diff --git a/spring-webmvc/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/servlet/i18n/AcceptHeaderLocaleResolver.java b/spring-webmvc/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/servlet/i18n/AcceptHeaderLocaleResolver.java
index f8c9b221f28..9984b65b802 100644
--- a/spring-webmvc/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/servlet/i18n/AcceptHeaderLocaleResolver.java
+++ b/spring-webmvc/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/servlet/i18n/AcceptHeaderLocaleResolver.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2017 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2018 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import java.util.Locale;
 import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
 import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;
 
+import org.springframework.util.StringUtils;
 import org.springframework.web.servlet.LocaleResolver;
 
 /**
@@ -113,13 +114,25 @@ public class AcceptHeaderLocaleResolver implements LocaleResolver {
 
 	private Locale findSupportedLocale(HttpServletRequest request) {
 		Enumeration<Locale> requestLocales = request.getLocales();
+		List<Locale> supported = getSupportedLocales();
+		Locale languageMatch = null;
 		while (requestLocales.hasMoreElements()) {
 			Locale locale = requestLocales.nextElement();
-			if (getSupportedLocales().contains(locale)) {
+			if (supported.contains(locale)) {
+				// Full match: typically language + country
 				return locale;
 			}
+			else if (languageMatch == null) {
+				// Let's try to find a language-only match as a fallback
+				for (Locale candidate : supported) {
+					if (!StringUtils.hasLength(candidate.getCountry()) &&
+							candidate.getLanguage().equals(locale.getLanguage())) {
+						languageMatch = candidate;
+					}
+				}
+			}
 		}
-		return null;
+		return languageMatch;
 	}
 
 	@Override
diff --git a/spring-webmvc/src/test/java/org/springframework/web/servlet/i18n/AcceptHeaderLocaleResolverTests.java b/spring-webmvc/src/test/java/org/springframework/web/servlet/i18n/AcceptHeaderLocaleResolverTests.java
index b22100b559c..0ed502a5731 100644
--- a/spring-webmvc/src/test/java/org/springframework/web/servlet/i18n/AcceptHeaderLocaleResolverTests.java
+++ b/spring-webmvc/src/test/java/org/springframework/web/servlet/i18n/AcceptHeaderLocaleResolverTests.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2017 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2018 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -36,28 +36,34 @@ import static org.junit.Assert.*;
  */
 public class AcceptHeaderLocaleResolverTests {
 
-	private AcceptHeaderLocaleResolver resolver = new AcceptHeaderLocaleResolver();
+	private final AcceptHeaderLocaleResolver resolver = new AcceptHeaderLocaleResolver();
 
 
 	@Test
-	public void resolve() throws Exception {
+	public void resolve() {
 		assertEquals(CANADA, this.resolver.resolveLocale(request(CANADA)));
 		assertEquals(US, this.resolver.resolveLocale(request(US, CANADA)));
 	}
 
 	@Test
-	public void resolvePreferredSupported() throws Exception {
+	public void resolvePreferredSupported() {
 		this.resolver.setSupportedLocales(Collections.singletonList(CANADA));
 		assertEquals(CANADA, this.resolver.resolveLocale(request(US, CANADA)));
 	}
 
 	@Test
-	public void resolvePreferredNotSupported() throws Exception {
+	public void resolvePreferredNotSupported() {
 		this.resolver.setSupportedLocales(Collections.singletonList(CANADA));
 		assertEquals(US, this.resolver.resolveLocale(request(US, UK)));
 	}
+
 	@Test
+	public void resolvePreferredAgainstLanguageOnly() {
+		this.resolver.setSupportedLocales(Collections.singletonList(ENGLISH));
+		assertEquals(ENGLISH, this.resolver.resolveLocale(request(GERMANY, US, UK)));
+	}
 
+	@Test
 	public void resolvePreferredNotSupportedWithDefault() {
 		this.resolver.setSupportedLocales(Arrays.asList(US, JAPAN));
 		this.resolver.setDefaultLocale(Locale.JAPAN);
@@ -69,7 +75,7 @@ public class AcceptHeaderLocaleResolverTests {
 	}
 
 	@Test
-	public void defaultLocale() throws Exception {
+	public void defaultLocale() {
 		this.resolver.setDefaultLocale(JAPANESE);
 		MockHttpServletRequest request = new MockHttpServletRequest();
 		assertEquals(JAPANESE, this.resolver.resolveLocale(request));