How to use language_attributes filter in WordPress

language_attributes Filter

Filters the language attributes for display in the ‘html’ tag.

To use the language_attributes filter, first you have to register it using add_filter. You can write this code into functions.php of your activated theme or in a custom WordPress Plugin.

We at WePlugins, always prefer to create a custom WordPress Plugin while using hooks so nothing breaks when you update your WordPress Theme in the future.

In the below live example, we have defined a function weplugins_modify_language_attributes_defaults which takes 2 parameters and we registered using add_filter. The first parameter language_attributes is the name of the hook, the second parameter weplugins_modify_language_attributes_defaults is the name of the function which needs to be called, the third parameter is the priority of calling the hook if the same hook is used multiple times and the last parameter is the number of arguments (if any) to be passed in the registered function.

Sometimes, you have to remove a registered hook, so you can use remove_filter to remove the language_attributes filter.

Parameters

Below are the 2 parameters required to use this hook:

• $output: (string) A space-separated list of language attributes.
• $doctype: (string) The type of HTML document (xhtml|html).

Live Example 1

Below is an example of how you can use this hook.

    function weplugins_modify_language_attributes_defaults($output, $doctype) {
        // Update the $output variable according to your website requirements and return this variable. You can modify the $output variable conditionally too if you want.
        return $output;
    }
    // add the filter
    add_filter( "language_attributes", "weplugins_modify_language_attributes_defaults", 10, 2 );
    

Live Example 2

To remove a hook callback, use the example below.

    remove_filter( "language_attributes", "weplugins_modify_language_attributes_defaults", 10, 2 );
    

Please make sure to provide the same callback function name, priority, and number of arguments while removing the hook callback.

Live Example 3

Here’s another example to demonstrate conditional modification of the $output variable.

    function weplugins_conditional_language_attributes($output, $doctype) {
        if ($doctype === 'html') {
            $output .= ' lang="en"';
        }
        return $output;
    }
    // add the filter
    add_filter( "language_attributes", "weplugins_conditional_language_attributes", 10, 2 );
    

Contact Us

If you’re having any trouble using this hook or need customization, please contact us and we’d be happy to assist you.