What this criterion requires
The default human language of every page must be programmatically set, via the lang attribute on the html element.
Who it helps
Screen reader users - the lang attribute selects the speech synthesizer voice and pronunciation rules.
Example: fails vs passes
<html><html lang="en">The lang attribute selects the screen reader voice. Wrong or missing lang produces garbled speech.
How to meet and fix it
- Set lang on html (lang="en", lang="he", etc.) and keep it correct per page
Common failures auditors find
- Missing lang attribute
- English lang on translated pages, producing garbled screen reader speech
Automated scanning catches a share of these instantly - run a free check - and a manual audit covers the judgement calls a tool cannot make.
In PDF documents
The document language must be set in the PDF metadata (the /Lang entry), and language changes inside the document on the relevant tags - otherwise screen readers pick the wrong voice.
Check any document against this and 80+ more automated checks with the free PDF accessibility checker.
- W3C, Understanding 3.1.1: Language of Page - w3.org/WAI
- W3C, How to Meet 3.1.1 (quick reference) - w3.org/WAI/quickref
Last updated . Reviewed by the EqualWeb accessibility team.
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