I was trying to install the Chinese language option to my laptop (my adopted kid wanted me to print her Chinese name). So I think instead of adding the just the Chinese language pack, I changed my default display setting to Chinese. My computer is now displaying both Chinese and English, but Chinese in the Windows settings, so I can’t even figure out how to change it back to English. My daughter and I managed to figure out how to navigate to the Language and Time tab, and changed the language to English, but it’s still displaying in Chinese.
I also may have made a big mistake in downloading some free Chinese fonts because I didn’t like the few that were available in the Chinese language pack (and I googled Windows help and it actually suggested downloading additional fonts from free sources!) I’ve done that before and everything worked out fine, but now my computer is seriously messed up. I don’t know if downloading the fonts changed my settings or had a virus or what.
We also tried to delete the downloaded fonts, but they won’t delete, or we can’t figure out how to delete them because the pop ups are in Chinese.
Anyway, if anyone can help me with fixing this later this evening, could you PM me please.
H thinks RE apps—when he had similar issue, he had to uninstall and re-install the application. Then you have to redo all your settings. You won’t lose any documents you created.
For the operating system language change, dig around on Internet using another computer for possible fixes.
Go to your control panel. In your search bar type in “clock”. You should see a setting come up for Region and Language. Double Click on Region and Language. A window should open up for Region and Language. Click on the keyboards and Language tab. Click on the button labeled “Change Keyboards”. Make sure that it is set to English. If there is a button label Change Display language make sure it is set to English. If there is an Install/Uninstall lanquages you can click the chinese and uninstall it.
Hope this helps. If this doesn’t work go to another computer and google how to change computer language windows XX where xx is the version of windows you are running.
My kids have an app (Google Translate) that converts languages - you just hold the smart phone over the text, the camera reads it and the text changes on the phone screen into English. We used it for maps and other printed material, but it would probably work on a computer screen just as well. There are youtube demos of it, too. Really does work like magic.
OK, thanks everyone! @DadX wins the gold star. It looks like everything is OK after I got back and rebooted the computer! We did everything correctly apparently, just didn’t think to reboot. My daughter gets credit for that by remembering what to select in the control panel since everything on it was in Chinese!
But getting another computer to guide me would have definitely helped if that hadn’t worked, along with the smart phone translator app. So thanks for coming to my rescue - I was definitely freaking out.
Lest I seem like an idiot, I thought I knew what I was doing. Several years ago, I spent over a year making a map of China with place names translated to English (but also with Chinese character and Pinyin labels) so everything worked fine in the past. I just happened to click on the wrong item this time - the settings process isn’t quite the same as in the older version of Windows.
I don’t think you’re an idiot and I feel your pain:
Years ago, on our old computers at work (before Windows), we gained the capability to change the colors of our background and the text. Somehow I managed to change the background and the text to same color so I had what appeared to be a blank screen. It took me a while to figure out what I had done and even longer to fix it.
When younger, our special needs daughter would routinely change the default language on her desktop, the TV, anything that could be changed.
All by accident of course, and she was always more upset than we were!
Her favorite was Chinese but French showed up also. Unfotunately, never Spanish that I might have had some chance with.
She was maybe 7 or 8 yrs old at the time.
DH and I were lost.
Of course her 11 yr old brother somehow was always able to rescue us.
Middle schoolers are still great go to people fir me now when I do something stupid on my smartphone.
This reminds me of an episode with my mother, who called me (from 900 miles away, when my brother was 10 miles away) to complain that her television needed to be replaced because it had “turned Mexican”. It turned out she had pushed a button that turned on Spanish language closed captioning (which my brother easily deactivated).
If it happens again, just follow these simple instructions:
「先生！可怜咧，求你向志舍讲一声，实在是真穷苦，这是先生所素知的；一
具薄板仔，亲戚间已经是艰苦负担，散人〔散赤人，穷苦人〕本无富户的亲戚，志
舍这样家私，少收五钱银是不关轻重，求你做好心，替我讲一声。」
「你我只隔一竹围，你的事情我那有不知，不过头家有些皮气，我是他所用的
人，还是你去托一个相当的人来讲，五钱银他几嘴阿片就烧去了，应当是会允许。」
「林先生，除起你，还有什么人可拜托？草地人到这所在，不是有你在此，跨
过户碇〔门槛〕都不敢，和他相当的人，要去拜托谁？总是求你做好心咧！」
「头家现在又正在『午眠』，我又不能主意，你下晡再来，我替你讲一声看？」
I’m hoping I would have come to that conclusion on my own if I hadn’t been rushed out the door by my kids . I was in freak out mode, but knew I could depend on CC to come to my rescue, so I posted my predicament quickly while my girls were yelling “Mom, come on!” downstairs.
So I shut down the computer then, and when I got back, luckily the problem was solved :).
@NJres, I couldn’t resist - I translated your post:
"Sir! Poor, please tell me alms, it is really poor, this is what Mr. is known;
With thin plates, relatives are already a hard burden, and scattered people (distributed people, poor people) are relatives of rich families.
For such a furniture, it is not important to collect five yuan of silver. Please do your best and speak for me. "
“You and I are only separated by a bamboo fence. I don’t know what you are doing, but the head is a bit sloppy. I am using it.”
People, or you go to a considerable person, five money, he burned a few pieces of opium, it should be allowed. "
"Mr. Lin, apart from you, who else can you please? The grassland people are here, not where you are, cross
The transferor (the threshold) does not dare, and the person who is equal to him, who is going to ask? Always ask for your heart! "
“The head of the family is now “sleeping”, I can’t think of it, you come down again, I will tell you a bit?”
. I was in freak out mode, but knew I could depend on CC to come to my rescue, so I posted my predicament quickly while my girls were yelling “Mom, come on!” downstairs.