diff --git a/geocoder/geonames.py b/geocoder/geonames.py
index 255f8a6a..b8552c63 100644
--- a/geocoder/geonames.py
+++ b/geocoder/geonames.py
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ def _build_params(self, location, provider_key, **kwargs):
             'lang', 'type', 'style',
             'isNameRequired', 'tag', 'operator', 'charset',
             'east', 'west', 'north', 'south',
-            'orderby', 'inclBbox',
+            'orderby', 'inclBbox', 'searchlang',
         ))
         found_kwargs = supported_kwargs & set(kwargs.keys())
         LOGGER.debug("Adding extra kwargs %s", found_kwargs)