--- a/src/mainwindow.cpp
+++ b/src/mainwindow.cpp
@@ -1001,7 +1001,7 @@ void MainWindow::readConfig()
 // 	m_paShowPath->setChecked(config->readEntry("ShowPath", QVariant(false)).toBool());
 	recentFilesAction->loadEntries(KSharedConfig::openConfig()->group("Recent Files"));
 	QString lang_code(config.readEntry("currentLanguageCode", QVariant(QString())).toString());
-	if (lang_code.isEmpty()) lang_code = QStringLiteral("en_US");  // null-string are saved as empty-strings
+	if (lang_code.isEmpty()) lang_code = QLocale::system().name();  // null-string are saved as empty-strings
 	setCurrentLanguage(lang_code);
 // 	if(m_paShowStatusBar->isChecked())
 // 		statusBar()->show();