How can I change my default language without losing translations?

[alema_essential]

Hello, whenever i try to change my default language into German, all my previously existing translations are lost. I have exported the CSV file with all current translations but it seems like this doesn't seem to be working as supposed to. Any idea how to resolve this? Many thanks

[richbrown_staff]

Hi @alema_essential, what's your goal by changing the default language? If it's to change the default language customers see on your store, then this is done via the primary market's languages and domains settings (Settings > Markets > Primary market > Languages and domains).

The default language in Settings > Languages is the language you originate content in. Changing the default language here changes the language locale associated with your content that exists in admin. It doesn't swap your German translations over to be the default content in admin. Broadly changing the default language is best avoided, as it will usually mean rewriting everything in your store. 

[richbrown_staff]

@Dunacase This may answer your question, let me know if not

[Transcy]

Hello @alema_essential ,

You can try to take one of these suggestions:

• Backup translations: Ensure that you have a backup of all your existing translations. Exporting the CSV file with current translations, as you mentioned, is a good practice. Additionally, make sure to store the exported CSV file in a safe location for reference.
• Manually re-import translations: If the translations are not automatically carried over when changing the default language, you can try manually re-importing them using the exported CSV file. You can go to the Settings -> Translations section in your Shopify admin panel. Choose the new default language (German) and use the "Upload file" option to import the CSV file containing the translations. Shopify should map the translations from the file to the appropriate fields.
• Verify CSV file format: Double-check that the CSV file containing the translations is formatted correctly. Ensure that the headers and columns match the expected format for importing translations into Shopify. Review the CSV file's structure and ensure that the translations are aligned with the correct fields.

Hope this can help. Let us know if you find anything.

Transcy

[Darius90]

@Shopify  I am interested in this topic too. Client created a shop without deep understanding and selected ENGLISH as his default language. After a while noticed, that shopify market redirects or geolocation app redirects don't work as they should(market redirects don't work because of GDPR in EU, APP catches the default browser language, and most of people set the default browser language to EN) So the only option is to change default language and loosing all translations...