The Unwanted Translation
Google Chrome features a powerful built-in translation tool (Google Translate) designed to help you read websites written in languages you do not understand. By default, if Chrome detects that a webpage is in a language different from your system’s default language, it will automatically offer to translate it, or in some configurations, it will automatically translate the text without asking. While helpful generally, this is a major hindrance if you are actively trying to learn a new language, if you are a translator comparing texts, or if you frequently visit sites in a specific secondary language that you are already fluent in.
Blacklisting Specific Languages
To preserve the original text and stop Google Chrome from automatically translating (or offering to translate) specific languages, you must add those languages to your browser’s ‘Never Translate’ list.
Open Google Chrome, click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner, and select Settings. In the left-hand navigation sidebar, click on Languages. In the main panel, look for the section titled Google Translate. Ensure the master switch (“Use Google Translate”) is left on if you still want it for other languages. Below that, you will see a specific section labelled Never offer to translate these languages. Click the blue Add languages button. A list of all available languages will appear. Scroll through the list (or use the search bar) to find the specific language you want Chrome to ignore (e.g., Spanish or French). Check the box next to the language and click the blue Add button. Chrome will now completely ignore pages written in that language and will display them in their original text permanently.