[anthk]

Im my case I think it was, at the grub/lilo/syslinux prompt:

          knoppix/linux (or any other kernel image) lang=es desktop=wmaker dma=on 

And a bunch of other options maybe.

[falsaberN1]

Ooh, didn't know it was possible to specify the desktop like that. Maybe I'll try it in a VM someday for fun.