Title: [Plugin: Polylang] return the current language as variable for your template Last modified: August 20, 2016 --- # [Plugin: Polylang] return the current language as variable for your template * [kn00tcn](https://wordpress.org/support/users/kn00tcn/) * (@kn00tcn) * [14 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-polylang-return-the-current-language-as-variable-for-your-template/) * did another little hack * at the top of polylang.php, add a new action, let’s say in the template tags section `add_action('show_current_language', array(&$this, 'show_current_language'));` * then add a new function at the bottom, let’s say after the_languages * ``` function show_current_language() { global $curlang; $curlang = $this->curlang->slug; } ``` * in your theme, you can put something like this in your header * ``` ``` * now you can return the slug name of your lang at any time, use it for if statements or to load a file, for example, you can put things like this in page.php `` * or * ``` Latest News"; }elseif($curlang == "fr") { echo "

Dernières Nouvelles

"; } ?> ``` * only 1 problem, the $curlang doesnt seem to get set within the theme header ( you cant use that if statement example, but it works fine in the other template files, index/page/single/category/etc) * [http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/polylang/](http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/polylang/) Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total) * Plugin Author [Chouby](https://wordpress.org/support/users/chouby/) * (@chouby) * [14 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-polylang-return-the-current-language-as-variable-for-your-template/#post-2371166) * I propose a better (im my opinion) solution using only WordPress functions. * To know what is the current language for your own use in your theme, you can use the WordPress function get_locale(). It will return something like ‘en_US’. You can use this information for whatever you want. It should be available in all template files, including header.php. * It may also be useful to include the following line in your header.php (if it is not already present), just below your doctype: `>` It will output something like : `` I understood that this line may be interpreted by browsers and robots to know the page language. * [ChowKaiDeng](https://wordpress.org/support/users/chowkaideng/) * (@chowkaideng) * [14 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-polylang-return-the-current-language-as-variable-for-your-template/#post-2371217) * I’ve found a solution using _get\_bloginfo ()_ in [here](http://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-polylang-how-to-translateswitch-specific-contents-on-templates?replies=5). Check it out! * [Lopo Lencastre de Almeida](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ipublicis/) * (@ipublicis) * [13 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-polylang-return-the-current-language-as-variable-for-your-template/#post-2371330) * Don’t ever change the code on plugins directly. It’s a bad mojo 🙂 * Check my reply at [http://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-polylang-how-to-translateswitch-specific-contents-on-templates?replies=12#post-2994662](http://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-polylang-how-to-translateswitch-specific-contents-on-templates?replies=12#post-2994662) for a solution on your ideia and needs. * Best and hope it helps others too. Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total) The topic ‘[Plugin: Polylang] return the current language as variable for your template’ is closed to new replies. * ![](https://ps.w.org/polylang/assets/icon-256x256.png?rev=3433336) * [Polylang](https://wordpress.org/plugins/polylang/) * [Frequently Asked Questions](https://wordpress.org/plugins/polylang/#faq) * [Support Threads](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/polylang/) * [Active Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/polylang/active/) * [Unresolved Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/polylang/unresolved/) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/polylang/reviews/) * 3 replies * 4 participants * Last reply from: [Lopo Lencastre de Almeida](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ipublicis/) * Last activity: [13 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-polylang-return-the-current-language-as-variable-for-your-template/#post-2371330) * Status: not a support question