diff --git a/scan b/scan
index 4dd2ae6..708b4f6 100755
--- a/scan
+++ b/scan
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
 
   --searchable|--ocr) SEARCHABLE=1 ;;
 
-  --language) LANGUAGE=$1 ;;
+  --language) shift; LANGUAGE=$1 ;;
 
   --skip-empty-pages) SKIP_EMPTY_PAGES=1 ;;