diff --git a/front_end/eslint.config.mjs b/front_end/eslint.config.mjs
index 8452af75cc..e1888eed0c 100644
--- a/front_end/eslint.config.mjs
+++ b/front_end/eslint.config.mjs
@@ -64,6 +64,25 @@ const eslintConfig = [
           },
         },
       ],
+      "no-restricted-imports": [
+        "error",
+        {
+          paths: [
+            {
+              name: "date-fns",
+              importNames: ["intlFormat", "intlFormatDistance"],
+              message:
+                "Use formatIntlDate / formatIntlDistance from @/utils/formatters/date so the 'original' locale (Untranslated mode) is normalized for Intl APIs.",
+            },
+          ],
+        },
+      ],
+    },
+  },
+  {
+    files: ["src/utils/formatters/date.ts"],
+    rules: {
+      "no-restricted-imports": "off",
     },
   },
   {
diff --git a/front_end/src/components/consumer_post_card/upcoming_cp.tsx b/front_end/src/components/consumer_post_card/upcoming_cp.tsx
index 6d4e5d8b75..2a98900f03 100644
--- a/front_end/src/components/consumer_post_card/upcoming_cp.tsx
+++ b/front_end/src/components/consumer_post_card/upcoming_cp.tsx
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
-import { intlFormatDistance } from "date-fns";
 import { useLocale, useTranslations } from "next-intl";
 import { FC } from "react";
 
 import RelativeTime from "@/components/ui/relative_time";
 import cn from "@/utils/core/cn";
+import { formatIntlDistance } from "@/utils/formatters/date";
 
 type Props = {
   cpRevealsOn: string;
@@ -17,9 +17,7 @@ const UpcomingCP: FC<Props> = ({ cpRevealsOn, className }) => {
     <div className={cn("w-full text-center", className)}>
       <span className="block">{t("cpRevealed")}</span>
       <RelativeTime datetime={cpRevealsOn} lang={locale} className="leading-6">
-        {intlFormatDistance(cpRevealsOn, new Date(), {
-          locale,
-        })}
+        {formatIntlDistance(locale, cpRevealsOn, new Date())}
       </RelativeTime>
     </div>
   );
diff --git a/front_end/src/components/cp_reveal_time/cp_reveal_time.tsx b/front_end/src/components/cp_reveal_time/cp_reveal_time.tsx
index ff1a4d0c35..01e21d2b91 100644
--- a/front_end/src/components/cp_reveal_time/cp_reveal_time.tsx
+++ b/front_end/src/components/cp_reveal_time/cp_reveal_time.tsx
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
-import { differenceInHours, intlFormat, intlFormatDistance } from "date-fns";
+import { differenceInHours } from "date-fns";
 import { useLocale, useTranslations } from "next-intl";
 import React, { FC } from "react";
 
 import RelativeTime from "@/components/ui/relative_time";
+import { formatIntlDate, formatIntlDistance } from "@/utils/formatters/date";
 
 type Props = {
   cpRevealTime: string;
@@ -27,7 +28,8 @@ const CPRevealTime: FC<Props> = ({
       <span className={className}>
         {t("hiddenUntil")}
         <br />
-        {intlFormat(
+        {formatIntlDate(
+          locale,
           revealDate,
           hoursUntilReveal < 24
             ? {
@@ -38,8 +40,7 @@ const CPRevealTime: FC<Props> = ({
                 year: "numeric",
                 month: "long",
                 day: "numeric",
-              },
-          { locale }
+              }
         )}
       </span>
     );
@@ -49,7 +50,7 @@ const CPRevealTime: FC<Props> = ({
     <span className={className}>
       {t("cpRevealed")}{" "}
       <RelativeTime datetime={cpRevealTime} lang={locale}>
-        {intlFormatDistance(cpRevealTime, new Date(), { locale })}
+        {formatIntlDistance(locale, cpRevealTime, new Date())}
       </RelativeTime>
     </span>
   );
diff --git a/front_end/src/components/ui/relative_time.tsx b/front_end/src/components/ui/relative_time.tsx
index 8ac3c8e4a6..ae0cce51ca 100644
--- a/front_end/src/components/ui/relative_time.tsx
+++ b/front_end/src/components/ui/relative_time.tsx
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@ import type { RelativeTimeElement } from "@github/relative-time-element";
 import { HTMLAttributes, ReactNode } from "react";
 import "@github/relative-time-element";
 
