message.texi contains: The @var{locale} component is computed based on the category used. Just like for the @code{setlocale} function here comes the user selection into the play. Some environment variables are examined in a fixed order and the first environment variable set determines the return value of the lookup process. In detail, for the category @code{LC_xxx} the following variables in this order are examined: @table @code @item LANGUAGE @item LC_ALL @item LC_xxx @item LANG @end table But this is incorrect: LANGUAGE does not always have the precedence over the other variables, as shown below: ypig% LANGUAGE=fr_FR LC_ALL=en_US cp cp: opérande fichier manquant Saisissez « cp --help » pour plus d'informations. ypig% LANGUAGE=fr_FR LC_ALL=C cp cp: missing file operand Try `cp --help' for more information.