title: Rails i18n: How to know what is the current language?
body: <p>I am aware of how i18n/l10n is usually done in Rails3, and I chose to have a single ERB file that calls <code>t(...)</code> for localization. But for a particular part I need something special:</p>
  
  <p>I need to display a string whose <b>localization is coming from an external database</b>.</p>
  
  <p>So how can I know the current language, to call the external database with an <code>en</code> or <code>ja</code> parameter?</p>
  
  <p>Something like $LANG in UNIX. Preferably accessible from view or controller.</p>