Home › Knowledge base › WCAG criterion
Page language per WCAG 3.1.1
The <html> element needs a valid lang attribute (e.g. lang="en"). Without it the screen reader cannot choose a pronunciation engine — English text is then read out as another language.
Common mistakes
No lang attribute, an invalid value (lang="english"), or a wrong language from a copied template (lang="de" on an English page).
Foreign-language passages
Also mark paragraphs in another language with lang (WCAG 3.1.2), e.g. <span lang="de">…</span>.
How a11yglass helps
The free scan checks the delivered HTML and CSS for automatically recognisable WCAG breaches, and names per finding the success criterion and a concrete step. It finds roughly 20–35% of issues and does not replace a full assessment.
Read on
General information to the best of our knowledge, not legal advice. For an individual case, contact a law firm specialising in IT law.