Changing the default language

  • Resolved sandraoest

    (@sandraoest)


    1 year, 5 months ago

    Dear Translate press support,

    My website’s default language is in English and it’s translate into German. I would like to change it so that the default language is German and it’s translated into English. When I go into the settings to change the default language, I get this warning: “Changing the default language will invalidate existing translations”.

    What is the best way to change the default language? Turning on “Use a subdirectory for the default language” and switching the places of the languages isn’t enough for me since I need the search results on search engines to appear in German.

    If I change the default language, will I still have the English text on the website but it says it’s in German and I have to manually switch places of the translations? Do the German translations disappear entirely?

    Thanks a lot for your help!

    Best,
    Sandra

    The page I need help with: [log in to see the link]

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • Plugin Support Anca

    (@ancavictoria)

    1 year, 5 months ago

    Hello Sandra,

    Changing the default language will invalidate existing translations. We can’t keep them because the translations are directional and you’ll also need to change ALL your content directly in the new language.
    The default language is the language your content was written in.

    After changing the default language, you will need to add all content in German and then translate it into English.

    You can test with the default WP search to check if the results appear correctly in German.

    Kind regards,

    Anca

    Thread Starter sandraoest

    (@sandraoest)

    1 year, 5 months ago

    Hi Anca,

    Thank you for your reply. Could I just confirm that I understood you correctly?

    When I change the default language from English to German, the English text will remain on the site, but Translate press thinks it’s German. I then need to remove the English text, translate into German and paste it on the page and then translate the text into English and add it into Translate press?

    Or will all the text on my site disappear when I change the default language?

    Best,
    Sandra

    Plugin Support Anca

    (@ancavictoria)

    1 year, 4 months ago

    Hello Sandra,

    Apologies for the delayed response!

    That’s correct. If you change the default language from English to German, the content in the default language (English) will not disappear. However, TranslatePress will detect the English text as German, and the translations made for German will no longer appear.

    If you decide to set German as the default language, you will need to add all the content to your site again, but in this language, and then you can translate it into English.

    Kind regards,

    Anca

    Thread Starter sandraoest

    (@sandraoest)

    1 year, 4 months ago

    Hi Anca,

    Thanks a lot for your reply. It’s now clear to me what will happen and how I should proceed.

    Have a nice day!

    Best,
    Sandra

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

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