diff --git a/.zshrc b/.zshrc
index 542968d..f6127ea 100644
--- a/.zshrc
+++ b/.zshrc
@@ -89,6 +89,11 @@ venv() {
     done
 }
 
+locale_en () {
+    export LANGUAGE=en_US:en
+    export LANG=en_US.UTF-8
+}
+
 source ~/.znewterm
 
 # assume pseudo terminals are from a "safe" terminal