Viewing Non-Latin Text Responses in SAS, SPSS, and Stata

For SAS, Stata, and SPSS, follow the below to see non-Latin text in a data set displayed properly.

SAS v8 and Higher

Launch the “Unicode” version of SAS for Windows, start SAS through Start | SAS | Additional languages | SAS x.x (Unicode Support).

SPSS v16 and Higher

  1. Start SPSS, but cancel the first window and do not open any datasets.
  2. File -> New -> Syntax, then write in the syntax window: set locale=languagename. Note: replace “languagename” with the language you want to use. For example, set locale=Japanese.
  3. In the Syntax Editor, select Run -> All
  4. Open the dataset

The SPSS locale setting will stay even after you quit SPSS. You can change it back by running the syntax, set locale=English. For additional information, please see your SPSS documentation.

Stata, SPSS (versions prior to v16), and SAS (versions prior to v8)

  1. Open Control Panel.
  2. Select Clock, Language, and Region.
  3. Select Region and Language|Change the date, time, or number format.
  4. Select Administrative tab.
  5. Under “Language for non-Unicode Programs”, select “Change system locale” button.
  6. From Region and Language Settings dialog box, select a new locale from the drop-down list.
  7. Select OK to close the Region and Language dialog box.

If the “View by” setting for Control Panel is not “Category”, select “Region” to open the Region and Language settings dialog box.

Note: Changing this setting will affect all non-Unicode programs running on your system.