The NavigatorLanguage.language read-only property returns a string representing the preferred language of the user, usually the language of the browser UI.
Syntax
var lang = navigator.language
Value
A DOMString. lang stores a string representing the language version as defined in BCP 47. Examples of valid language codes include "en", "en-US", "fr", "fr-FR", "es-ES", etc.
Note that in Safari on macOS and iOS prior to 10.2, the country code returned is lowercase: "en-us", "fr-fr" etc.
Example
if (window.navigator.language != 'en') {
doLangSelect(window.navigator.language);
}
Specifications
| Specification | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| HTML 5.1 The definition of 'NavigatorLanguage.language' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Initial definition |
Browser compatibility
| Feature | Chrome | Edge | Firefox | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | Yes1 | Yes | 12 53 | 114 | Yes | Yes |
| Feature | Android webview | Chrome for Android | Edge mobile | Firefox for Android | Opera Android | iOS Safari | Samsung Internet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | Yes1 | Yes1 | Yes | 4 | Yes | Yes | ? |
1. Returns the browser UI language, not the value of the Accept-Language HTTP header.
2. Prior to Firefox 4 this property's value was also part of the user agent string, as reported by navigator.userAgent.
3. Starting in Firefox 5.0 this property's value is based on the value of the Accept-Language HTTP header.
4. Closest available (non-standard) properties are userLanguage and browserLanguage.