Language code
Encyclopedia
A language code is a code
that assigns letters and/or numbers as identifiers or classifiers for language
s. These codes may be used to organize library collections or presentations of data, to choose the correct localizations and translations in computing, and as a shorthand designation for longer forms of language-name.
For example, most people in Central America and South America speak Spanish. Spanish spoken in Mexico will be slightly different from Spanish spoken in Peru. Different regions of Mexico will have slightly different dialects and accents of Spanish. A language code scheme might group these all as "Spanish" for choosing a keyboard layout, most as "Spanish" for general usage, or separate each dialect to allow region-specific idioms.
Code
A code is a rule for converting a piece of information into another form or representation , not necessarily of the same type....
that assigns letters and/or numbers as identifiers or classifiers for language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
s. These codes may be used to organize library collections or presentations of data, to choose the correct localizations and translations in computing, and as a shorthand designation for longer forms of language-name.
Difficulties of classification
Language code schemes attempt to classify within the complex world of human languages, dialects, and variants. Most schemes make some compromises between being general and complete enough to support specific dialects.For example, most people in Central America and South America speak Spanish. Spanish spoken in Mexico will be slightly different from Spanish spoken in Peru. Different regions of Mexico will have slightly different dialects and accents of Spanish. A language code scheme might group these all as "Spanish" for choosing a keyboard layout, most as "Spanish" for general usage, or separate each dialect to allow region-specific idioms.
Common schemes
Some common language code schemes include:| Scheme | Notes | Examples | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Codes for English | Codes for Spanish | ||
| ISO 639 | The original ISO standard from 1967 to 2002. Now obsolete, it was replaced by ISO 639‑1, ISO 639‑2, and ISO 639‑3. Sometimes used as a shorthand for the union of all 639 standard codes. |
(source: Library of Congress Library 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... ) |
|
| ISO 639‑1 ISO 639-1 ISO 639-1:2002, Codes for the representation of names of languages — Part 1: Alpha-2 code, is the first part of the ISO 639 series of international standards for language codes. Part 1 covers the registration of two-letter codes. There are 136 two-letter codes registered... |
Two-letter code system made official in 2002, containing 136 codes. Many systems use two-letter ISO 639‑1 codes supplemented by three-letter ISO 639‑2 codes when no two-letter code is applicable. |
(from List of ISO 639‑1 codes) |
|
| ISO 639‑2 ISO 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... |
Three-letter system of 464 codes. |
(from List of ISO 639‑2 codes) |
|
| 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... |
An extension of ISO 639‑2 to cover all known, living or dead, spoken or written languages in 7,589 entries. |
(from List of ISO 639‑3 codes) |
|
| Old SIL codes Ethnologue Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue... |
Codes created for use in the Ethnologue Ethnologue Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue... , a publication of SIL International SIL International SIL International is a U.S.-based, worldwide, Christian non-profit organization, whose main purpose is to study, develop and document languages, especially those that are lesser-known, in order to expand linguistic knowledge, promote literacy, translate the Christian Bible into local languages,... that lists language statistics. The publication now uses ISO 639‑3 codes. |
SPN | |
| IETF language tag | An IETF best practice, currently specified by RFC 5646 and RFC 4647, for language tags easy to parse by computer. The tag system is extensible to region, dialect, and private designations. |
ISO 3166-1 ISO 3166-1 is part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , and defines codes for the names of countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest. The official name of the standard is Codes for the representation of names... country code for the United States) (source: IETF Internet Engineering Task Force The Internet Engineering Task Force develops and promotes Internet standards, cooperating closely with the W3C and ISO/IEC standards bodies and dealing in particular with standards of the TCP/IP and Internet protocol suite... memo) |
|
| LS‑2010 | Two-digit + one to six letter Linguasphere code system published in 2000, updated 2010, containing over 32,000 codes. |
(within hierarchy of Linguasphere-2010 codes, as follows:)
compare: 52-ABA-a Scots + Northumbrian outer unit & 52-ABA-b "Anglo-English" outer unit (= South Great Britain traditional varieties + Old Anglo-Irish) |
(within hierarchy of Linguasphere-2010 codes, as follows:)
compare: 51-AAA-a Português + Galego outer unit & 51-AAA-c Astur + Leonés outer unit, etc. |
| Verbix Language Codes | Constructed codes starting with old SIL codes and adding more information. | ||
See also
- Country codeCountry codeCountry codes are short alphabetic or numeric geographical codes developed to represent countries and dependent areas, for use in data processing and communications. Several different systems have been developed to do this. The best known of these is ISO 3166-1...
- EthnologueEthnologueEthnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...
(SIL code) - HTTP Accept-Language header
- IETF language tag
- ISO 639ISO 639ISO 639 is a set of standards by the International Organization for Standardization that is concerned with representation of names for language and language groups....
- List of ISO 639-1 codes
- ISO, SIL, and BCP language codes for constructed languagesISO, SIL, and BCP language codes for constructed languagesThis is a list of ISO 639 codes and BCP 47 language tags for individual constructed languages, complete as of November 2009.ISO 639-2 also has the code art for other artificial languages...
- Linguasphere language code