By default, Gimp uses the same interface language as your Mac, and there is no way to configure this in the application settings. My Mac is set to Swedish, but I want Gimp in English. Here is how:

• Locate the folder /Applications/Gimp.app/Contents/MacOS, either in a Terminal or Finder.
• You should see two files, Gimp and gimp-x.y where x.y is the version number. Gimp is a shell script (a textfile containing commands), which prepares the environment before starting the real binary, gimp-x.y.
• Open the file Gimp in any texteditor. The end of the file should look something like:

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# setup help, for more information see bin/help-locale
rm -f /tmp/skl/Gimphelp
ln -s "$bundle_data/gimp/2.0/nohelp" /tmp/skl/Gimphelp
help-locale
# set the working directory to users home
cd ~/ > /dev/null

exec "$bundle_contents/MacOS/gimp-2.8"

• The last line beginning in exec is the one that actually starts Gimp. To make it use English, insert the following line just before the exec line:

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export LANG=en_US.UTF-8

This is how it should look when finished:

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# setup help, for more information see bin/help-locale
rm -f /tmp/skl/Gimphelp
ln -s "$bundle_data/gimp/2.0/nohelp" /tmp/skl/Gimphelp
help-locale
# set the working directory to users home
cd ~/ > /dev/null

export LANG=en_US.UTF-8
exec "$bundle_contents/MacOS/gimp-2.8"

• You have just changed the environment for Gimp, tricking it into believing it is running in an English/United-States environment. Feel free to substitute any valid locale string for en_US.UTF-8 to get a different language. You can find the supported locales on your Mac by typing the command locale -a in a Terminal.
• Exit your editor, saving the file. Now start Gimp as you normally would, and enjoy the interface in your language of choice!