diff --git a/markdown.php b/markdown.php
index 93efb8c..a4ccbb3 100644
--- a/markdown.php
+++ b/markdown.php
@@ -2010,7 +2010,8 @@ class MarkdownExtra_Parser extends Markdown_Parser {
 				|
 					# Fenced code block marker
 					(?<= ^ | \n )
-					[ ]{0,'.($indent+3).'}~{3,}
+					[ ]{0,'.($indent+3).'}[`~]{3,}
+					[A-Za-z0-9_\-]* # Language (optional).
 									[ ]*
 					(?:
 					\.?[-_:a-zA-Z0-9]+ # standalone class name
@@ -2082,7 +2083,7 @@ class MarkdownExtra_Parser extends Markdown_Parser {
 			#
 			# Check for: Fenced code block marker.
 			#
-			else if (preg_match('{^\n?([ ]{0,'.($indent+3).'})(~+)}', $tag, $capture)) {
+			else if (preg_match('{^\n?([ ]{0,'.($indent+3).'})([`~]+)}', $tag, $capture)) {
 				# Fenced code block marker: find matching end marker.
 				$fence_indent = strlen($capture[1]); # use captured indent in re
 				$fence_re = $capture[2]; # use captured fence in re
@@ -2912,6 +2913,10 @@ class MarkdownExtra_Parser extends Markdown_Parser {
 	# ~~~
 	# Code block
 	# ~~~
+	#
+	# ```
+	# Code block
+	# ```
 	#
 		$less_than_tab = $this->tab_width;
 		
@@ -2919,17 +2924,21 @@ class MarkdownExtra_Parser extends Markdown_Parser {
 				(?:\n|\A)
 				# 1: Opening marker
 				(
-					~{3,} # Marker: three tilde or more.
+					[`~]{3,} # 3 or more backticks/tildes.
+				)
+				# 2: Code language marker (optional).
+				(
+					[A-Za-z0-9_\-]* # Word chars and/or `-`.
 				)
 				[ ]*
 				(?:
-					\.?([-_:a-zA-Z0-9]+) # 2: standalone class name
+					\.?([-_:a-zA-Z0-9]+) # 3: Stand-alone class name.
 				|
-					'.$this->id_class_attr_catch_re.' # 3: Extra attributes
+					'.$this->id_class_attr_catch_re.' # 4: Extra attributes.
 				)?
 				[ ]* \n # Whitespace and newline following marker.
 				
-				# 4: Content
+				# 5: Content
 				(
 					(?>
 						(?!\1 [ ]* \n)	# Not a closing marker.
@@ -2945,19 +2954,23 @@ class MarkdownExtra_Parser extends Markdown_Parser {
 		return $text;
 	}
 	function _doFencedCodeBlocks_callback($matches) {
-		$classname =& $matches[2];
-		$attrs     =& $matches[3];
-		$codeblock = $matches[4];
+		$language  = $matches[2];
+		$classname = $matches[3];
+		$attrs     = $matches[4];
+		$codeblock = $matches[5];
 		$codeblock = htmlspecialchars($codeblock, ENT_NOQUOTES);
 		$codeblock = preg_replace_callback('/^\n+/',
 			array(&$this, '_doFencedCodeBlocks_newlines'), $codeblock);
+		
+		$attr_str = ''; # Initialize string of attributes.
+		if($language != '') $attr_str .= ' lang="'.$language.'"';
 
 		if ($classname != "") {
 			if ($classname{0} == '.')
 				$classname = substr($classname, 1);
-			$attr_str = ' class="'.$this->code_class_prefix.$classname.'"';
+			$attr_str .= ' class="'.$this->code_class_prefix.$classname.'"';
 		} else {
-			$attr_str = $this->doExtraAttributes($this->code_attr_on_pre ? "pre" : "code", $attrs);
+			$attr_str .= $this->doExtraAttributes($this->code_attr_on_pre ? "pre" : "code", $attrs);
 		}
 		$pre_attr_str  = $this->code_attr_on_pre ? $attr_str : '';
 		$code_attr_str = $this->code_attr_on_pre ? '' : $attr_str;
@@ -3331,4 +3344,4 @@ negligence or otherwise) arising in any way out of the use of this
 software, even if advised of the possibility of such damage.
 
 */
-?>
\ No newline at end of file
+?>