follow the steps here:

# When you've rebooted Knoppix from your hard disk, click on the KDE Control Centre icon in the launcher at the bottom of the screen (icon of a colour monitor with a card in front of it)

# Within the Control Center, click on Personliche Einstellungen

# Click on Land und Sprache

# Choose the locale and language of your choice

# Click on Andwenden at bottom of that window

# Close and restart the Control Center

# Click on Peripherals, then Keyboard, and choose your preferred keyboard layout (which will probably be US.English. Click OK and close the window


pasted from: http://www.freenet.org.nz/misc/knoppix-install.html