What does lang in html5 mean?

In HTML5, the full name of lang is "language", which means "language". It is a global attribute that can be used for any HTML element; the lang attribute is used to specify the language of the element content. The syntax "".

The operating environment of this tutorial: Windows 7 system, HTML5 version, Dell G3 computer.

In HTML5, the full name of lang is "language", which means "language".

lang is a global attribute that can be used on any HTML element (it will validate any HTML element. But it is not necessarily useful).

In HTML 4.01, the lang attribute cannot be used with: ,
, ,

,

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The lang attribute specifies the language of the element's content.

Syntax:

<element lang="value">

Value	Description
value	#Specifies the language code of the element content.

A Language Tags consists of four sub-tags from ① to ⑦. If you have any unclear calculations, please refer to the documents provided in the resources section.

The meaning of each part

①language: the main language, use the code "zh" to represent Chinese, lowercase. It seems that there is no mandatory requirement for capitalization, it's just customary. Just follow your habits. Always looking awkward to others is not a good way to show off your personality.

② extlang: Translated into "extended language"? For Chinese, this part represents Mandarin and dialects. For example, "cmn" means Mandarin, "yue" means Cantonese, and I don't know what "lzh" means. lower case.

③script: Writing format, Chinese does not have the spelling changes of Western languages, only "simplified" and "traditional". "Hans" means simplified Chinese and "Hant" means traditional Chinese, with the first letter capitalized.

④Region: Region, the regions related to Chinese are probably Mainland China (CN), Taiwan (TW), Hong Kong (HK), Macau (MO), and Singapore (SG).

⑤⑥⑦: Guess...

## ⑥

The trouble with dialects

I counted it. In addition to "cmn" indicating Mandarin, IANA also approved There are at least 13 dialect sub-tags, listed as follows:

ˆ ˆ cdo, cjy, cpx, czh, czo, gan, hak, hsn, lzh, mnp, nan, wuu, yue

ˆ causing confusion What's interesting is that these tags can either be used as extlang sub-tags to represent dialects (extended languages?) or they can be placed in the language position as the main language. So what is the relationship between these tags and the traditional "zh" tag? IANA defines "zh" as "macrolanguage". I don't know how to translate it, microlanguage? Macro language? Or language? BCP 47's view is that Chinese contains several languages, and it seems to believe that dialects of Chinese can be regarded as independent languages. Therefore, "zh" can still be used as the main language, and then the dialect is marked in the position of extlang, that is, a format like . At the same time, it also supports using dialects directly as the main language, that is, a format like .

After clarifying the confusion caused by dialects, my personal suggestion is to use "zh" as the main language. I don't want to get into a political discussion or delve into esoteric academic issues, and the only reason to suggest just using "zh" as the main language subtag is to avoid confusion. The few (even if not many) dialect labels nowadays are still a very happy state. Don't forget that there is a legend in the world of using dialect as a secret language in counterattacks, and Harbin, Xi'an and Chengdu may have different dialects. Who knows how many Chinese languages ​​the IANA bosses will approve in the future and memorize them all? Or when maintaining the code, first check whether it is a Chinese dialect or a foreign language in some corner?

“zh” means Chinese; “zh-xxx” still means Chinese, but the dialect characteristics need to be considered. Such an expression will not lead to any misunderstanding.

The shorter the better

W3C’s suggestion is: “The golden rule when creating language tags is to keep the tag as short as possible”. Some parts of the label are really unnecessary. For example, if applications such as speech synthesis are not involved, the existence of the extlang part is of little significance. No matter what dialect or accent you speak, you will write the same text. The region part doesn't seem to have much meaning in Chinese. Does anyone know the difference between Singaporeans speaking Mandarin and mainlanders? I don't know.

Therefore, the W3C example becomes the best usage - "zh-Hans" - Chinese, simplified. That's enough. Or I personally think it’s okay to just use “zh”, or mix simplified and traditional.

Compatible

  Traditionally, "zh-CN" is generally used. Is the new standard supported by all browsers? I really don't have the energy to try this. Give it a try, or is it safer to use "zh-Hans-CN" now?

Disclaimer

We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the content. A more reliable means is to read the standards documentation.

I wrote this short article because I just told a friend about the relevant content, so I wrote it down casually. If it can help other netizens, that would be my honor.

 Although four resource links are provided, I actually did not read it again this time. It is all written from memory. If there are any mistakes, please forgive me and please point them out to me.

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