Change MAME's UI language on Android without changing the game region
Confirm the Android port includes MAME language files, record its effective languagepath, and select a language name that exists in that tree. Restart and verify MAME menus and help text. This changes MAME's user interface only; it does not translate a game's graphics, alter its ROM region, or change machine DIP switches.
Do this in order
- 01
Record the Android package, embedded MAME revision, current UI language, and whether the wrapper exposes effective configuration or launch arguments.
- 02
Inspect the installed package or its documented data directory for the official language tree; do not download an unrelated translation bundle.
- 03
Read the effective languagepath, whose upstream default is the language directory relative to MAME's working directory.
- 04
Choose a language name present in that tree using the wrapper or MAME's language option, then quit normally and restart.
- 05
Verify menus, warnings, help, and one configuration screen while keeping the same authorized machine and unchanged DIP settings.
- 06
If text is missing or boxed, restore the previous language and diagnose the language files or UI font separately before saving the change.
Decision and diagnostic table
| Observed result | Boundary | Next check |
|---|---|---|
| Language is not listed | Package lacks that translation | Inspect official package contents |
| Selection resets after restart | Wrapper/config precedence | Read effective configuration |
| Menus translate; game does not | Expected UI-only behavior | Change machine settings only if intended |
| Boxes replace characters | UI font coverage | Test default font and exact language |
Language and languagepath solve different gates
The language option selects a localization found beneath languagepath. A valid language name cannot work when the package omitted the matching files or points MAME at the wrong tree.
The emulated machine remains unchanged
MAME's menu localization does not rewrite program ROMs, artwork, speech, region data, or DIP switches. Keep frontend language evidence separate from the machine configuration receipt.
The installed port is the authority
An Android wrapper may not expose every upstream option. Use its effective configuration and supplied files rather than copying a desktop path or claiming an unverified port capability.
Use only games, firmware, artwork, audio, fonts, and other media you created, dumped lawfully, or received with permission covering your use. A frontend setting never grants redistribution rights, and ArcadeShelf does not link to ROM or BIOS packs.