oSIST ISO/DIS 639-4:2022

Code for the representation of individual languages and language groups — Part 4: General principles, rules and guidelines

This document specifies the ISO 639 language code and establishes the harmonized terminology and general principles of language coding. It provides rules for the selection, formation, presentation and use of language identifiers as well as language reference names. It also gives provisions (i.e. principles, rules and guidelines) for the selection, formation and presentation of language names in English and French. Furthermore, it introduces provisions for the adoption of standardized language code elements using language names other than English or French.
NOTE English, French and Russian are the official ISO languages.
In addition, this document gives guidance on the use of language identifiers and describes their possible combination with identifiers of other codes.
Specifically excluded from the ISO 639 language code are reconstructed languages or formal languages, such as computer programming languages and markup languages.
The ISO 639 language code is maintained by the ISO 639 Maintenance Agency (ISO 639/MA) (see Annex B).

Codes pour la représentation des noms de langue — Partie 4: Principes généraux pour le codage de la représentation des noms de langue et d'entités connexes, et lignes directrices pour la mise en oeuvre

Koda za predstavitev posameznih jezikov in jezikovnih skupin - 4. del: Splošna načela, pravila in smernice

General Information

• Status: Not Published
• Public Enquiry End Date: 15-Dec-2022
• ICS: 01.140.20 - Information sciences
• Technical Committee: IDT - Information, documentation, language and terminology
• Current Stage: 4020 - Public enquire (PE) (Adopted Project)
• Start Date: 02-Nov-2022
• Due Date: 22-Mar-2023
• Completion Date: 09-May-2023
• Ref Project: ISO 639:2023 - Code for individual languages and language groups

Relations

• Revises: SIST ISO 639-2:2003 - Codes for the representation of names of languages -- Part 2: Alpha-3 code
• Effective Date: 10-Dec-2022
• Revises: SIST ISO 639-5:2008 - Codes for the representation of names of languages - Part 5: Alpha-3 code for language families and groups
• Effective Date: 10-Dec-2022
• Revises: SIST ISO 639-3:2008 - Codes for the representation of names of languages - Part 3: Alpha-3 code for comprehensive coverage of languages
• Effective Date: 10-Dec-2022
• Revises: SIST ISO 639-1:2003 - Codes for the representation of names of languages -- Part 1: Alpha-2 code
• Effective Date: 10-Dec-2022
• Revises: SIST ISO 639-4:2010 - Codes for the representation of names of languages - Part 4: General principles of coding of the representation of names of languages and related entities, and application guidelines
• Effective Date: 23-Sep-2017

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 639
Second edition
2023-11
Code for individual languages and
language groups
Code pour les langues individuelles et les groupes de langues
Reference number
ISO 639:2023(E)
© ISO 2023

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ISO 639:2023(E)
COPYRIGHT PROTECTED DOCUMENT
© ISO 2023
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii
  © ISO 2023 – All rights reserved

---------------------- Page: 2 ----------------------
ISO 639:2023(E)
Contents Page
Foreword .v
Introduction .vii
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
3.1 Terms related to language and individual languages . 1
3.2 Terms related to linguistic variation and language varieties . 3
3.3 Terms related to types of individual languages subject to language coding . 4
3.4 Terms related to language groups subject to language coding . 6
3.5 Terms related to modalities of language use . 6
3.6 Terms related to written representation of individual languages . 7
3.7 Terms related to language coding and naming languages . 8
4 Linguistic variation and fundamental concepts of identifying and categorizing
individual languages .10
4.1 General . 10
4.2 Linguistic variation . 10
4.2.1 Criteria and dimensions of linguistic variation . 10
4.2.2 Identification and types of individual languages and language groups .12
4.3 Individual languages and writing conventions . 13
5 The ISO 639 language code .14
5.1 Introduction to the ISO 639 language code . 14
5.2 Sets of language identifiers . 14
5.3 Language code elements and their structural components . 14
5.4 Language identifiers .
...

