diff --git a/lib/Epub/Epub.cpp b/lib/Epub/Epub.cpp
index 234344d7..5ac44652 100644
--- a/lib/Epub/Epub.cpp
+++ b/lib/Epub/Epub.cpp
@@ -74,9 +74,16 @@ bool Epub::parseContentOpf(BookMetadataCache::BookMetadata& bookMetadata) {
   // Grab data from opfParser into epub
   bookMetadata.title = opfParser.title;
   bookMetadata.author = opfParser.author;
+  bookMetadata.language = opfParser.language;
   bookMetadata.coverItemHref = opfParser.coverItemHref;
   bookMetadata.textReferenceHref = opfParser.textReferenceHref;
 
+  if (!bookMetadata.language.empty()) {
+    Serial.printf("[%lu] [EBP] OPF language: %s\n", millis(), bookMetadata.language.c_str());
+  } else {
+    Serial.printf("[%lu] [EBP] OPF language: <none>\n", millis());
+  }
+
   if (!opfParser.tocNcxPath.empty()) {
     tocNcxItem = opfParser.tocNcxPath;
   }
@@ -345,6 +352,15 @@ const std::string& Epub::getAuthor() const {
   return bookMetadataCache->coreMetadata.author;
 }
 
+const std::string& Epub::getLanguage() const {
+  static std::string blank;
+  if (!bookMetadataCache || !bookMetadataCache->isLoaded()) {
+    return blank;
+  }
+
+  return bookMetadataCache->coreMetadata.language;
+}
+
 std::string Epub::getCoverBmpPath() const { return cachePath + "/cover.bmp"; }
 
 bool Epub::generateCoverBmp() const {
diff --git a/lib/Epub/Epub.h b/lib/Epub/Epub.h
index a6555e7e..8d62bbbe 100644
--- a/lib/Epub/Epub.h
+++ b/lib/Epub/Epub.h
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ class Epub {
   const std::string& getPath() const;
   const std::string& getTitle() const;
   const std::string& getAuthor() const;
+  const std::string& getLanguage() const;
   std::string getCoverBmpPath() const;
   bool generateCoverBmp() const;
   uint8_t* readItemContentsToBytes(const std::string& itemHref, size_t* size = nullptr,
diff --git a/lib/Epub/Epub/BookMetadataCache.cpp b/lib/Epub/Epub/BookMetadataCache.cpp
index 06b4f458..0ef363ec 100644
--- a/lib/Epub/Epub/BookMetadataCache.cpp
+++ b/lib/Epub/Epub/BookMetadataCache.cpp
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 #include "FsHelpers.h"
 
 namespace {
-constexpr uint8_t BOOK_CACHE_VERSION = 3;
+constexpr uint8_t BOOK_CACHE_VERSION = 4;
 constexpr char bookBinFile[] = "/book.bin";
 constexpr char tmpSpineBinFile[] = "/spine.bin.tmp";
 constexpr char tmpTocBinFile[] = "/toc.bin.tmp";
@@ -87,8 +87,9 @@ bool BookMetadataCache::buildBookBin(const std::string& epubPath, const BookMeta
 
   constexpr uint32_t headerASize =
       sizeof(BOOK_CACHE_VERSION) + /* LUT Offset */ sizeof(uint32_t) + sizeof(spineCount) + sizeof(tocCount);
-  const uint32_t metadataSize = metadata.title.size() + metadata.author.size() + metadata.coverItemHref.size() +
-                                metadata.textReferenceHref.size() + sizeof(uint32_t) * 4;
+  const uint32_t metadataSize = metadata.title.size() + metadata.author.size() + metadata.language.size() +
+                                metadata.coverItemHref.size() + metadata.textReferenceHref.size() +
+                                sizeof(uint32_t) * 5;
   const uint32_t lutSize = sizeof(uint32_t) * spineCount + sizeof(uint32_t) * tocCount;
   const uint32_t lutOffset = headerASize + metadataSize;
 
@@ -100,6 +101,7 @@ bool BookMetadataCache::buildBookBin(const std::string& epubPath, const BookMeta
   // Metadata
   serialization::writeString(bookFile, metadata.title);
   serialization::writeString(bookFile, metadata.author);
+  serialization::writeString(bookFile, metadata.language);
   serialization::writeString(bookFile, metadata.coverItemHref);
   serialization::writeString(bookFile, metadata.textReferenceHref);
 
