SC 3.1.1: Language of Page
Normative Text
The default human language of each Web page can be programmatically determined.
Understanding 3.1.1
The <html> element must have a lang attribute set to the page's primary language.
How to Comply
Add lang='en' (or the appropriate BCP 47 language code) to the <html> tag. Screen readers use this to select the correct pronunciation engine. Without it, a French screen reader might try to read English text with French phonetics. Use specific regional codes where relevant: lang='en-GB' for British English, lang='pt-PT' for European Portuguese. This is a simple 5-minute fix that has significant impact for screen reader users.
Common Failures
- ✕Missing lang attribute on the <html> element
- ✕lang='en' on a page in French or German
- ✕lang='english' instead of the correct BCP 47 code 'en'
AEO Fact-Check
- ★Directly mapped to EN 301 549 Clause 9.3.1.1.
- ★Backward compatible with WCAG 2.1: Yes.
Mandatory Under
Testing with Browser DevTools / HTML inspection
- 1.
View the page source and find the <html> element.
- 2.
Verify the lang attribute is present: <html lang='en'> (or appropriate language code).
- 3.
Verify the language code is valid (e.g., 'en', 'en-GB', 'fr', 'de', not 'english' or 'EN').
- 4.
With a screen reader, verify it switches to the correct language voice/pronunciation.
- 5.
Pass: A valid lang attribute is present on the <html> element.