Should I use flags for languages?
Is it acceptable to use flag icon links for selecting desired languages? Would certain English speaking countries be offended if they had to click the ‘Union Jack’ even if they weren’t British? What about the many millions of Spanish speakers in South America. Do they mind clicking their coloniser’s flag? Or is it only fare that the country who invented the language be attributed with this honour?
The W3C has a couple of paragraphs to say about the matter: Internationalization Best Practices: Specifying Language in XHTML & HTML Content - Don’t use flags to indicate languages.
The discussions in “Why you should not use a flag as a symbol of language” illustrate the main arguments for and against flag language indicators and buttons. Personally I feel that the flag as a language icon is so recognisable to the majority of users that it is the best option for now. It is so nice to get your meaning across with a 16px by 12px png! If there are objections then we will have to think again and perhaps use text instead.