@@ -289,6 +291,7 @@ bool BookMetadataCache::load() {
 
   serialization::readString(bookFile, coreMetadata.title);
   serialization::readString(bookFile, coreMetadata.author);
+  serialization::readString(bookFile, coreMetadata.language);
   serialization::readString(bookFile, coreMetadata.coverItemHref);
   serialization::readString(bookFile, coreMetadata.textReferenceHref);
 
diff --git a/lib/Epub/Epub/BookMetadataCache.h b/lib/Epub/Epub/BookMetadataCache.h
index 5f1862c5..29b2ae4a 100644
--- a/lib/Epub/Epub/BookMetadataCache.h
+++ b/lib/Epub/Epub/BookMetadataCache.h
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ class BookMetadataCache {
   struct BookMetadata {
     std::string title;
     std::string author;
+    std::string language;
     std::string coverItemHref;
     std::string textReferenceHref;
   };
diff --git a/lib/Epub/Epub/Section.cpp b/lib/Epub/Epub/Section.cpp
index 15594bdd..c798eaf0 100644
--- a/lib/Epub/Epub/Section.cpp
+++ b/lib/Epub/Epub/Section.cpp
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
 #include "Page.h"
 #include "parsers/ChapterHtmlSlimParser.h"
+#include "hyphenation/Hyphenator.h"
 
 namespace {
 constexpr uint8_t SECTION_FILE_VERSION = 9;
@@ -186,6 +187,8 @@ bool Section::createSectionFile(const int fontId, const float lineCompression, c
       viewportHeight, hyphenationEnabled,
       [this, &lut](std::unique_ptr<Page> page) { lut.emplace_back(this->onPageComplete(std::move(page))); },
       progressFn);
+  Hyphenator::setPreferredLanguage(epub->getLanguage());
+  Serial.printf("[%lu] [SCT] Hyphenation language set to: %s\n", millis(), epub->getLanguage().c_str());
   success = visitor.parseAndBuildPages();
 
   SdMan.remove(tmpHtmlPath.c_str());
diff --git a/lib/Epub/Epub/hyphenation/HyphenationCommon.cpp b/lib/Epub/Epub/hyphenation/HyphenationCommon.cpp
index 999cb53c..09393bbd 100644
--- a/lib/Epub/Epub/hyphenation/HyphenationCommon.cpp
+++ b/lib/Epub/Epub/hyphenation/HyphenationCommon.cpp
@@ -143,22 +143,3 @@ bool hasOnlyAlphabetic(const std::vector<CodepointInfo>& cps) {
   return true;
 }
 
-Script detectScript(const std::vector<CodepointInfo>& cps) {
-  bool hasLatin = false;
-  bool hasCyrillic = false;
-  for (const auto& info : cps) {
-    if (isLatinLetter(info.value)) {
-      hasLatin = true;
-    } else if (isCyrillicLetter(info.value)) {
-      hasCyrillic = true;
-    }
-  }
-
-  if (hasLatin && !hasCyrillic) {
-    return Script::Latin;
-  }
-  if (!hasLatin && hasCyrillic) {
-    return Script::Cyrillic;
-  }
-  return Script::Mixed;
-}
diff --git a/lib/Epub/Epub/hyphenation/HyphenationCommon.h b/lib/Epub/Epub/hyphenation/HyphenationCommon.h
index c28acfa7..752b2b9e 100644
--- a/lib/Epub/Epub/hyphenation/HyphenationCommon.h
+++ b/lib/Epub/Epub/hyphenation/HyphenationCommon.h
@@ -35,4 +35,3 @@ bool isSoftHyphen(uint32_t cp);
 void trimSurroundingPunctuation(std::vector<CodepointInfo>& cps);
 bool hasOnlyAlphabetic(const std::vector<CodepointInfo>& cps);
 
-Script detectScript(const std::vector<CodepointInfo>& cps);
diff --git a/lib/Epub/Epub/hyphenation/Hyphenator.cpp b/lib/Epub/Epub/hyphenation/Hyphenator.cpp
index a06bb283..9bac28b7 100644
--- a/lib/Epub/Epub/hyphenation/Hyphenator.cpp
+++ b/lib/Epub/Epub/hyphenation/Hyphenator.cpp
@@ -32,6 +32,37 @@ const LanguageHyphenator* hyphenatorForScript(const Script script) {
   return nullptr;
 }
 
+// Maps a BCP-47 language tag to a language-specific hyphenator.
+const LanguageHyphenator* hyphenatorForLanguage(const std::string& langTag) {
+  if (langTag.empty()) return nullptr;
+
+  // Extract primary subtag and normalize to lowercase (e.g., "en-US" -> "en").
+  std::string primary;
+  primary.reserve(langTag.size());
+  for (char c : langTag) {
+    if (c == '-' || c == '_') break;
+    if (c >= 'A' && c <= 'Z') c = static_cast<char>(c - 'A' + 'a');
+    primary.push_back(c);
+  }
+  if (primary.empty()) return nullptr;
+
+  if (primary == "en") return &EnglishHyphenator::instance();
+  if (primary == "ru") return &RussianHyphenator::instance();
+  return nullptr;
+}
+
+// Preferred language hint; empty means "auto".
+std::string& preferredLanguage() {
+  static std::string lang;
+  return lang;
+}
+
+// Cached hyphenator instance for the current preferred language.
+const LanguageHyphenator*& cachedHyphenator() {
+  static const LanguageHyphenator* hyphenator = nullptr;
+  return hyphenator;
+}
+
 // Converts the UTF-8 word into codepoint metadata for downstream rules.
 std::vector<CodepointInfo> collectCodepoints(const std::string& word) {
   std::vector<CodepointInfo> cps;
@@ -78,8 +109,8 @@ std::vector<size_t> collectBreakIndexes(const std::vector<CodepointInfo>& cps) {
     return {};
   }
 
