ISO 639-5
Encyclopedia
ISO 639-5:2008 "Codes for the representation of names of languages—Part 5: Alpha-3 code for language families and groups" is an international standard published by the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO). It was developed by ISO Technical Committee 37, Subcommittee 2, and first published on May 15, 2008. It is part of the ISO 639
series of standards.
maintains the list of Alpha-3 codes that comprise ISO 639-5.
The standard does not cover all language families used by linguists. The languages covered by a group code need not be linguistically related, but may have a geographic relation, or category relation (such as Creoles).
The only site which has a complete list of codes for all language families and groups is the Multitree Site The MultiTree Project, run by the LINGUIST list The LINGUIST List. But these codes are not part of the ISO system, and use four (not three) letters. Since they are clearly distinct from language codes, some sites prefer them, though they are not a standard.
"Alpha-3 code" standard. ISO 639-2 contains codes for some individual languages, some macrolanguage codes, and some collective codes; any code found in ISO 639-2 is also found in either ISO 639-3
or ISO 639-5.
Languages, families, or group codes in ISO 639-2 can be of type "group" (g) or "remainder group" (r). A "group" consists of several related languages; a "remainder group" is a group of several related languages from which some specific languages have been excluded. However, in ISO 639-5, the "remainder groups" do not exclude any languages. Because ISO 639-2 and ISO 639-5 use the same Alpha-3 codes, but do not always refer to the same list of languages for any given code, the languages an Alpha-3 code refers to can't be determined unless it is known whether the code is used in the context of ISO 639-2 or ISO 639-5.
In 2006, the target publication date for the final standard was set at October 30, 2007. During the approval stage for the standard, the ISO final draft international standard ballot was not initiated until February 8, 2008. Voting ended on April 10, 2008 ("stage 50.60").
The standard was published on May 15, 2008.
An update was published on August 29, 2008.
International Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
(ISO). It was developed by ISO Technical Committee 37, Subcommittee 2, and first published on May 15, 2008. It is part of the ISO 639
ISO 639
ISO 639 is a set of standards by the International Organization for Standardization that is concerned with representation of names for language and language groups....
series of standards.
Collective codes
ISO 639-5 defines alpha-3 (3-letter) codes, called "collective codes," that identify language families and groups. As of August 29, 2008 update to ISO 639-5, the standard defined 114 collective codes. The United States Library of CongressLibrary of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
maintains the list of Alpha-3 codes that comprise ISO 639-5.
The standard does not cover all language families used by linguists. The languages covered by a group code need not be linguistically related, but may have a geographic relation, or category relation (such as Creoles).
The only site which has a complete list of codes for all language families and groups is the Multitree Site The MultiTree Project, run by the LINGUIST list The LINGUIST List. But these codes are not part of the ISO system, and use four (not three) letters. Since they are clearly distinct from language codes, some sites prefer them, though they are not a standard.
Relationship to other parts of ISO 639
Some of the codes in ISO 639-5 codes are also found in the ISO 639-2ISO 639-2
ISO 639-2:1998, Codes for the representation of names of languages — Part 2: Alpha-3 code, is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages. The three-letter codes given for each language in this part of the standard are referred to as...
"Alpha-3 code" standard. ISO 639-2 contains codes for some individual languages, some macrolanguage codes, and some collective codes; any code found in ISO 639-2 is also found in either ISO 639-3
ISO 639-3
ISO 639-3:2007, Codes for the representation of names of languages — Part 3: Alpha-3 code for comprehensive coverage of languages, is an international standard for language codes in the ISO 639 series. The standard describes three‐letter codes for identifying languages. It extends the ISO 639-2...
or ISO 639-5.
Languages, families, or group codes in ISO 639-2 can be of type "group" (g) or "remainder group" (r). A "group" consists of several related languages; a "remainder group" is a group of several related languages from which some specific languages have been excluded. However, in ISO 639-5, the "remainder groups" do not exclude any languages. Because ISO 639-2 and ISO 639-5 use the same Alpha-3 codes, but do not always refer to the same list of languages for any given code, the languages an Alpha-3 code refers to can't be determined unless it is known whether the code is used in the context of ISO 639-2 or ISO 639-5.
| Alpha-3 code | ISO 639-2 Type | ISO 639-2 definition | ISO 639-5 definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| remainder group (r) | Afro-Asiatic languages | all Afro-Asiatic languages Afro-Asiatic languages The Afroasiatic languages , also known as Hamito-Semitic, constitute one of the world's largest language families, with about 375 living languages... |
|
| normal group (g) | all Algonquian languages Algonquian languages The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a... |
all Algonquian languages Algonquian languages The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a... |
|
| not defined | not defined | Albanian languages |
History
The committee draft of ISO 639-5 was issues on February 23, 2005. Voting on the draft terminated on July 5, 2005; the draft was approved.In 2006, the target publication date for the final standard was set at October 30, 2007. During the approval stage for the standard, the ISO final draft international standard ballot was not initiated until February 8, 2008. Voting ended on April 10, 2008 ("stage 50.60").
The standard was published on May 15, 2008.
An update was published on August 29, 2008.
External links
- International Organization for Standardization
- ISO 639-5 codes ordered by Identifier
- http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=39536 —ISO website for purchasing a copy of the ISO 639-5 standard