Language of Page
Success Criterion 3.1.1 (Level A)
Question
Is the language of each page properly identified in the code for your website/application?
Why is this important
Specifying the main language for the content enables user agents to present the characters accurately and assistive technologies to load the appropriate pronunciation values. This allows users of all abilities to better understand the material presented.
Whom does it benefit?
Example 1:
As a blind or low-vision user,
I want my screen reader to load the appropriate
pronunciation values for the language of the content
so that I can comprehend the material presented.
Example 2:
As a person who relies on captions for synchronized
media,
I want the characters in the captions to be consistent
with the language of the media
so that I can understand the media content.
Example 3:
As a person with cognitive, language, or learning
disabilities,
I want my Text to Speech software to pronounce the content
accurately
so that I can understand the material presented.
Example 4:
As a person with reading difficulties,
I want the content presented accurately
so that I can understand the characters and symbols.
What should you do?
Ensure that each page of an application has a language (e.g. Arabic, Chinese, English) assigned to it.
How do you do it?
Look up an appropriate language code for the main language used in the application page. If an application page is in US English, the default human language should be identified as US English (en-us) by the lang attribute on the html element.
Need technical guidance?
Technical guidance is available for implementing this Success Criterion at
the
Understanding Success Criterion 3.1.1 - Language of Page