diff --git a/source/nvda.pyw b/source/nvda.pyw
index 036930ae7ac..21c1e1fafa9 100755
--- a/source/nvda.pyw
+++ b/source/nvda.pyw
@@ -25,10 +25,8 @@ import ctypes
 import locale
 import gettext
 
-#Localization settings
-locale.setlocale(locale.LC_ALL,'')
 try:
-	gettext.translation('nvda',localedir='locale',languages=[locale.getlocale()[0]]).install(True)
+	gettext.translation('nvda',localedir='locale',languages=[locale.getdefaultlocale()[0]]).install(True)
 except:
 	gettext.install('nvda',unicode=True)
 
diff --git a/source/nvda_slave.pyw b/source/nvda_slave.pyw
index 97c9d18d862..fb299874f3d 100755
--- a/source/nvda_slave.pyw
+++ b/source/nvda_slave.pyw
@@ -11,9 +11,8 @@ Performs miscellaneous tasks which need to be performed in a separate process.
 import gettext
 import locale
 #Localization settings
-locale.setlocale(locale.LC_ALL,'')
 try:
-	gettext.translation('nvda',localedir='locale',languages=[locale.getlocale()[0]]).install(True)
+	gettext.translation('nvda',localedir='locale',languages=[locale.getdefaultlocale()[0]]).install(True)
 except:
 	gettext.install('nvda',unicode=True)
 
diff --git a/user_docs/en/changes.t2t b/user_docs/en/changes.t2t
index 6b1c7dce7f9..2bbbd2531d2 100644
--- a/user_docs/en/changes.t2t
+++ b/user_docs/en/changes.t2t
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ What's New in NVDA
 - LTR and RTL marks are no longer reported in Braille or per-character speech when accessing the properties window. (#8361)
 - When jumping to form fields with Browse Mode quick navigation, the entire form field is now announced rather than just the first line. (#9388)
 - NVDA will no longer become silent after exiting the Windows 10 Mail app. (#9341)
+- NVDA no longer fails to start when the users regional settings are set to a locale unknown to NVDA, such as English (Netherlands). (#8726)
 
 
 = 2019.1 =