Pedro Andres Aranda Gutierrez <[email protected]> writes:

> OK, I have reshuffled the sections contents...

What about also moving LATEX_MULTI_LANG = nil below babel/polyglossia?

> I hope the flow is more understandable now.
> I have always been reluctant because there are too many things intertwined 
> here.
> I felt using LATEX_MULTI_LANG as a keyword would introduce less confusion...
>
> Anyhow, I don't want to open Pandora's box until someone asks what
> about setting the language in the document class, which is also
> possible...

What do not have to support this other than by setting LATEX_MULTI_LANG
to nil and letting user do whatever they want to.

> :properties:
> #+LABEL: LaTeX languages and character sets
> :end:

This incorrect syntax is still there.

>  Consult the package manuals to get the language name[fn:50] for the
>  LaTeX markup.

Should we also refer to `org-latex-language-alist'? Otherwise, people
may not know how to link between Org mode's abbreviations and
babel/polyglossia language names.

I am attaching another set of suggestions as a patch.
Please consider.
I fixed a number of grammar issues and typos.
I added an example to LANGUAGE keyword description.
I made sure to use "option" when talking about export options rather
than just mentioning keyword.
I also moved a note that polyglossia does not work with pdflatex to a
footnote. Finally, I moved the reference to babel/polyglossia font
configuration just below their description, and added extra emphasis
that the fonts need to be configured.

>From f9616a164055b2f827f58088b24d36ef8ecc0776 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
Message-ID: <f9616a164055b2f827f58088b24d36ef8ecc0776.1760635005.git.yanta...@posteo.net>
From: Ihor Radchenko <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2025 19:16:34 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] doc/org-manual.org: Suggestions

---
 doc/org-manual.org | 96 ++++++++++++++++++++++++----------------------
 1 file changed, 50 insertions(+), 46 deletions(-)

diff --git a/doc/org-manual.org b/doc/org-manual.org
index 536df647b..1bc6d22c7 100644
--- a/doc/org-manual.org
+++ b/doc/org-manual.org
@@ -14232,10 +14232,12 @@ *** LaTeX specific export settings
   #+vindex: org-latex-language-alist
   #+vindex: org-export-default-language
 
-  List of languages in the document. The first language is the main
-  language in the document. If this keyword is not specified, use a
-  one-element list with the value of ~org-export-default-language~ (by
-  default - =en=, American English)
+  List of languages in the document, separated by spaces. For example,
+  : #+LANGUAGE: fr de es
+  #+texinfo: @noindent
+  The first language is the main language in the document. If this
+  keyword is not specified, use a single language specified in
+  ~org-export-default-language~ (by default - =en=, American English)
 
   The language codes supported by Org are stored in the variable
   ~org-latex-language-alist~.
@@ -14247,7 +14249,7 @@ *** LaTeX specific export settings
   #+vindex: org-export-default-language
 
   The strategy to handle multi-lingual features.  Possible values
-  are ~nil~, ~fontspec~, ~polyglossia~ or ~babel~.
+  are ~nil~ (default), ~fontspec~, ~polyglossia~ or ~babel~.
   See more details about setting up multi-language documents in the
   [[*Handling different languages and character sets in LaTeX exports]] section.
 
@@ -14365,26 +14367,26 @@ *** Handling different languages and character sets in LaTeX exports
   font configuration, which depend on the document class, the LaTeX
   compiler and multi-language support package you use[fn:49].
 
-  For documents that a written for outside an American English
+  For documents that are written for outside an American English
   linguistic context and for multilingual documents, LaTeX provides
-  the packages =babel= or =polyglossia= to localise document features
-  like text direction (left-to-right vs. right-to-left), the table of
-  contents, dates, hyphenation, etc.
-
-  Org provides the =LANGUAGE= keyword to specify the languages used in
-  a document and the =LATEX_MULTI_LANG= keyword to set the way to
-  handle localisation and font configuration when exporting to LaTeX.
-
-  =LATEX_MULTI_LANG= is ~nil~ by default. In this case, you need to
-  handle localisation manually.  In this case you need to configure
-  LaTeX language features manually in LaTeX headers (see
+  two packages: =babel= and =polyglossia=. These packages localise
+  document features like text direction (left-to-right
+  vs. right-to-left), the table of contents, dates, hyphenation, etc.
+
+  Org mode can assist configuring LaTeX when =LANGUAGE= and
+  =LATEX_MULTI_LANG= options are provided. =LANGUAGE= is used to
+  specify the languages used in a document and =LATEX_MULTI_LANG= is
+  used to chose which LaTeX packages should be used to handle
+  localisation and font configuration when exporting to LaTeX.
+
+  =LATEX_MULTI_LANG= is ~nil~ by default.  In this case you need to
+  configure LaTeX language features manually in LaTeX headers (see
   ~#+LATEX_HEADER~ keyword).  For convenience, if the LaTeX headers
   load =babel= or =polyglossia=, you may use =AUTO= in the package
-  options to refer to the document's main language. Org's will
-  translate it according to the value of the =#+LANGUAGE= keyword. Use
-  this setting when you must use =pdflatex= and follow the
-  instructions in [[#pdflatex-fonts]] to set up fonts in your
-  document. For example:
+  options to refer to the document's main language. Org will translate
+  it according to the value of the =LANGUAGE= option. Use this setting
+  when you must use =pdflatex= and then follow the instructions in
+  [[#pdflatex-fonts]] to set up fonts in your document. For example:
 
   #+BEGIN_EXAMPLE
 #+LANGUAGE: es
@@ -14399,12 +14401,14 @@ *** Handling different languages and character sets in LaTeX exports
   #+texinfo:@noindent
   Multiple languages are also handled.
 
