and click the More icon on the left sidebar menu.
This opens a menu of account and settings options.
Step 2: Choose Settings
In the "More" menu, click Settings and support. Then select Settings and privacy from the dropdown.
This takes you to the full Settings dashboard.
Step 3: Select Languages
In Settings, click Accessibility, display, and languages on the left. Then choose Languages from the options that appear.
This displays your current interface and content language preferences.
Step 4: Click Display Language
Under Languages, click the blue Display language button. This opens a list of language options.
You can pick any languages available here for your interface.
Step 5: Choose Your Language
Select your desired interface language from the dropdown menu. Twitter supports dozens of languages to choose from.
Once you pick a language, the dropdown will switch to display it.
Step 6: Save Changes
Click the blue Save button at the bottom of the page to make your new interface language stick.
If you don‘t hit Save, Twitter will revert back on next login.
That‘s all it takes to modify your Twitter web interface language! This makes menus, buttons, search, and other controls display in your chosen tongue.
The rest of this article covers changing tweet content language and translating tweets. But if you only need the interface settings, you can stop here.
Method 2: Changing Tweet Language on Desktop and Mobile
In addition to interface language, you can customize the language of tweets shown in your timeline. This is handy for seeing tweets in multiple languages.
You‘ll need to change timeline languages separately on desktop and mobile. Let‘s tackle desktop first:
Change Tweet Language on Desktop
Step 1: Click "More"
Just like before, click the More icon in the left sidebar and go to Settings and privacy.
This opens the full Settings dashboard again.
Step 2: Go to Languages
In Settings, click Accessibility, display, and languages. Then select Additional languages you speak.
This shows your current timeline language preferences.
Step 3: View Language Options
In the pop-up window, click the blue Show more button at the bottom to view all language choices.
Twitter supports dozens of languages for timeline tweets.
Step 4: Select Languages
Check or uncheck boxes to select which languages you want to see tweets in. Your selections will populate your timeline.
For example, checking English and Spanish will show tweets in both languages.
Step 5: Save Selections
Once you‘ve chosen your timeline languages, click the blue Done button at the bottom to apply the changes.
Change Tweet Language on Mobile
You can also customize your mobile Twitter timeline languages:
Step 1: Open Settings
In the Twitter mobile app, tap your profile icon in the top left. Then select Settings and privacy from the menu.
This will display your account settings.
Step 2: Choose Languages
Scroll down and tap Accessibility, display, and languages. Then choose Other languages.
Your current timeline languages will be checked here.
Step 3: View More Languages
At the very bottom, tap the Show more button to see all language options.
This displays the full list of languages supported.
Step 4: Select Languages
Tap to check or uncheck the boxes next to each language you want to see (or not see) in your timeline.
Checking multiple boxes will make tweets in those languages appear.
Step 5: Apply Changes
Tap the back button at the top left once you‘ve finished selecting languages. This will save your choices.
And that‘s all it takes to curate the languages of tweets shown in your timeline, on both desktop and mobile Twitter.
Method 3: Translating Tweets
When you stumble upon a tweet in another language, Twitter‘s built-in translation can help. Here‘s how it works:
Some tweets will show a Translate Tweet link right below the original post text.
Simply click or tap this link to instantly see the tweet text translated into your account‘s interface language.
This on-demand translation makes it easy to read tweets in many foreign languages. However, it only works for tweets and languages that Twitter supports.
For the best experience, use translation in combination with multiple timeline languages. This way, you‘ll see more untranslated local tweets while still accessing translations when you need them.
Additional Language Resources on Twitter
To recap, you can customize Twitter‘s languages in three ways:
- Change interface language on desktop
- Add timeline tweet languages on desktop and mobile
- Translate tweets with built-in translations
Here are more Twitter resources to aid your multilingual experience:
- Twitter language settings FAQs
- Accessibility features for multiple languages
- How Twitter‘s translation engine works
I hope these tips help you access Twitter tweets and conversations in the languages you want! Let me know if you have any other questions.