how do a change language

Question

All of a sudden my outlook favorites are in a foreign language, not English. And I can no longer delete an E-mail.

Answer 1

Hi , Thank you for reaching out! My name is Stefano and it’s my pleasure to assist you today.

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Since the previous troubleshooting didn't work, I recommend checking whether this is an Outlook application problem or an email account problem.

Test Outlook in your browser

1. Open Outlook on the web Sign in with the same email account. Try deleting an email. Check whether your folders appear in English.

If everything works in the browser, the problem is likely with the Outlook application rather than your mailbox.

If the same problems occur in the browser, we should investigate the account's language settings and mailboxsynchronization.

Step 2: Check the language

In Outlook, go to:

• New Outlook: Settings > General > Language and time > English > Save.
• Classic Outlook: File > Options > Language > Set English as the preferred display language.

These are Microsoft's recommended language settings.

Manage language settings in Outlook

Step 3: Repair Outlook if deletion still fails

In Classic Outlook, go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings > select your email account > Repair, if that option is available.

Fix your Outlook email connection by repairing your profile?

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Keep me posted.

Kind regards,

Stefano

Answer 2

Change Outlook.com back to English from Settings → General → Language and time, then troubleshoot the separate deletion problem from the Deleted Items folder.

Change the Outlook language

Using Outlook.com in a desktop browser:

1. Select the gear icon in the upper-right corner.
2. Select General in the left pane.
3. Select Language and time.
4. Under Language (Country/Region), select English and the appropriate country or region.
5. Select Save.
6. Refresh the browser, or sign out and sign back in. ^1^

If the menus are unreadable, General is normally the second major section in Settings, and Language and time is its first option.

For a work or school account, the Microsoft 365 language setting can override Outlook’s setting. Open Microsoft 365 Settings → Change your language, edit Display Language, and choose English. If that option is unavailable, the organization’s administrator controls it. ^2^

Fix the email-deletion problem

First try deleting one message:

1. In the Inbox, select the message.
2. Select Delete above the reading pane.
3. Check whether it moves to Deleted Items. ^3^

If messages cannot be removed from Deleted Items:

1. Open Deleted Items and select Empty folder.
2. At the top of the message list, select Recover items deleted from this folder or Recover.
3. Select Empty folder again.
4. If that fails, delete a smaller batch and leave the browser open while Outlook processes it. ^4^

Warning: Emptying Recoverable Items permanently deletes those messages; they cannot be restored.

If even a single Inbox message still cannot be deleted, select Help (?) in Outlook.com, describe the problem, and choose Still need help? → Yes to contact Outlook.com support. The mailbox may require account-specific investigation.

Check account security

An unexplained language change does not prove that the account was compromised, but it warrants checking:

1. Open the Microsoft account Recent activity page and review sign-ins from the last 30 days.
2. If any device, location, or activity is unfamiliar, run a full antivirus scan first.
3. Change the Microsoft account password.
4. Review Outlook’s connected accounts, forwarding, and automatic replies for changes you did not make. ^5^ ^6^

Also inspect Settings → Mail → Rules and Settings → Mail → Forwarding in Outlook.com, removing only entries you do not recognize.

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References

1. Manage language settings in Outlook
2. Change your display language and time zone in Microsoft 365 for Business | Microsoft Support
3. Delete email in Outlook.com | Microsoft Support
4. Cannot empty the Deleted Items folder in Outlook.com | Microsoft Support
5. Check the recent sign-in activity for your Microsoft account
6. How to recover a hacked or compromised Microsoft account | Microsoft Support