diff --git a/phpgwapi/inc/class.egw_mailer.inc.php b/phpgwapi/inc/class.egw_mailer.inc.php
index 24513d013f..f7e66529f7 100644
--- a/phpgwapi/inc/class.egw_mailer.inc.php
+++ b/phpgwapi/inc/class.egw_mailer.inc.php
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ class egw_mailer extends PHPMailer
 		{
 			$lang = $nation;
 		}
-		if (!$this->SetLanguage($lang,$lang_path))
+		if (!$this->SetLanguage((empty($lang)?'en':$lang),$lang_path))
 		{
 			$this->SetLanguage('en',$lang_path);	// use English default
 		}