Sudden Serious Language Error From shopify

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

A Shopify store owner is experiencing an issue where custom English translations disappear at checkout because Shopify automatically appends ?locale=lv (Latvian) to the checkout URL, despite having only English configured as the store language.

Key Details:

  • Custom translations work perfectly in the theme editor and when manually changing the URL parameter to locale=en
  • The issue appeared suddenly after months of normal operation
  • Only one language (English) is configured in Markets settings for the Latvian market
  • Shopify support has been unable to resolve the problem

Troubleshooting Attempted:

  • Verified Markets settings show only English enabled
  • Tested in incognito mode and with VPN - issue persists
  • Removing the ?locale=lv parameter restores translations correctly

Current Status:
The discussion remains unresolved. One respondent suggested verifying Markets settings and testing browser language detection, but these steps did not solve the problem. The root cause of why Shopify is forcing the Latvian locale parameter remains unknown.

Summarized with AI on October 30. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

I have this issue, where shopify does not want to use my custom translations.

I have only one language set for my whole store, it is english, with few custom translations made in the shopify theme editor (just using shopify theme editor, no additional apps)

so the situation is this, when user enters checkout, my custom translations dont show up, because, in the link the locale is set to =lv for some reason.

Z2NwLWV1cm9wZS13ZXN0NDowMUpQTkc0SjlNTlE3REZaNzhETTNNMlFOQQ?locale=lv&step=contact_information

locale=lv ← !

if i manually change it to

Z2NwLWV1cm9wZS13ZXN0NDowMUpQTkc0SjlNTlE3REZaNzhETTNNMlFOQQ?locale=en&step=contact_information

locale=en ← !

i can see my translations perfectly. (but i have to change it manually in the link)

But this is not the only problem.
The problem is: Why isnt shopify using my english translations, but defoults to english language without my translations. the strangest thing is: this happened suddenly without my consent. I used shopify for months and everything was perfect. then one day this issue happened out of nowhere and now i cannot use my translations. WHY? Shopify suppor does not know the answer to this as well :disappointed_face:

when i go to theme editor – all my translations appear perfectly, but when i go to testohit.com checkout as a user, all the translations are missing.

i investigated and found that if ir remove the ?locale=lv then all the translations appear perfectly.

so why shopify ads ?locale=lv if in MARKETES section i have set ENGLISH to my latvian market?

im so frustrated by this, any help is welcome

Thanks!

Here is the video where i explain the situation:
https://youtu.be/B4j2h5rNXKE

1 Like
2

Hi @Anshar

Have you check your Markets Settings yet? Because even though you set English for Latvia in Shopify Markets, you should double-check the settings again:

  • Go to Settings → Markets → Latvia
  • Ensure the default language is set to English and that Latvian isn’t enabled anywhere.

Also, Shopify sometimes detects a user’s browser language and assigns a locale. Try accessing your store in incognito mode or using a VPN to see if Shopify still forces ?locale=lv.

1 Like
3

hi Promer-Aila

yes, in my store, i have only one language, english - please see the screenshots.

Also, Shopify sometimes detects a user’s browser language and assigns a locale. Try accessing your store in incognito mode or using a VPN to see if Shopify still forces ?locale=lv.

tried it both vpn and intagnico – it always sets to =lv :confused:

im desperate at this point…

see my settings here-> https://postimg.cc/gallery/xmgHv52

1 Like