Jukka K. Korpela wrote:
> And maybe it's a good thing that many
> authors mistakenly believe that their lang or xml:lang attributes are of
> some use

They _are_ of some use, because screen readers / voice browsers use 
these attributes (at least 'lang') to use the appropriate language module.
-- 
Johannes Koch
In te domine speravi; non confundar in aeternum.
                             (Te Deum, 4th cent.)