is utf somehow useable to get multi-lang but NOT locale?

I want to be able to look at PDF, Xdisplayed, international-text from
time to time, but like many people I'm basically mono-lingual in my
UNIX headspace, and really don't need a locale. I'm never going to ask
to see the cat -v option in spanish or mongolian. (I fully respect the
rights of Spaniards and  Mongolians to have in-language messages. I
just don't need them myself.)

Is there a way to compile NetBSD such that I don't score the overhead
of passes through ENV state to detect my locale, but I do retain the
ability to use UTF-<x> fonts in X? As I understand it, every binary and
shell is having to do indirection calls via locale state, to tell me my
messages. I'd love to not have that happen.

I have a feeling that there is a runtime cost, and a disk cost to all
this multi-lingualism which I could shed..

(hoping for yes, but expecting to be told no..)

-G