diff --git a/searx/preferences.py b/searx/preferences.py
index 6befdd6e..669232b1 100644
--- a/searx/preferences.py
+++ b/searx/preferences.py
@@ -268,8 +268,8 @@ class Preferences(object):
         super(Preferences, self).__init__()
 
         self.key_value_settings = {'categories': MultipleChoiceSetting(['general'], choices=categories + ['none']),
-                                   'language': SearchLanguageSetting(settings['search']['language'],
-                                                                     choices=LANGUAGE_CODES),
+                                   'language': SearchLanguageSetting(settings['ui']['default_locale'],
+                                                                     choices=list(LANGUAGE_CODES) + ['']),
                                    'locale': EnumStringSetting(settings['ui']['default_locale'],
                                                                choices=list(settings['locales'].keys()) + ['']),
                                    'autocomplete': EnumStringSetting(settings['search']['autocomplete'],
diff --git a/searx/settings.yml b/searx/settings.yml
index 3a10cc4c..ab3de395 100644
--- a/searx/settings.yml
+++ b/searx/settings.yml
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ general:
 search:
     safe_search : 0 # Filter results. 0: None, 1: Moderate, 2: Strict
     autocomplete : "" # Existing autocomplete backends: "dbpedia", "duckduckgo", "google", "startpage", "wikipedia" - leave blank to turn it off by default
-    language : "en-US"
     ban_time_on_fail : 5 # ban time in seconds after engine errors
     max_ban_time_on_fail : 120 # max ban time in seconds after engine errors
 
diff --git a/searx/webapp.py b/searx/webapp.py
index fd34a9ef..a856c07d 100644
--- a/searx/webapp.py
+++ b/searx/webapp.py
@@ -159,18 +159,28 @@ outgoing_proxies = settings['outgoing'].get('proxies') or None
 
 @babel.localeselector
 def get_locale():
-    if 'locale' in request.form\
-       and request.form['locale'] in settings['locales']:
-        return request.form['locale']
+    locale = "en-US"
 
-    if 'locale' in request.args\
-       and request.args['locale'] in settings['locales']:
-        return request.args['locale']
+    for lang in request.headers.get("Accept-Language", locale).split(","):
+        locale = match_language(lang, settings['locales'].keys(), fallback=None)
+        if locale is not None:
+            break
+
+    logger.debug("default locale from browser info is `%s`", locale)
 
     if request.preferences.get_value('locale') != '':
-        return request.preferences.get_value('locale')
+        locale = request.preferences.get_value('locale')
 
-    return request.accept_languages.best_match(settings['locales'].keys())
+    if 'locale' in request.form\
+       and request.form['locale'] in settings['locales']:
+        locale = request.form['locale']
+
+    if locale == 'zh_TW':
+        locale = 'zh_Hant_TW'
+
+    logger.debug("selected locale is `%s`", locale)
+
+    return locale
 
 
 # code-highlighter
@@ -348,7 +358,9 @@ def render(template_name, override_theme=None, **kwargs):
     if 'autocomplete' not in kwargs:
         kwargs['autocomplete'] = request.preferences.get_value('autocomplete')
 
-    if get_locale() in rtl_locales and 'rtl' not in kwargs:
+    locale = request.preferences.get_value('locale')
+
+    if locale in rtl_locales and 'rtl' not in kwargs:
         kwargs['rtl'] = True
 
     kwargs['searx_version'] = VERSION_STRING
@@ -361,7 +373,7 @@ def render(template_name, override_theme=None, **kwargs):
     if 'current_language' not in kwargs:
         kwargs['current_language'] = match_language(request.preferences.get_value('language'),
                                                     LANGUAGE_CODES,
-                                                    fallback=settings['search']['language'])
+                                                    fallback=locale)
 
     # override url_for function in templates
     kwargs['url_for'] = url_for_theme
@@ -431,6 +443,13 @@ def pre_request():
             logger.exception('invalid settings')
             request.errors.append(gettext('Invalid settings'))
 
+    # init search language and locale
+    locale = get_locale()
+    if not preferences.get_value("language"):
+        preferences.parse_dict({"language": locale})
+    if not preferences.get_value("locale"):
+        preferences.parse_dict({"locale": locale})
+
     # request.user_plugins
     request.user_plugins = []
     allowed_plugins = preferences.plugins.get_enabled()
@@ -637,7 +656,7 @@ def index():
         unresponsive_engines=result_container.unresponsive_engines,
         current_language=match_language(search_query.lang,
                                         LANGUAGE_CODES,
-                                        fallback=settings['search']['language']),
+                                        fallback=request.preferences.get_value("language")),
         base_url=get_base_url(),
         theme=get_current_theme_name(),
         favicons=global_favicons[themes.index(get_current_theme_name())],
@@ -757,7 +776,7 @@ def preferences():
 
     return render('preferences.html',
                   locales=settings['locales'],
-                  current_locale=get_locale(),
+                  current_locale=request.preferences.get_value("locale"),
                   image_proxy=image_proxy,
                   engines_by_category=engines_by_category,
                   stats=stats,