How to Change the Default Languages in IE11

Display webpages in the language of your choice

IE11 default languages

Getty Images/XiXinXing 

by Scott Orgera
Scott Orgera has been a tech journalist since 2007. He has 25+ years' experience as a programmer and QA leader and several Microsoft certifications.
Updated November 29, 2018

Many websites are offered in more than one language. Modifying the default language in which they display can sometimes be achieved with a simple browser setting. In Internet Explorer 11, which supports dozens of global dialects, you can specify languages in order of your preference.

How to specify a preferred language for browsing

Before a webpage is rendered, IE11 checks to see if it supports your preferred language. If it doesn't and you have additional preferred languages chosen, it checks them in the order in which you list them. If it turns out that the page is available in one of these languages, IE11 displays the page in that language.

Modifying this internal language list takes just a few minutes, and this step-by-step tutorial shows you how.

  1. Open IE 11 on your computer.

  2. Click the Gear icon, located in the upper right corner of the browser window. When the dropdown menu appears, click Internet Options to display the Internet Options dialog. Click the General tab if it is not already selected.

  3. Click the button labeled Languages ​in the Appearance section at the bottom of the tab. In the Language Preference window, click the Set Language Preferences button.

  4. The Language section of the Windows Control Panel should now be visible, displaying all the languages currently installed or enabled on your PC. To choose a language to add, click Add a language.

  5. All of Windows' available languages are displayed. Scroll through the list and select your preferred language. Click Add.

Your new language should now be added to the preferred language list. By default, the new language that you added displays last in order of preference. To change the order, use the Move Up and Move Down buttons accordingly. To remove a specific language from the preferred list, select it and click Remove.

When you are satisfied with your changes, click the red X located in the upper right corner of the window to return to IE11 and resume your browsing session.