lang on inline content must be a valid tag

Rule valid-lang · Document, language & navigation · impact moderate · Static + live

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Why it matters#

Phrases in another language need a correct lang so AT switches pronunciation. A malformed tag is ignored. Only elements whose subtree contains text are checked (a bad lang with nothing to pronounce has no 3.1.2 impact); well-formed private-use (x-…) and grandfathered (i-…) BCP-47 tags are accepted.

How to fix#

Set a valid lang on the element wrapping the foreign-language passage.

Example#

<span lang="francais">Bonjour</span>

<span lang="fr">Bonjour</span>

Example#

<span lang="en_US">Hello</span>

<p lang="x-lojban">coi rodo</p>

Private-use (x-…) and irregular grandfathered (i-…) tags are well-formed BCP-47; underscores are not.

WCAG success criteria#

3.1.2 Language of Parts — Level AA#

Passages in a different language need their own lang attribute.

Understanding 3.1.2

Standards#

This rule contributes to the following standards:

WCAG AA EN 301 549 Trusted Tester ACT

References#

• WCAG — Language of Parts