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Preferred Languages
Choose languages for displaying WordPress in, in order of preference.
The facts
- Rating
- 5★ from 18
- Active installs
- 2k+
- Price
- Free
- Last updated
- 18 Aug 2026
- Added
- Oct 2017
- Requires WP
- 6.6
- Tested up to
- WP 7.1
- Requires PHP
- 7.2.24
- Downloads
- 114,343
Our analysis
AI-assistedPreferred Languages is a WordPress plugin that allows users to select multiple languages for displaying content on their site. It addresses the issue where WordPress defaults to English when a translation for the active locale is unavailable, enhancing the experience for non-English speakers. The plugin enables a fallback chain, allowing WordPress to load translations in a specified order.
The plugin also merges incomplete translations to prevent English strings from appearing, improving the overall user experience. It is suitable for users who want to create a multilingual site or improve language support for their audience.
Best for: This plugin is best for WordPress site owners looking to enhance multilingual support.
What it does well
- ✓Allows selection of multiple languages for content display
- ✓Improves user experience for non-English speakers
- ✓Merges incomplete translations to avoid English fallback
- ✓Active development on GitHub
Where it falls short
- •Limited information on additional features or customisation options
Verdict
Preferred Languages offers a practical solution for managing translations on WordPress sites. It is particularly useful for those aiming to cater to a diverse audience.
From the developer
Pascal Birchler's own description of Preferred Languages, lightly tidied.
Thanks to language packs it’s easier than ever before to change the main language of your site.
However, in some cases a single locale is not enough. When WordPress can’t find a translation for the active locale, it falls back to the original English strings.
That’s a poor user experience for many non-English speakers.
This feature project aims to change that by letting users choose multiple languages for displaying WordPress in.
That way you can set some sort of “fallback chain” where WordPress tries to load translations in your preferred order.
Please help us test this plugin and let us know if something is not working as you think it should.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Arrow Up: Move selected locale one position up.Arrow Down: Move selected locale one position down.Home: Select first locale in the list.End: Select last locale in the list.Backspace/Delete: remove the selected locale from the list.Alt+A: Add the current locale from the dropdown to the list.
Note: the Preferred Languages UI needs to be focused in order for the keyboard shortcuts to work.
Merging Translations
Previously, only the first available translation for a given locale and domain will be loaded.
However, when translations are incomplete, some strings might still be displayed in English.
That’s a poor user experience as well.
To prevent this, Preferred Languages now automatically merges all incomplete translations in the list.
the preferred_languages_merge_translations filter can be used to opt out of this behavior.
It provides three parameters:
$merge– Whether translations should be merged. Defaults totrue.$domain– The text domain$current_locale– The current locale.
Get Involved
Active development is taking place on GitHub.
If you want to get involved, check out open issues and join the #core-i18n channel on Slack. If you don’t have a Slack account yet, you can sign up at make.wordpress.org/chat/.
Tagged as
purpose
Multilingual & Translation
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