# The Languages manual

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**Table of contents · 24 October 2026 · S9 of plan CORE. Atrium ships English only; the machinery for every other
language is here, and a language is added as a folder of words.**

Everyone reads the app in a language and a time zone: their own if they chose one, else their workspace's, else English
and UTC. Dates, times, numbers and money are written the way that language writes them, in that time zone. An e-mail is
written in its recipient's language. A language right to left (Arabic, Hebrew) turns the whole page around.

The one sentence to carry through it: **a language is a folder of words, switched on only when every word is
translated, so nobody ever sees half a language.**

**Who meets what**

| Seat | Who | What they do here |
|---|---|---|
| Everyone | Anyone with an account | Chooses their own language and time zone, or keeps the workspace's |
| Owner, Admin | Whoever may manage the workspace's settings (`setting.manage`); whoever may see them (`setting.view`) sees the page without changing it | Sets the workspace's language, time zone and currency |
| Service | The platform's owner (`lookup.view`, `lookup.manage`) | Sees each language and how much is translated; switches one on |
| Operator | Whoever deploys | Adds a language's folder of words |

**As shipped**

| | Shipped |
|---|---|
| Languages | English, switched on and never off (the fallback) |
| A workspace's language · time zone · currency | English · UTC · none, until its Owner or Admin sets them |
| A person's language · time zone | The workspace's |
| A date · a time · a number · money (English) | 24 Oct 2026 · 16:30 · 1,234,567 · GHS 1,234.50 |

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## Part 1 · Languages and regions

- [1.1 Choosing your language and time zone](p01-languages.md#11-choosing-your-language-and-time-zone)
- [1.2 Setting the workspace's language, time zone and currency](p01-languages.md#12-setting-the-workspaces-language-time-zone-and-currency)
- [1.3 Switching a language on](p01-languages.md#13-switching-a-language-on)
- [1.4 Adding a language](p01-languages.md#14-adding-a-language)