iOS Get localized version of a string for a specific language

Question

I'm building an application for iOS that will be available in both English and French languages. I've read some tutorials around internationalization and I have an understanding of how it works and what I need to do.

The problem I'm having is there is a specific case where I want to load French strings for an English user.

I understand it's possible to set the language for the entire application, but that it requires the application to be restarted before it will take affect. I'd like to avoid this, and instead be able to pick to load French or English strings on demand.

Is it possible to load strings from a .strings file for a specific language programmatically?

Answer 1

I solved this by extending String with this method. You can get localized string for any locale you have in your app this way.

extension String {
    func localized(forLanguageCode lanCode: String) -> String {
        guard
            let bundlePath = Bundle.main.path(forResource: lanCode, ofType: "lproj"),
            let bundle = Bundle(path: bundlePath)
        else { return "" }
        
        return NSLocalizedString(
            self,
            bundle: bundle,
            value: " ",
            comment: ""
        )
    }
}

Example (get localized string for ukrainian language when system language is english):

"settings_choose_language".localized(forLanguageCode: "uk")