Question

I want to keep the admin in english but the theme in another language. By adding language files to the theme directory nothing happens, the option to switch language wont come up. Is this possible without adding languages to wp-content?

Answer 1

I found a solution using the locale filter and load theme textdomain

The solution looks like this:

define('LOCALE', 'en');

add_action( 'after_theme_setup', 'site_setup' );

function site_setup() {
    //Make the theme available for translation
    load_theme_textdomain( 'mytheme', get_template_directory() . '/languages' );

    $locale = get_locale(); //Will get what you defined earlier
    $locale_file = get_template_directory() . "/languages/$locale.php";
    if ( is_readable( $locale_file ) ) require_once( $locale_file );
}