How can I change my default language without losing translations?

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1

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

2

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.

3

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

4

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

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5

@Shopify_77 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…

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6

same here, we also need to change default-language.. Is there an easier way to put translated content to be new default content after we change default-language?

7

yeah this is actually terrible, i’ve been creating stores on Shopify for years. most of the time in English. recently i had a client from Belgium, and we built his site in English, thinking it would be simple to translate later.

the client didn’t want English at all, only Dutch. so we used Translate & Adapt to add Dutch and auto-translate with AI. that part worked great — i had English and Dutch on the store.

all i wanted after that was to delete English and make Dutch the only and default language. sounds simple, right? just change default to Dutch?

nope. when i clicked on Dutch there was only “Assign to domain”, no “Change default”. so the default stayed English.

when i clicked on English though, i found “Change domain default”. perfect! that’s what i needed. i picked Dutch. it warned me: any existing Dutch translations will be deleted, export first if needed.

so i exported the Dutch translations, changed the default, and imported the CSV back. and… nothing. the site was still in English.

then i tried editing the CSV. i copied the Dutch text into the Default content column, swapped headers, even changed the locale from en to nl. no matter what i did, Shopify ignored it.

and this is the big issue: you cannot import over the primary language at all. CSVs only ever apply to secondary languages. the Default content is locked if that language is your main one.

so in the end, all “Change domain default” does is keep your content exactly the same, just with a new label that says Dutch. nothing actually changes. and then the “Translate” button switches to “Adapt”, which means you’re expected to go in and redo every single thing by hand.

that’s what makes it so frustrating — the AI already translated everything perfectly into Dutch, but Shopify won’t even let me use it. it’s like the work is done, but locked away for no reason.

so yeah, if you start a store in the wrong default language, you’re stuck. no CSV trick works, not with Translate & Adapt, not even with Matrixify. the only way out is either a custom API script or rewriting everything by hand. Shopify has no simple way to just swap your default with your translations.

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