diff --git a/source/graphics/FontManager.cpp b/source/graphics/FontManager.cpp
index c1a5321460..d81238c5c9 100644
--- a/source/graphics/FontManager.cpp
+++ b/source/graphics/FontManager.cpp
@@ -110,11 +110,22 @@ CFontManager::CFontManager()
 	});
 }
 
-std::shared_ptr<CFont> CFontManager::LoadFont(CStrIntern fontName)
+std::shared_ptr<CFont> CFontManager::LoadFont(CStrIntern fontName, CStrIntern locale)
 {
-	const std::string locale{g_L10n.GetCurrentLocale() != icu::Locale::getUS() ? g_L10n.GetCurrentLocaleString() : ""};
+	const std::string localeToUse{[&]
+		{
+			if (!locale.empty())
+				return locale.string();
+
+			if (g_L10n.GetCurrentLocale() == icu::Locale::getUS())
+				return std::string{};
+
+			// Use the current locale, but not US English.
+			return g_L10n.GetCurrentLocaleString();
+		} ()
+	};
 	const float guiScale{g_ConfigDB.Get("gui.scale", 1.0f)};
-	CStrIntern localeFontName{fmt::format("{}{}-{}", locale ,fontName.string(), guiScale)};
+	CStrIntern localeFontName{fmt::format("{}{}-{}", localeToUse ,fontName.string(), guiScale)};
 
 	FontsMap::iterator it{m_Fonts.find(localeFontName)};
 	if (it != m_Fonts.end())
@@ -148,13 +159,13 @@ std::shared_ptr<CFont> CFontManager::LoadFont(CStrIntern fontName)
 
 			// TODO: explicit Locale like RTL or Arabic fonts.
 			// 1. Locale-specific fonts first
-			if (!locale.empty())
+			if (!localeToUse.empty())
 			{
 				if (fontSpec.bold)
-					candidateFonts.push_back(fmt::format("fonts.{}.{}.bold", locale, fontSpec.type));
+					candidateFonts.push_back(fmt::format("fonts.{}.{}.bold", localeToUse, fontSpec.type));
 				if (fontSpec.italic)
-					candidateFonts.push_back(fmt::format("fonts.{}.{}.italic", locale, fontSpec.type));
-				candidateFonts.push_back(fmt::format("fonts.{}.{}.regular", locale, fontSpec.type));
+					candidateFonts.push_back(fmt::format("fonts.{}.{}.italic", localeToUse, fontSpec.type));
+				candidateFonts.push_back(fmt::format("fonts.{}.{}.regular", localeToUse, fontSpec.type));
 			}
 
 			// 2. Then global fonts
diff --git a/source/graphics/FontManager.h b/source/graphics/FontManager.h
index 6248dc863f..65c5a7ae89 100644
--- a/source/graphics/FontManager.h
+++ b/source/graphics/FontManager.h
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ public:
 	~CFontManager() = default;
 	NONCOPYABLE(CFontManager);
 
-	std::shared_ptr<CFont> LoadFont(CStrIntern fontName);
+	std::shared_ptr<CFont> LoadFont(CStrIntern fontName, CStrIntern locale);
 	void UploadTexturesAtlasToGPU();
 
 private:
diff --git a/source/graphics/FontMetrics.cpp b/source/graphics/FontMetrics.cpp
index d6739a1f62..91ac545d28 100644
--- a/source/graphics/FontMetrics.cpp
+++ b/source/graphics/FontMetrics.cpp
@@ -25,8 +25,13 @@
 #include "renderer/Renderer.h"
 
 CFontMetrics::CFontMetrics(CStrIntern font)
+	: CFontMetrics(font, CStrIntern())
 {
-	m_Font = g_Renderer.GetFontManager().LoadFont(font);
+}
+
+CFontMetrics::CFontMetrics(CStrIntern font, CStrIntern locale)
+{
+	m_Font = g_Renderer.GetFontManager().LoadFont(font, locale);
 }
 
 float CFontMetrics::GetHeight() const
diff --git a/source/graphics/FontMetrics.h b/source/graphics/FontMetrics.h
index f992202cf7..999ed97f4d 100644
--- a/source/graphics/FontMetrics.h
+++ b/source/graphics/FontMetrics.h
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ class CFontMetrics
 {
 public:
 	CFontMetrics(CStrIntern font);
+	CFontMetrics(CStrIntern font, CStrIntern locale);
 
 	float GetHeight() const;
 	float GetCapHeight();
diff --git a/source/graphics/TextRenderer.cpp b/source/graphics/TextRenderer.cpp
index 00dec60103..7ddbeebb5b 100644
--- a/source/graphics/TextRenderer.cpp
+++ b/source/graphics/TextRenderer.cpp
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ CTextRenderer::CTextRenderer()
 {
 	ResetTranslate();
 	SetCurrentColor(CColor(1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f));
-	SetCurrentFont(str_sans_10);
+	SetCurrentFont(str_sans_10, CStrIntern{});
 }
 
 void CTextRenderer::ResetTranslate(const CVector2D& translate)
@@ -84,12 +84,12 @@ void CTextRenderer::SetCurrentColor(const CColor& color)
 	}
 }
 
