Default language is english but I wrote my store in my native language

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Topic summary

  • Issue: Store’s default language was set to English, but most content (titles, headers, product text) was written in Romanian. Goal was to keep Romanian as the base content and add a fully English version using Shopify’s Translate & Adapt app.

  • Key guidance: A Shopify staff member advised switching the store’s default language to Romanian. This doesn’t change content; it reassigns the locale so the system correctly treats existing text as Romanian. Then add English and translate via Translate & Adapt.

  • Additional help: One member shared a settings screenshot to verify configuration, and another offered direct assistance (in Romanian) via DM.

  • Outcome: The OP changed the default to Romanian and began translating to English. Initially ~385 fields showed “missing translation” in view mode, but after filling most, the store functions correctly with minor tweaks remaining.

  • Notes: Missing translations can occur if the theme lacks Romanian language files; free Shopify themes include Romanian, but not all themes do. Status: Resolved with a clear path forward; no open questions.

Summarized with AI on December 27. AI used: gpt-5.
1

Hi there! Think I may have made a little mess and hopefully there is an easy fix or way around it.

I created my shopify store with the default language set to English but everything I added (from descriptions to headers, footers, titles, etc.) is in my native language: Romanian, so now, you could say it is a mix of both (the english part is at minimum, I kept words like : Home, Checkout, Search, pretty much the international ones).

Now, when we are almost done with it, we want to create a version of the Store that is fully English. (was easier for us to write our ideas and descriptions in romanian).

I downloaded the Shopify App - Translate and Adapt - and when I checked to add the English language to the store, it says it is already set the default to English. (actually what I want is to translate the store to English and add the language).

Right now, it is set as English but created in Romanian.

What I am thinking to do is to add the Romanian Language, translate the store to Romanian (even tho it will be something like translate from Mix of English/Romanian to Romanian), set the default language to Romanian, and then use the translate option for English. (practically updating the mixed English/Romanian to only English).

What I am actually trying to acomplish is to make the default of the store to Romanian Language (but to actually remain as it is, in the mixed form of English/Romanian) and to add English Language (which is the full English version of the store).

The thing is, I don’t really know if it will work as easy as it sounds, or if there are easier ways to correct this.

Thank you in advance.

PS: If you wonder why I did a mix of English/Romanian of the store is because it is actually a mix of both languages. The products have English names, and we Romanians use many English words in our vocabulary.

2

Salut, @SClaudiu !

Mă bucură tare mult să văd români pe platformă. Shopify e cu siguranță cea mai bună alegere pentru cine vrea să-și deschidă un magazin. Dacă ți-ai setat magazinul în limba română, ar trebui ca Shopify să citească asta și să-ți ofere posibilitatea de traducere în engleză, dar nu știu dacă ai setat corect limba.

Ca să înțeleg mai bine ce a provocat problema și dacă configurarea este corectă, va trebui să arunc o privire în magazin. Dacă este ceea ce cred eu, în câteva minute ar trebui să fie totul funcțional. Lasă-mi un DM cu URL-ul Shopify și te ajut cu drag.

Te salut!

3

Check this out to make sure its set right:

ManuelH_0-1715423357494.png
ManuelH_0-1715423357494.png2505×1240 165 KB

Be a pal and mark it as a solution if it helps

4

Hi @SClaudiu , this may actually be turn out to be more easy than you expected. We almost never recommend changing the default language, but in this instance it might be the right thing for you to do as changing the default language just changes which language locale is associated with your existing content in admin. So if you’ve written the store in Romanian, with a default language set to English, you could just change your default language to Romanian, and your default content will be preserved, but the system will understand correctly that it is Romanian.

Then to translate into English you could just add English and translate with Translate & Adapt.

5

Thanks, I also figured that is the easiest solution, I was just unsure about it as when I did this method, I had like 385 fields empty with the error missing translation in view mode of the store. After completing most of the fields, now everything is ok, still needs some tweaks here and there, but it is a working solution nonetheless.

6

That’s good to hear, yes the missing fields will depend on if your theme includes Romanian. Free Shopify themes do but not all themes do. Glad to hear you’ve resolved