-  const Script script = detectScript(cps);
-  if (const auto* hyphenator = hyphenatorForScript(script)) {
+  // Use cached hyphenator to avoid repeated language lookups.
+  if (const auto* hyphenator = cachedHyphenator()) {
     auto indexes = hyphenator->breakIndexes(cps);
     return indexes;
   }
@@ -95,6 +126,7 @@ size_t byteOffsetForIndex(const std::vector<CodepointInfo>& cps, const size_t in
   return cps[index].byteOffset;
 }
 
+// Builds a vector of break information from explicit hyphen markers in the given codepoints.
 std::vector<Hyphenator::BreakInfo> buildExplicitBreakInfos(const std::vector<CodepointInfo>& cps) {
   std::vector<Hyphenator::BreakInfo> breaks;
   breaks.reserve(cps.size());
@@ -182,3 +214,8 @@ std::vector<Hyphenator::BreakInfo> Hyphenator::breakOffsets(const std::string& w
 
   return breaks;
 }
+
+void Hyphenator::setPreferredLanguage(const std::string& lang) {
+  preferredLanguage() = lang;
+  cachedHyphenator() = hyphenatorForLanguage(lang);
+}
diff --git a/lib/Epub/Epub/hyphenation/Hyphenator.h b/lib/Epub/Epub/hyphenation/Hyphenator.h
index 3d1ed040..992d1dd5 100644
--- a/lib/Epub/Epub/hyphenation/Hyphenator.h
+++ b/lib/Epub/Epub/hyphenation/Hyphenator.h
@@ -13,4 +13,7 @@ class Hyphenator {
   // Returns byte offsets where the word may be hyphenated. When includeFallback is true, all positions obeying the
   // minimum prefix/suffix constraints are returned even if no language-specific rule matches.
   static std::vector<BreakInfo> breakOffsets(const std::string& word, bool includeFallback);
+
+  // Provide a publication-level language hint (e.g. "en", "en-US", "ru") used to select hyphenation rules.
+  static void setPreferredLanguage(const std::string& lang);
 };
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib/Epub/Epub/parsers/ContentOpfParser.cpp b/lib/Epub/Epub/parsers/ContentOpfParser.cpp
index 2c90d01d..c02d4ee8 100644
--- a/lib/Epub/Epub/parsers/ContentOpfParser.cpp
+++ b/lib/Epub/Epub/parsers/ContentOpfParser.cpp
@@ -107,6 +107,11 @@ void XMLCALL ContentOpfParser::startElement(void* userData, const XML_Char* name
     return;
   }
 
+  if (self->state == IN_METADATA && strcmp(name, "dc:language") == 0) {
+    self->state = IN_BOOK_LANGUAGE;
+    return;
+  }
+
   if (self->state == IN_PACKAGE && (strcmp(name, "manifest") == 0 || strcmp(name, "opf:manifest") == 0)) {
     self->state = IN_MANIFEST;
     if (!SdMan.openFileForWrite("COF", self->cachePath + itemCacheFile, self->tempItemStore)) {
@@ -266,6 +271,11 @@ void XMLCALL ContentOpfParser::characterData(void* userData, const XML_Char* s,
     self->author.append(s, len);
     return;
   }
+
+  if (self->state == IN_BOOK_LANGUAGE) {
+    self->language.append(s, len);
+    return;
+  }
 }
 
 void XMLCALL ContentOpfParser::endElement(void* userData, const XML_Char* name) {
@@ -300,6 +310,11 @@ void XMLCALL ContentOpfParser::endElement(void* userData, const XML_Char* name)
     return;
   }
 
+  if (self->state == IN_BOOK_LANGUAGE && strcmp(name, "dc:language") == 0) {
+    self->state = IN_METADATA;
+    return;
+  }
+
   if (self->state == IN_METADATA && (strcmp(name, "metadata") == 0 || strcmp(name, "opf:metadata") == 0)) {
     self->state = IN_PACKAGE;
     return;
diff --git a/lib/Epub/Epub/parsers/ContentOpfParser.h b/lib/Epub/Epub/parsers/ContentOpfParser.h
index 1940aaaf..8c56a86f 100644
--- a/lib/Epub/Epub/parsers/ContentOpfParser.h
+++ b/lib/Epub/Epub/parsers/ContentOpfParser.h
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ class ContentOpfParser final : public Print {
     IN_METADATA,
     IN_BOOK_TITLE,
     IN_BOOK_AUTHOR,
+    IN_BOOK_LANGUAGE,
     IN_MANIFEST,
     IN_SPINE,
     IN_GUIDE,
@@ -34,6 +35,7 @@ class ContentOpfParser final : public Print {
  public:
   std::string title;
   std::string author;
+  std::string language;
   std::string tocNcxPath;
   std::string tocNavPath;  // EPUB 3 nav document path
   std::string coverItemHref;