Question

I have a drop down where the user selects a language:

<select>
    <option>English</option>
    <option>Spanish</option>
</select>

1. I want the default option that is initially displayed to say “Select
   a language” instead of “English” (my first option, displayed by
   default).
2. I don’t want the user to be able to select “Select a language”.

Answer 1

If none of the options in the select have a selected attribute, the first option will be the one selected.

In order to select a default option that is not the first, add a selected attribute to that option:

<option selected="selected">Select a language</option>

You can read the HTML 4.01 spec regarding defaults in select element.

I suggest reading a good HTML book if you need to learn HTML basics like this – I recommend Head First HTML.