diff --git a/Source/Data/Save.cs b/Source/Data/Save.cs
index d2c58a4b..a5de7634 100644
--- a/Source/Data/Save.cs
+++ b/Source/Data/Save.cs
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ public int IncFlag(string name)
 	/// <summary>
 	/// Current Language ID
 	/// </summary>
-	public string Language = "english";
+	public string Language { get; set; } = "english";
 
 	/// <summary>
 	/// Records for each level
diff --git a/Source/Scenes/Startup.cs b/Source/Scenes/Startup.cs
index fce2ccf1..8bfa9db0 100644
--- a/Source/Scenes/Startup.cs
+++ b/Source/Scenes/Startup.cs
@@ -26,6 +26,10 @@ private void BeginGame()
 			Save.Instance.SyncSettings();
 		}
 
+		// make sure the active language is ready for use,
+		// since the save file may have loaded a different language than default.
+		Language.Current.Use();
+
 		// try to load controls, or overwrite with defaults if they don't exist
 		{
 			var controlsFile = Path.Join(App.UserPath, ControlsConfig.FileName);