-void CTextRenderer::SetCurrentFont(CStrIntern font)
+void CTextRenderer::SetCurrentFont(CStrIntern font, CStrIntern locale)
 {
 	if (font != m_FontName)
 	{
 		m_FontName = font;
-		m_Font = g_Renderer.GetFontManager().LoadFont(font);
+		m_Font = g_Renderer.GetFontManager().LoadFont(font, locale);
 		m_Dirty = true;
 	}
 }
diff --git a/source/graphics/TextRenderer.h b/source/graphics/TextRenderer.h
index c43e1dd639..7db102e7d8 100644
--- a/source/graphics/TextRenderer.h
+++ b/source/graphics/TextRenderer.h
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ public:
 	/**
 	 * Set the font for subsequent print calls.
 	 */
-	void SetCurrentFont(CStrIntern font);
+	void SetCurrentFont(CStrIntern font, CStrIntern locale);
 
 	/**
 	 * Print formatted text at (0,0) under the current transform,
diff --git a/source/gui/CGUIText.cpp b/source/gui/CGUIText.cpp
index 16426bc737..47b987b1c0 100644
--- a/source/gui/CGUIText.cpp
+++ b/source/gui/CGUIText.cpp
@@ -471,7 +471,7 @@ void CGUIText::Draw(CGUI& pGUI, CCanvas2D& canvas, const CGUIColor& DefaultColor
 			continue;
 
 		textRenderer.SetCurrentColor(tc.m_UseCustomColor ? tc.m_Color : DefaultColor);
-		textRenderer.SetCurrentFont(tc.m_Font);
+		textRenderer.SetCurrentFont(tc.m_Font, tc.m_FontLocale);
 		textRenderer.Put(pos.X + tc.m_Pos.X, pos.Y + tc.m_Pos.Y, &tc.m_String);
 	}
 
diff --git a/source/gui/CGUIText.h b/source/gui/CGUIText.h
index 0f258cd25d..56d80b01a8 100644
--- a/source/gui/CGUIText.h
+++ b/source/gui/CGUIText.h
@@ -124,6 +124,19 @@ public:
 		 */
 		CStrIntern m_Font;
 
+		/**
+		 * BCP-47 locale tag (e.g. `"en"`, `"ja"`, `"zh-hans"`) that tells the
+		 * FontManager which per-locale font to use for this portion of text.
+		 *
+		 * If the string is non-empty, the renderer tries to substitute a font
+		 * registered for that locale; otherwise it falls back to the game-wide
+		 * UI font so legacy captions behave exactly as before.
+		 *
+		 * The value is filled in by the `[locale='xx']…[/locale]` inline-markup
+		 * parser and read during glyph layout.
+		 */
+		CStrIntern m_FontLocale;
+
 		/**
 		 * Settings
 		 */
diff --git a/source/gui/ObjectTypes/CInput.cpp b/source/gui/ObjectTypes/CInput.cpp
index d582237ff7..466657637e 100644
--- a/source/gui/ObjectTypes/CInput.cpp
+++ b/source/gui/ObjectTypes/CInput.cpp
@@ -1255,7 +1255,7 @@ void CInput::DrawContent(CCanvas2D& canvas)
 	const float ls{font.GetHeight()};
 
 	CTextRenderer textRenderer;
-	textRenderer.SetCurrentFont(font_name);
+	textRenderer.SetCurrentFont(font_name, CStrIntern{});
 
 	textRenderer.Translate(
 		(float)(int)(m_CachedActualSize.left) + m_BufferZone,
diff --git a/source/gui/SettingTypes/CGUIString.cpp b/source/gui/SettingTypes/CGUIString.cpp
index 0d6733cac0..33734f309d 100644
--- a/source/gui/SettingTypes/CGUIString.cpp
+++ b/source/gui/SettingTypes/CGUIString.cpp
@@ -207,6 +207,9 @@ void CGUIString::GenerateTextCall(const CGUI& pGUI, SFeedback& Feedback, CStrInt
 					// TODO Gee: (2004-08-15) Check if Font exists?
 					TextCall.m_Font = CStrIntern(utf8_from_wstring(tag.m_TagValue));
 					break;
+				case TextChunk::Tag::TAG_LOCALE:
+					TextCall.m_FontLocale = CStrIntern(utf8_from_wstring(tag.m_TagValue));
+					break;
 				case TextChunk::Tag::TAG_TOOLTIP:
 					TextCall.m_Tooltip = tag.m_TagValue;
 					break;
@@ -219,7 +222,7 @@ void CGUIString::GenerateTextCall(const CGUI& pGUI, SFeedback& Feedback, CStrInt
 			// Calculate the size of the font.
 			CSize2D size;
 			float cx, cy;
-			CFontMetrics font (TextCall.m_Font);
+			CFontMetrics font{TextCall.m_Font, TextCall.m_FontLocale};
 			font.CalculateStringSize(TextCall.m_String.c_str(), cx, cy);
 
