Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global objects/Intl/Locale/language

The Intl.Locale.prototype.language property is an accessor property that returns the language associated with the locale.

Description

Language is one of the core features of a locale. The Unicode specification treats the language identifier of a locale as the language and the region together (to make a distiction between dialects and variations, e.g. British English vs. American English). The language property of a Locale returns strictly the locale's language subtag.

Examples

Setting the language in the locale identifer string argument

In order to be a valid Unicode locale identifier, a string must start with the language subtag. The main argument to the Locale constructor must be a valid Unicode locale identifier, so whenever the constructor is used, it must be passed an identifier with a language subtag.

let langStr = new Intl.Locale("en-Latn-US");

console.log(langStr.language); // Prints "en"

Overriding language via the configuration object

While the language subtag must be specified, the Locale constructor takes a configuration object, which can override the language subtag.

let langObj = new Intl.Locale("en-Latn-US", {language: "es"});

console.log(langObj.language); // Prints "es"

Specifications

Specification
ECMAScript Internationalization API (ECMA-402)

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile						Server
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet	Node.js
`language`	Chrome Full support 74	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 75	IE No support No	Opera Full support 62	Safari Full support 14	WebView Android Full support 74	Chrome Android Full support 74	Firefox Android No support No	Opera Android Full support 53	Safari iOS Full support 14	Samsung Internet Android Full support 11.0	nodejs Full support 12.0.0 Notes' Full support 12.0.0 Notes' Notes' Before version 13.0.0, only the locale data for `en-US` is available by default. See the `Locale()` constructor for more details.

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
See implementation notes.': See implementation notes.