If your Windows username contains spaces or non-Latin letters (e.g., C:\Users\José\ ), move the game:
If all else fails, you can trick the game. This error often arises because the game looks for translations\english\strings.ini but finds nothing. You can create dummy files. port royale 2 could not find translation files link
If you are actually looking to change the game's language (rather than fixing the crash): If your Windows username contains spaces or non-Latin