-  When =#+LATEX_MULTI_LANG= is set to either ~babel~ or ~polyglossia~,
-  Org will use the indicated LaTeX package to handle multi-language
-  support.  Either should be used for non-English documents.  Both
-  provide setting up your font configuration globally for your
-  document and on a per-language basis.  The =LANGUAGE= option will be
-  used to determine the main and secondary languages.  For example:
+  When =#+LATEX_MULTI_LANG= is set to either ~babel~ or
+  ~polyglossia~[fn::Note that ~polyglossia~ only works with ~xelatex~
+  and ~lualatex~, but not with ~pdflatex~ compiler.], Org mode will
+  use the indicated LaTeX package to handle multi-language support.
+  Either should be used for non-English documents.  Both provide
+  setting up your font configuration globally for your document and on
+  a per-language basis.  The =LANGUAGE= setting will be used to
+  determine the main and secondary languages.  For example:
 
   #+BEGIN_SRC org :results none :exports code
 ,#+LANGUAGE: fr de es
@@ -14416,6 +14420,14 @@ *** Handling different languages and character sets in LaTeX exports
   typesetting options) is French and there are passages in German and
   Spanish.
 
+  Remember that in addition to the above, you will also need to
+  configure appropriate fonts that can render all the text used in the
+  document. See [[#lualatex-polyglossia]] and [[#babel-fontconfig]]
+  for more details about how to configure fonts using ~babel~ and
+  ~polyglossia~. We recommend using ~lualatex~ or ~xelatex~ for
+  reliable non-Latin language support, as they support loading system
+  fonts, unlike ~pdflatex~.
+
   When using multiple languages, you can include passages in non-main
   language using embedded LaTeX markup, which will depend on the
   package you use.
@@ -14443,26 +14455,18 @@ *** Handling different languages and character sets in LaTeX exports
   Consult the package manuals to get the language name[fn:50] for the
   LaTeX markup.
 
-  See [[#lualatex-polyglossia]] and [[#babel-fontconfig]] for more
-  details about how to configure fonts using ~babel~ and
-  ~polyglossia~.
-
   When =#+LATEX_MULTI_LANG= is set to ~fontspec~, Org mode will
   configure the document's fonts using LaTeX's ~fontspec~ package.
   This assumes that the document is intended for an American English
-  context. ~fontspec~ will help you to configure the fonts used in the
-  document. It distinguishes between the Roman (=main=), Sans-serif
-  (=sans=) and monotype (=mono=) fonts, and can provide fallbacks for
-  character sets (for example, ~emoji~, ~han~, ~kana~, etc.) not
-  supported by the default fonts.  See [[#lualatex-fontspec]] for more
-  details.  Note that ~fontspec~ is not intended for document
-  localisation and that it does not work with =pdflatex= compiler.  We
-  recommend using =lualatex= or =xelatex= for reliable non-Latin
-  language support.
-
-  Finally, remember that ~polyglossia~ does not work with =pdflatex=
-  compiler.  We recommend using =lualatex= or =xelatex= for reliable
-  non-Latin language support.
+  context (header, figure, table names and typesetting options will be
+  set for American English). ~fontspec~ will only configure the fonts
+  used in the document. It distinguishes between the Roman (=main=),
+  Sans-serif (=sans=) and monotype (=mono=) fonts, and can provide
+  fallbacks for character sets (for example, ~emoji~, ~han~, ~kana~,
+  etc.) not supported by the default fonts.  See
+  [[#lualatex-fontspec]] for more details.  Note that ~fontspec~ does
+  not work with =pdflatex= compiler.  We recommend using =lualatex= or
+  =xelatex= for reliable non-Latin language support.
 
   To fine-tune the document's appearance provided by the LaTeX
   document class you use, you may need to change the font
@@ -14473,7 +14477,7 @@ *** Handling different languages and character sets in LaTeX exports
 
   Modern, UTF-8 enabled LaTeX compilers (i.e. =lualatex= and
   =xelatex=) handle font configuration using the package
-  =fontspec=. We recommend to choose Unicode fonts that include the
+  =fontspec=. We recommend choosing Unicode fonts that include the
   non-Latin character sets you use to simplify the configuration
   (cf. [[#nonpdflatex-fonts]]).
 
-- 
2.50.1

-- 
Ihor Radchenko // yantar92,
Org mode maintainer,
Learn more about Org mode at <https://orgmode.org/>.
Support Org development at <https://liberapay.com/org-mode>,
or support my work at <https://liberapay.com/yantar92>

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