Individual skill
lang-attribute
Use when applies to all HTML documents. Check the `<html>` opening tag for a `lang` attribute with a non-empty, valid BCP 47 language code. Also check for `lang` attribute changes on individual elements when the document contains content in multiple languages (inline quotes, foreign terms, multilingual sections). The `lang` attribute is inherited — child elements inherit the language from their nearest ancestor with `lang`.
skills/lang-attribute/SKILL.md
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- Last checked
- Nov 9, 2026
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- frontend Repository topic
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- web-development Repository topic
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SKILL.mdcore · 3,991 bytesreferences/rule.mddoc · 4,131 bytes
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# Set the page lang attribute
Screen readers select the correct text-to-speech voice and pronunciation engine based on the `lang` attribute. Without it, VoiceOver defaults to the user's system language, and NVDA uses its default voice — both may mispronounce words in other languages, making content unintelligible. French text read with an English voice profile is incomprehensible. The `lang` attribute also enables browser translation features (Chrome's Translate), hyphenation algorithms (CSS `hyphens: auto`), and correct spell checking. This is a WCAG Level A requirement — the most fundamental accessibility baseline.
## Quick Reference
- The `<html>` element must have a `lang` attribute — WCAG 2.1 SC 3.1.1 (Language of Page, Level A)
- The value must be a valid BCP 47 language tag: `en`, `en-US`, `fr`, `zh-Hant`, `ar`, etc.
- Use `lang` on individual elements to indicate language changes within the page — WCAG 2.1 SC 3.1.2 (Level AA)
- The `lang` attribute affects screen reader pronunciation, spell checking, hyphenation, and browser translation
- An empty `lang=''` is treated as unknown language — equivalent to having no `lang` attribute
## Check
