diff --git a/lynis b/lynis
index eb05bf9e..29c28919 100755
--- a/lynis
+++ b/lynis
@@ -213,14 +213,14 @@
 #
     # Auto detection of language based on shell LANG variable. This is required by the Display() function to deal with multi-bytes characters.
     DISPLAY_LANG="${LANG:-}"
-    # Try locale command if shell variable had no value
-    if [ -z "${DISPLAY_LANG}" ]; then
-        DISPLAY_LANG=$(locale | egrep "^LANG=" | cut -d= -f2)
-    fi
 
     # Extract the short notation of the language (first two characters).
     if [ -x "$(command -v locale 2> /dev/null)" ]; then
         LANGUAGE=$(locale | egrep "^LANG=" | cut -d= -f2 | cut -d_ -f1 | egrep "^[a-z]{2}$")
+        # Try locale command if shell variable had no value
+        if [ -z "${DISPLAY_LANG}" ]; then
+            DISPLAY_LANG=$(locale | egrep "^LANG=" | cut -d= -f2)
+        fi
     fi
 
     # Set default language: 'en' (English) if no value is set