You can also put {$node.object|attribute('show',2)} to see what variables concerning languages you can use.
Have also a look at this thread : http://ez.no/community/forum/setup_design/available_languages_for_objects_in_3_8 it can help you to understand some things, and if you find an answer ...
ezini('RegionalSettings','Locale') gives you the locale as defined in the siteaccess, which still works in 3.8. New in 3.8 is $node.object.current_language, which gives you the language of the actual object. This is not necessarily the same as the language of the site access. In site.ini.append you can specify in SiteLanguageList[] which translations are to be presented, and in which priority. If the object is not available in the language of the site access, it can be displayed in another language. The value of ShowUntranslatedObjects also influences which translation is actually shown.