diff --git a/locales/en/app.json b/locales/en/app.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b704d9bf3b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/locales/en/app.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+	"languageName": "English",
+	"1": "server",
+	"clientSideStrings": {
+		"1": "client"
+	}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/public/js/controllers/settingsCtrl.js b/public/js/controllers/settingsCtrl.js
index e0747ba473..18141336a4 100644
--- a/public/js/controllers/settingsCtrl.js
+++ b/public/js/controllers/settingsCtrl.js
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ habitrpg.controller('SettingsCtrl',
       $rootScope.$on('userSynced', function(){
         location.reload();
       });
+      console.log($scope.language);
       User.set('preferences.language', $scope.language);
     }
 
diff --git a/src/middleware.js b/src/middleware.js
index d2f273066b..f9c07caf9c 100644
--- a/src/middleware.js
+++ b/src/middleware.js
@@ -87,30 +87,47 @@ fs.readdirSync(path.join(__dirname, "/../locales")).forEach(function(file) {
   translations[file] = require(path.join(__dirname, "/../locales/", file, 'app.json'))
 });
 
+var langCodes = Object.keys(translations);
+
 var getTranslatedString = function(locale, string){
   if(!locale || !string) throw new Error("Missing locale and/or string argument.");
-  if(!translations[locale]) throw new Error("Missing locale '" + locale + "'");
+  // Should never be called
+  //if(!translations[locale]) throw new Error("Missing locale '" + locale + "'");
 
   // TODO support nested dot-separated strings
   if(translations[locale][string]) return translations[locale][string];
   if(translations['en'][string]) return translations['en'][string];
-  return 'String not found!';
+  return 'String not found.';
 }
 
+var avalaibleLanguages = _.map(langCodes, function(langCode){
+  return {
+    code: langCode,
+    name: translations[langCode].languageName
+  }
+});
+
 var getUserLanguage = function(req, callback){
   var getFromBrowser = function(){
-    return _(req.acceptedLanguages).map(function(lang){
+    var acceptable = _(req.acceptedLanguages).map(function(lang){
       return lang.slice(0, 2);
-    }).uniq().value()[0];
+    }).uniq().value();
+
+    var matches = _.intersection(acceptable, langCodes);
+    return matches.length > 0 ? matches[0] : 'en';
   };
 
   if(req.session && req.session.userId){
     User.findOne({_id: req.session.userId}, function(err, user){
       if(err) return callback(err);
-      return callback(null, user.preferences.language || getFromBrowser());
+      if(user && user.preferences.language && translations[user.preferences.language]){
+        return callback(null, _.find(avalaibleLanguages, {code: user.preferences.language}));
+      }else{
+        return callback(null, _.find(avalaibleLanguages, {code: getFromBrowser()}))
+      }
     });
   }else{
-    return callback(null, getFromBrowser());    
+    return callback(null, _.find(avalaibleLanguages, {code: getFromBrowser()}));    
   }
 }
 
@@ -126,11 +143,11 @@ module.exports.locals = function(req, res, next) {
       STRIPE_PUB_KEY: nconf.get('STRIPE_PUB_KEY'),
       getManifestFiles: getManifestFiles,
       getBuildUrl: getBuildUrl,
-      avalaibleLanguages: Object.keys(translations),
-      // should send something like {en: "English"} instead of [en, it, ...]
+      avalaibleLanguages: avalaibleLanguages,
       language: language,
+      translations: translations[language.code].clientSideStrings,
       t: function(string){
-        return getTranslatedString(language, string);
+        return getTranslatedString(language.code, string);
       }
     }
 
diff --git a/views/options/settings.jade b/views/options/settings.jade
index 36fa72b489..0b587fc567 100644
--- a/views/options/settings.jade
+++ b/views/options/settings.jade
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ script(type='text/ng-template', id='partials/options.settings.html')
           | Habit defaults to check and reset your dailies at midnight in your time zone each day. You can customize the hour here (enter a number between 0 and 24).
       hr
       h4 Language
-      select(ng-model='language', ng-options='language for language in avalaibleLanguages', ng-change='changeLanguage()')
+      select(ng-model='language.code', ng-options='lang.code as lang.name for lang in avalaibleLanguages', ng-change='changeLanguage()')
       hr
       h4 Misc
       button.btn(ng-hide='user.preferences.hideHeader', ng-click='set("preferences.hideHeader",true)') Hide Header