LOCALE phrase

The LOCALE phrase specifies the culturally-appropriate format of the date, time, or timestamp item.

When the LOCALE phrase is specified, without literal-2, the format and separator used for the date and time items is completely based on the locale.

When the LOCALE phrase is specified with literal-2, literal-2 determines the format of the item, but the conversion specifications are replaced with items based on the locale.

mnemonic-name-1, mnemonic-name-2
If a mnemonic-name is specified, the locale used for the date or time item is one associated with the mnemonic-name in the LOCALE clause of the SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph. If a mnemonic-name is not specified, the current locale is used. For more information about how to determine the current locale, refer to CEELOCT: get current local date or time in the COBOL for Linux® on x86 Programming Guide.