The issue is specifically with Dutch (Belgium), `nl_BE`.
When we use automatic translation for the Belgian Dutch language, WPML appears to translate the content into Afrikaans or South African-style language instead of Dutch (Belgium).
What we already checked:
* The language mapping for `nl_BE` is set to **Dutch**
* The default locale for this language is `nl_BE`
* The issue does not seem to be caused by the language mapping settings in WPML Languages
In WPML -> Languages, the Belgian language is configured as:
Since the mapping is already set to Dutch, we suspect the problem may be happening deeper in the automatic translation process, language recognition, or in the way WPML handles `nl_BE` during translation jobs.
Could you please confirm:
1. Whether this is a known issue with `nl_BE`
2. Whether WPML automatic translation fully supports Dutch (Belgium)
3. Whether `nl_BE` may incorrectly be interpreted as Afrikaans in some cases
4. What the correct configuration should be to force Belgian Dutch to translate as Dutch, not Afrikaans
I see the problem in the footer in development. That sentence is in South African, on our Belgian Website.
Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )Italian (Italiano )
Timezone: Europe/Rome (GMT+02:00)
Hello,
Could you please give me the URL of the site where this is happening and the name of the footer so I can try to get the information we have of it on our end and understand why is the content being translated into Afriikans?
Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )Italian (Italiano )
Timezone: Europe/Rome (GMT+02:00)
I'm sorry but now I'm confused. you sent a screenshot with your footer and the footer that WPML adds to development sites.
However when I run the images through the AI, it tells me both are written in standard dutch (not flemish) so where exactly is the problem?
nl_BE is not going to be seen as "Afrikaans", so I'm not sure where is the content in Afrikaans that probably made you think that could even be a possibility.
Would you please care to explain exactly where is the content in afrikaans so I can try to figure out what happened?
Wow, that's interesting. Now the footer in the Live website IS in Dutch. And that is excactly our problem. Because sometimes the South African appears. Also in translated articles, from Butch to Belgian.
But the footer I uploaded earlier, and I upload again here is in South African. I am Dutch, and you can trust me on that 😀
This is the South African version: Hierdie webwerf is op wpml.org as 'n ontwikkelingswebwerf geregistreer. Skakel oor na 'n produksiewebwerf-sleutel na remove this banner.
This is the Dutch version: Deze site is geregistreerd op wpml.org als een ontwikkelsite. Schakel over naar een productiesite sleutel naar remove this banner.
So the question is, where does the South African come from? And how do we stop it.
Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )Italian (Italiano )
Timezone: Europe/Rome (GMT+02:00)
I totally believe you, I just needed to know what part was afrikaans which you already provided.
I'm talking to our devs about this. Would it be possible to have access to the site in the meantime so I can try to get to the bottom of this and help you solve the problem?
Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )Italian (Italiano )
Timezone: Europe/Rome (GMT+02:00)
Hello,
The string can be found in WPML > String Translation. you can add some text from the banner and then select the option "search in translations" and you'll find it under the domain "installer".
This link should take you there: hidden link
The interesting thing is that when I try to add dutch to our sandbox site to see the text, on our end it looks different, it has different text so I'm not really sure how that text got there.
Anyways you can change the translation to a correct one or translate it automatically if you want (not recommended since this is just a text for development sites, it's a bit of a waste of time to spend money on it).
Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )Italian (Italiano )
Timezone: Europe/Rome (GMT+02:00)
I'm not exactly sure where it's coming from, It seems it was somehow translated at one point, but it's not really coming from us. I initially thought that it was in correct dutch but that was because i had sent it to translate automatically. when I create a new page, a fresh one I can see there isn't any translation for it at all, it remains in English.
Dear Alejandro,
Thank you for your response. I want to be transparent: we are disappointed with the situation and its impact.
We are responsible for building and maintaining this website for our customer. Based on our advice, they chose WPML. At this moment, their website is showing unexpected behaviour, where content is being automatically translated into South African languages. This creates confusion for their visitors and puts us in a difficult position towards our client.
From our perspective, this is not just a technical issue, but a trust issue. We recommended WPML as a reliable solution, and our customer rightly expects the website to behave as agreed and configured.
What we need from you is:
A clear explanation of why this is happening (in plain terms we can also explain to our customer).
Concrete steps to stop this behaviour and prevent it from happening again.
Guidance on best‑practice configuration to ensure WPML only translates explicitly intended languages.
We are a paying customer and we value the partnership. That also means we expect ownership and a solution when something goes wrong.
I’m confident we can resolve this together, and I appreciate your help in restoring confidence for both us and our customer.
Looking forward to your actionable response.
Kind regards,
Roy
Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )Italian (Italiano )
Timezone: Europe/Rome (GMT+02:00)
Wait, was there something else also translated into Afrikaans? Because that could help me figure out the root cause here.
See, so far my only theory is that the banner was translated via the translation engine and somehow it was mapped to Afrikaans. However to know that I need to know if you translated strings automatically or if you had the automatic translation enabled for your entire site. Can you let me know?
Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )Italian (Italiano )
Timezone: Europe/Rome (GMT+02:00)
I'm trying to find the chat but the main issue is that I don't see any of the pages you mentioned.
Can you tell me what's the Original language of the link you had provided and what's the original language url? (hidden link) because the closest I'm finding for that one is hidden link which is probably not the correct one since it hasn't been updated since 2025 and as you can see it's from a different domain.