+import { normalizeIntlLocale } from "@/utils/formatters/date";
+
 // Extend the native RelativeTimeElement properties for React
 interface RelativeTimeProps
   extends HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>,
@@ -9,10 +11,11 @@ interface RelativeTimeProps
   children?: ReactNode;
 }
 
-const RelativeTime = ({ children, ...props }: RelativeTimeProps) => {
+const RelativeTime = ({ children, lang, ...props }: RelativeTimeProps) => {
+  const normalizedLang = lang ? normalizeIntlLocale(lang) : lang;
   return (
     // @ts-expect-error relative-time-element lacks TS compatibility with React 19, tracked here: https://github.com/github/relative-time-element/issues/304
-    <relative-time suppressHydrationWarning {...props}>
+    <relative-time suppressHydrationWarning lang={normalizedLang} {...props}>
       {children}
       {/* @ts-expect-error relative-time-element lacks TS compatibility with React 19, tracked here: https://github.com/github/relative-time-element/issues/304 */}
     </relative-time>
diff --git a/front_end/src/utils/formatters/date.ts b/front_end/src/utils/formatters/date.ts
index 46f7d09ce7..61e4a629fb 100644
--- a/front_end/src/utils/formatters/date.ts
+++ b/front_end/src/utils/formatters/date.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import {
   Duration,
   intlFormat,
   intlFormatDistance,
+  type IntlFormatDistanceOptions,
 } from "date-fns";
 import { es, cs, pt, zhTW, zhCN, enUS } from "date-fns/locale";
 
@@ -92,7 +93,7 @@ export function formatDate(locale: string, date: Date) {
   return intlFormat(
     new Date(date),
     { year: "numeric", month: "short", day: "numeric" },
-    { locale }
+    { locale: normalizeIntlLocale(locale) }
   );
 }
 
@@ -106,7 +107,7 @@ export function formatDatetime(locale: string, date: Date) {
       hour: "numeric",
       minute: "numeric",
     },
-    { locale }
+    { locale: normalizeIntlLocale(locale) }
   );
 }
 
@@ -133,7 +134,7 @@ export function formatRelativeDate(
   let dateStr: string = "";
   if (Math.abs(delta) < relCutoff) {
     dateStr = intlFormatDistance(date, now, {
-      locale,
+      locale: normalizeIntlLocale(locale),
       numeric: "always",
       style: short ? "short" : "long",
     });
@@ -189,6 +190,47 @@ export function formatDurationToShortStr(duration: Duration): string {
   return str;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Normalizes the app locale for use with the browser's Intl API.
+ * The "original" locale (Untranslated mode) is not a valid BCP 47 tag,
+ * so it falls back to the OS language. This maps it to "en" instead.
+ */
+export function normalizeIntlLocale(locale: string): string {
+  return locale === "original" ? "en" : locale;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Wrapper around date-fns `intlFormat` that normalizes the locale.
+ * Prefer this over calling `intlFormat` directly so Untranslated mode
+ * (`"original"` locale) is handled consistently.
+ */
+export function formatIntlDate(
+  locale: string,
+  date: Date | number | string,
+  formatOptions?: Intl.DateTimeFormatOptions
+): string {
+  return intlFormat(date, formatOptions ?? {}, {
+    locale: normalizeIntlLocale(locale),
+  });
+}
+
+/**
+ * Wrapper around date-fns `intlFormatDistance` that normalizes the locale.
+ * Prefer this over calling `intlFormatDistance` directly so Untranslated mode
+ * (`"original"` locale) is handled consistently.
+ */
+export function formatIntlDistance(
+  locale: string,
+  date: Date | number | string,
+  baseDate: Date | number | string,
+  options?: Omit<IntlFormatDistanceOptions, "locale">
+): string {
+  return intlFormatDistance(date, baseDate, {
+    ...options,
+    locale: normalizeIntlLocale(locale),
+  });
+}
+
 export const getDateFnsLocale = (locale: string) => {
   switch (locale) {
     case "es":