diff --git a/configure b/configure
index cdffec3e48..8cb8d00224 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -425,6 +425,20 @@ Audio output:
   --disable-coreaudio    disable CoreAudio audio output [autodetect]
   --disable-select       disable using select() on the audio device [enable]
 
+Language options:
+  --charset=charset      convert the console messages to this character set
+  --language-doc=lang    language to use for the documentation [en]
+  --language-man=lang    language to use for the man pages [en]
+  --language-msg=lang    language to use for the messages and the GUI [en]
+  --language=lang        default language to use [en]
+Specific options override --language. You can pass a list of languages separated
+by whitespace or commas instead of a single language. Nonexisting translations
+will be dropped from each list. All documentation and man page translations
+available in the list will be installed, for the messages the first available
+translation will be used. The value "all" will activate all translations. The
+LINGUAS environment variable is honored. In all cases the fallback is English.
+Available values are: all $msg_lang_all
+
 Miscellaneous options:
   --enable-runtime-cpudetection    enable runtime CPU detection [disable]
   --enable-cross-compile enable cross-compilation [autodetect]
@@ -438,12 +452,6 @@ Miscellaneous options:
   --windres=WINDRES      windres to build MPlayer [windres]
   --target=PLATFORM      target platform (i386-linux, arm-linux, etc)
   --enable-static        build a statically linked binary
-  --charset=charset      convert the console messages to this character set
-  --language-msg=LINGUA  language used for messages and the GUI [en]
-  --language=list        a white space or comma separated list of languages for
-                         translated man pages (the environment variable
-                         \$LINGUAS is also honored) [en]
-                         (Available: all $msg_lang_all)
   --with-install=PATH    path to a custom install program
 
 Advanced options:
@@ -849,6 +857,12 @@ for ac_option do
   --charset=*)
     _charset=$(echo $ac_option | cut -d '=' -f 2)
     ;;
+  --language-doc=*)
+    language_doc=$(echo $ac_option | cut -d '=' -f 2)
+    ;;
+  --language-man=*)
+    language_man=$(echo $ac_option | cut -d '=' -f 2)
+    ;;
   --language-msg=*)
     language_msg=$(echo $ac_option | cut -d '=' -f 2)
     ;;
@@ -2793,41 +2807,40 @@ echores "$_langinfo"
 
 
 echocheck "language"
+# Set preferred languages, "all" uses English as main language.
 test -z "$language" && language=$LINGUAS
-test -z "$language_msg" && language_msg=$LINGUAS
-language=$(echo $language | tr , " ")
+test -z "$language_doc" && language_doc=$language
+test -z "$language_man" && language_man=$language
+test -z "$language_msg" && language_msg=$language
+language_doc=$(echo $language_doc | tr , " ")
+language_man=$(echo $language_man | tr , " ")
 language_msg=$(echo $language_msg | tr , " ")
-if $(echo $language | grep -q all) ; then
-  doc_lang=en ; doc_langs=$doc_lang_all
-  man_lang=en ; man_langs=$man_lang_all
-else
-  for lang in $language ; do
-    if test -d DOCS/man/$lang ; then
-      tmp_man_langs="$tmp_man_langs $lang"
-    fi
-    if test -d DOCS/xml/$lang ; then
-      tmp_doc_langs="$tmp_doc_langs $lang"
-    fi
-  done
-  man_langs=$tmp_man_langs
-  doc_langs=$tmp_man_langs
-  for lang in $language_msg ; do
-    if test -f "help/help_mp-${lang}.h" ; then
-      msg_lang=$lang
-      break
-    else
-      echo ${_echo_n} "$lang not found, ${_echo_c}"
-      language_msg=$(echo $language_msg | sed "s/$lang *//")
-    fi
-  done
-fi
-test -z "$doc_langs" && doc_langs=en
-test -z "$man_langs" && man_langs=en
-test -z "$doc_lang" && doc_lang=$(echo $doc_langs | cut -f1 -d" ")
-test -z "$man_lang" && man_lang=$(echo $man_langs | cut -f1 -d" ")
-test -z "$msg_lang" && msg_lang=en
-_mp_help="help/help_mp-${msg_lang}.h"
-echores "messages: $msg_lang - man pages: $man_langs - documentation: $doc_langs"
+
+test "$language_doc" = "all" && language_doc=$doc_lang_all
+test "$language_man" = "all" && language_man=$man_lang_all
+test "$language_msg" = "all" && language_msg=en
+
+# Prune non-existing translations from language lists.
+# Set message translation to the first available language.
+# Fall back on English.
+for lang in $language_doc ; do
+  test -d DOCS/xml/$lang && tmp_language_doc="$tmp_language_doc $lang"
+done
+language_doc=$tmp_language_doc
+test -z "language_doc" && language_doc=en
+
+for lang in $language_man ; do
+  test -d DOCS/man/$lang && tmp_language_man="$tmp_language_man $lang"
+done
+language_man=$tmp_language_man
+test -z "language_man" && language_man=en
+
+for lang in $language_msg ; do
+  test -f "help/help_mp-${lang}.h" && language_msg=$lang && break
+done
+test -z "language_msg" && language_msg=en
+_mp_help="help/help_mp-${language_msg}.h"
+echores "messages: $language_msg - man pages: $language_man - documentation: $language_doc"
 
 
 echocheck "enable sighandler"
@@ -8113,10 +8126,8 @@ export LC_ALL = C
 CONFIGURATION = $_configuration
 
 CHARSET = $_charset
-DOC_LANG = $doc_lang
 DOC_LANGS = $doc_langs
 DOC_LANG_ALL = $doc_lang_all
-MAN_LANG = $man_lang
 MAN_LANGS = $man_langs
 MAN_LANG_ALL = $man_lang_all
 
@@ -8910,8 +8921,9 @@ Config files successfully generated by ./configure $_configuration !
   Optimizing for: $_optimizing
 
   Languages:
-    Messages/GUI: $msg_lang
-    Manual pages: $man_langs
+    Messages/GUI: $language_msg
+    Manual pages: $language_man
+    Documentation: $language_doc
 
   Enabled optional drivers:
     Input: $_inputmodules