CSS font-language-override Property

CSS font-language-override Property

The font-language-override property in CSS allows you to control the language-specific glyphs used in a font. It overrides the default OpenType language system settings for better typographic rendering in certain languages.

1. Syntax

selector {
  font-language-override: value;
}

2. Property Values

Value	Description
normal	Uses the font's default language settings (default).
"XXX"	A three-letter OpenType language tag to specify the language for glyph substitution.

🔹 Example OpenType language tags:

• "ENG" – English
• "FRA" – French
• "JPN" – Japanese
• "KOR" – Korean

3. Example Usage

p {
  font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro", serif;
  font-language-override: "FRA"; /* Forces French glyphs */
}

✅ This ensures that French typographic rules (like ligatures) are used.

4. When to Use font-language-override?

• When a font supports language-specific features (e.g., Arabic, Japanese, French).
• To force OpenType substitutions for a different language.
• Useful for multilingual typography control.

5. Browser Support

🔸 Limited Support – Only works in Firefox (as of now).
🔹 Alternative: Use the lang attribute in HTML.

<p lang="fr">Texte en français</p>

✅ This works in all browsers.