After you unwrap your new iPod and turn it on, you need to pick a language. The iPod supports 21 languages in its interface, including Spanish, German, French, Swedish, Greek, Danish, Japanese, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, and others. The language you select when you first take the iPod out of its box defines the presentation of the entire iPod menu system.
Turn On the iPod
Make sure that the Hold button is not engaged. Press any button, such as the Select button, to wake up the iPod from sleep mode.
Note
Most iPods have a partial battery charge when they're removed from their retail boxes. You should completely charge your iPod's battery as soon as you get it home from the store, but there is usually plenty of power to wake it from sleep and explore the menus after you set its language.
Choose Your Language
If the iPod's language has not yet been set (as is the case with new units), the first screen you see is a list of languages. This is your first opportunity to see how the navigation wheel works. Move your thumb in a circular path around the wheel to move the selection cursor up and down until your language of choice is highlighted. Press the Select button (in the center of the wheel) to choose this language and go to the iPod's Main Menu.
Change the iPod's Language
If you want to change the iPod's language, you can do so at any time by navigating into the Settings menu and then choosing the Language option. You can reach the Settings menu from anywhere in the iPod's interface by pressing Menu as many times as necessary to return you to the Main Menu screen (which is labeled iPod at the top) and then selecting Settings from the list.
Tip
If you accidentally set the iPod to a language you can't read, you can get to the Language menu like this: Press the Menu button a few times until you're at the Main Menu. (The top of the screen reads iPod, regardless of what language you're in.) Unless you have customized your Main Menu (see Customize the iPod's Main Menu), the Settings menuwhatever it's called in the language you have selectedis the fifth option from the top. Select that option; in the next screen, Language is the third option from the bottom. Select that option and then choose your correct language from the screen that follows.