 			size.Width = cx;
@@ -273,6 +276,8 @@ CGUIString::TextChunk::Tag::TagType CGUIString::TextChunk::Tag::GetTagType(const
 		return TAG_COLOR;
 	if (tagtype == L"font")
 		return TAG_FONT;
+	if (tagtype == L"locale")
+		return TAG_LOCALE;
 	if (tagtype == L"icon")
 		return TAG_ICON;
 	if (tagtype == L"imgleft")
diff --git a/source/gui/SettingTypes/CGUIString.h b/source/gui/SettingTypes/CGUIString.h
index 7f7770bb6d..02a80748fc 100644
--- a/source/gui/SettingTypes/CGUIString.h
+++ b/source/gui/SettingTypes/CGUIString.h
@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ public:
 				TAG_B,
 				TAG_I,
 				TAG_FONT,
+				TAG_LOCALE,
 				TAG_SIZE,
 				TAG_COLOR,
 				TAG_IMGLEFT,
diff --git a/source/ps/CConsole.cpp b/source/ps/CConsole.cpp
index b48075db6a..c04b80a9aa 100644
--- a/source/ps/CConsole.cpp
+++ b/source/ps/CConsole.cpp
@@ -225,7 +225,7 @@ void CConsole::Render(CCanvas2D& canvas)
 	DrawWindow(canvas);
 
 	CTextRenderer textRenderer;
-	textRenderer.SetCurrentFont(CStrIntern(m_consoleFont));
+	textRenderer.SetCurrentFont(CStrIntern{m_consoleFont}, CStrIntern{});
 	// Animation: slide in from top of screen.
 	const float deltaY = (1.0f - m_VisibleFrac) * m_Height;
 	textRenderer.Translate(m_X, m_Y - deltaY);
diff --git a/source/ps/CLogger.cpp b/source/ps/CLogger.cpp
index 196aae644e..f382aba64f 100644
--- a/source/ps/CLogger.cpp
+++ b/source/ps/CLogger.cpp
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ void CLogger::Render(CCanvas2D& canvas)
 	float height{font.GetHeight()};
 
 	CTextRenderer textRenderer;
-	textRenderer.SetCurrentFont(font_name);
+	textRenderer.SetCurrentFont(font_name, CStrIntern{});
 	textRenderer.SetCurrentColor(CColor(1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f));
 
 	// Offset by an extra 35px vertically to avoid the top bar.
diff --git a/source/ps/ProfileViewer.cpp b/source/ps/ProfileViewer.cpp
index d72a74767d..4fa86f8a7c 100644
--- a/source/ps/ProfileViewer.cpp
+++ b/source/ps/ProfileViewer.cpp
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ void CProfileViewer::RenderProfile(CCanvas2D& canvas)
 
 	// Print table and column titles.
 	CTextRenderer textRenderer;
-	textRenderer.SetCurrentFont(font_name);
+	textRenderer.SetCurrentFont(font_name, CStrIntern{});
 	textRenderer.SetCurrentColor(CColor(1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f));
 	textRenderer.PrintfAt(2.0f, height, L"%hs", table->GetTitle().c_str());
 	textRenderer.Translate(22.0f, height*2.0f);
diff --git a/source/renderer/TerrainRenderer.cpp b/source/renderer/TerrainRenderer.cpp
index 02f8f7c1c7..b4770fdfee 100644
--- a/source/renderer/TerrainRenderer.cpp
+++ b/source/renderer/TerrainRenderer.cpp
@@ -793,7 +793,7 @@ void TerrainRenderer::RenderPriorities(CCanvas2D& canvas, int cullGroup)
 	ENSURE(m->phase == Phase_Render);
 
 	CTextRenderer textRenderer;
-	textRenderer.SetCurrentFont(CStrIntern("mono-stroke-10"));
+	textRenderer.SetCurrentFont(CStrIntern{"mono-stroke-10"}, CStrIntern{});
 	textRenderer.SetCurrentColor(CColor(1.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f, 1.0f));
 
 	std::vector<CPatchRData*>& visiblePatches = m->visiblePatches[cullGroup];