Syd:

where are these values 'normally' stored? I use quotes because so many things seem to be distro-specific. I'm using MDK8.0 but info on any distro would be interesting. I looked in /etc/profile and /etc/bashrc (I think) but couldn't see anything related.

Yes, /etc/profile (or /etc/login for c-shells) is the normal place. You probably won't see a default setting, as if the variable is unset, it defaults to "C", the default (it stands for common, I think) locale. -- MJR