diff --git a/RELEASE-NOTES b/RELEASE-NOTES
index 17d998d188..0e0fb8efd1 100644
--- a/RELEASE-NOTES
+++ b/RELEASE-NOTES
@@ -25,10 +25,11 @@ options have been added:
 The Advanced Find and Replace feature now supports cancel of a long
 search operation by hitting the ESC key.
 
-The following pref variables were changed in 2.0:
+The following pref variables were changed in 2.1:
 
-The following pref variables are obsoleted in 2.0:
+The following pref variables are obsoleted in 2.1:
 
+- \\default_language
 - \\default_papersize
 
 The following new LyX functions have been introduced:
diff --git a/src/Language.cpp b/src/Language.cpp
index 9f8c57e6f4..95e725f3f3 100644
--- a/src/Language.cpp
+++ b/src/Language.cpp
@@ -247,13 +247,10 @@ void Languages::read(FileName const & filename)
 			languagelist[l.lang()] = l;
 	}
 
-	default_language = getLanguage(lyxrc.default_language);
+	default_language = getLanguage("english");
 	if (!default_language) {
-		LYXERR0("Default language \"" << lyxrc.default_language
-		       << "\" not found!");
-		default_language = getLanguage("english");
-		if (!default_language)
-			default_language = &(*languagelist.begin()).second;
+		LYXERR0("Default language \"english\" not found!");
+		default_language = &(*languagelist.begin()).second;
 		LYXERR0("Using \"" << default_language->lang() << "\" instead!");
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/LyXRC.cpp b/src/LyXRC.cpp
index e2083ef6e3..d980c22ae5 100644
--- a/src/LyXRC.cpp
+++ b/src/LyXRC.cpp
@@ -91,7 +91,6 @@ LexerKeyword lyxrcTags[] = {
 	{ "\\date_insert_format", LyXRC::RC_DATE_INSERT_FORMAT },
 	{ "\\def_file", LyXRC::RC_DEFFILE },
 	{ "\\default_decimal_point", LyXRC::RC_DEFAULT_DECIMAL_POINT },
-	{ "\\default_language", LyXRC::RC_DEFAULT_LANGUAGE },
 	{ "\\default_length_unit", LyXRC::RC_DEFAULT_LENGTH_UNIT },
 	{ "\\default_view_format", LyXRC::RC_DEFAULT_VIEW_FORMAT },
 	{ "\\dialogs_iconify_with_main", LyXRC::RC_DIALOGS_ICONIFY_WITH_MAIN },
@@ -319,7 +318,6 @@ void LyXRC::setDefaults()
 	language_command_local = "\\foreignlanguage{$$lang}{";
 	sort_layouts = false;
 	group_layouts = true;
-	default_language = "english";
 	gui_language = "auto";
 	show_banner = true;
 	windows_style_tex_paths = false;
@@ -1161,10 +1159,6 @@ LyXRC::ReturnValues LyXRC::read(Lexer & lexrc, bool check_format)
 			lexrc >> default_view_format;
 			break;
 
-		case RC_DEFAULT_LANGUAGE:
-			lexrc >> default_language;
-			break;
-
 		case RC_GUI_LANGUAGE:
 			lexrc >> gui_language;
 			break;
@@ -2639,13 +2633,6 @@ void LyXRC::write(ostream & os, bool ignore_system_lyxrc, string const & name) c
 		}
 		if (tag != RC_LAST)
 			break;
-	case RC_DEFAULT_LANGUAGE:
-		if (ignore_system_lyxrc ||
-		    default_language != system_lyxrc.default_language) {
-			os << "\\default_language " << default_language << '\n';
-		}
-		if (tag != RC_LAST)
-			break;
 	case RC_GUI_LANGUAGE:
 		if (ignore_system_lyxrc ||
 		    gui_language != system_lyxrc.gui_language) {
@@ -2916,7 +2903,6 @@ void actOnUpdatedPrefs(LyXRC const & lyxrc_orig, LyXRC const & lyxrc_new)
 	case LyXRC::RC_CURSOR_FOLLOWS_SCROLLBAR:
 	case LyXRC::RC_SCROLL_BELOW_DOCUMENT:
 	case LyXRC::RC_DATE_INSERT_FORMAT:
-	case LyXRC::RC_DEFAULT_LANGUAGE:
 	case LyXRC::RC_GUI_LANGUAGE:
 	case LyXRC::RC_DEFAULT_VIEW_FORMAT:
 	case LyXRC::RC_DEFFILE:
@@ -3153,10 +3139,6 @@ string const LyXRC::getDescription(LyXRCTags tag)
 		str = _("The default format used with LFUN_BUFFER_[VIEW|UPDATE].");
 		break;
 
-	case RC_DEFAULT_LANGUAGE:
-		str = _("New documents will be assigned this language.");
-		break;
-
 	case RC_DIALOGS_ICONIFY_WITH_MAIN:
 		str = _("Iconify the dialogs when the main window is iconified. (Affects only dialogs shown after the change has been made.)");
 		break;
diff --git a/src/LyXRC.h b/src/LyXRC.h
index 0ddc5da51c..4032e6bebc 100644
--- a/src/LyXRC.h
+++ b/src/LyXRC.h
@@ -71,7 +71,6 @@ public:
 		RC_DATE_INSERT_FORMAT,
 		RC_DEFAULT_DECIMAL_POINT,
 		RC_DEFAULT_LENGTH_UNIT,
-		RC_DEFAULT_LANGUAGE,
 		RC_DEFAULT_VIEW_FORMAT,
 		RC_DEFFILE,
 		RC_DIALOGS_ICONIFY_WITH_MAIN,
@@ -419,8 +418,6 @@ public:
 	///
 	bool mark_foreign_language;
 	///
-	std::string default_language;
-	///
 	std::string gui_language;
 	///
 	std::string default_view_format;