DRAFT INTERNATIONAL STANDARD
ISO/DIS 639-4
ISO/TC 37/SC 2 Secretariat: SCC
Voting begins on: Voting terminates on:
2022-04-11 2022-07-04
Code for the representation of individual languages and
language groups —
Part 4:
General principles, rules and guidelines
ICS: 01.140.20
THIS DOCUMENT IS A DRAFT CIRCULATED
FOR COMMENT AND APPROVAL. IT IS
THEREFORE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND MAY
This document is circulated as received from the committee secretariat.
NOT BE REFERRED TO AS AN INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD UNTIL PUBLISHED AS SUCH.
IN ADDITION TO THEIR EVALUATION AS
BEING ACCEPTABLE FOR INDUSTRIAL,
TECHNOLOGICAL, COMMERCIAL AND
USER PURPOSES, DRAFT INTERNATIONAL
STANDARDS MAY ON OCCASION HAVE TO
BE CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF THEIR
POTENTIAL TO BECOME STANDARDS TO
WHICH REFERENCE MAY BE MADE IN
Reference number
NATIONAL REGULATIONS.
ISO/DIS 639-4:2022(E)
RECIPIENTS OF THIS DRAFT ARE INVITED
TO SUBMIT, WITH THEIR COMMENTS,
NOTIFICATION OF ANY RELEVANT PATENT
RIGHTS OF WHICH THEY ARE AWARE AND TO
PROVIDE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION. © ISO 2022

---------------------- Page: 1 ----------------------
ISO/DIS 639-4:2022(E)
COPYRIGHT PROTECTED DOCUMENT
© ISO 2022
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii
  © ISO 2022 – All rights reserved

---------------------- Page: 2 ----------------------
ISO/DIS 639-4:2022(E)
Contents Page
Foreword .v
Introduction .vii
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
3.1 Language and individual languages . 2
3.2 Linguistic variation and language varieties. 3
3.3 Types of individual languages subject to language coding . 4
3.4 Language groups subject to language coding . 6
3.5 Modalities of language use . . . 6
3.6 Written representation of individual languages . 7
3.7 Language coding and naming languages . 8
4 Linguistic variation and fundamental concepts of identifying and categorizing
individual languages .10
4.1 General . 10
4.2 Linguistic variation . 10
4.2.1 Criteria and dimensions of linguistic variation .
...

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
oSIST ISO/DIS 639-4:2022
01-december-2022
Koda za predstavitev posameznih jezikov in jezikovnih skupin - 4. del: Splošna
načela, pravila in smernice
Code for the representation of individual languages and language groups — Part 4:
General principles, rules and guidelines
Codes pour la représentation des noms de langue — Partie 4: Principes généraux pour
le codage de la représentation des noms de langue et d'entités connexes, et lignes
directrices pour la mise en oeuvre
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: ISO/DIS 639-4:2022
ICS:
01.140.20 Informacijske vede Information sciences
oSIST ISO/DIS 639-4:2022 en,fr,de
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

---------------------- Page: 1 ----------------------
oSIST ISO/DIS 639-4:2022

---------------------- Page: 2 ----------------------
oSIST ISO/DIS 639-4:2022
DRAFT INTERNATIONAL STANDARD
ISO/DIS 639-4
ISO/TC 37/SC 2 Secretariat: SCC
Voting begins on: Voting terminates on:
2022-04-11 2022-07-04
Code for the representation of individual languages and
language groups —
Part 4:
General principles, rules and guidelines
ICS: 01.140.20
THIS DOCUMENT IS A DRAFT CIRCULATED
FOR COMMENT AND APPROVAL. IT IS
THEREFORE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND MAY
This document is circulated as received from the committee secretariat.
NOT BE REFERRED TO AS AN INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD UNTIL PUBLISHED AS SUCH.
IN ADDITION TO THEIR EVALUATION AS
BEING ACCEPTABLE FOR INDUSTRIAL,
TECHNOLOGICAL, COMMERCIAL AND
USER PURPOSES, DRAFT INTERNATIONAL
STANDARDS MAY ON OCCASION HAVE TO
BE CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF THEIR
POTENTIAL TO BECOME STANDARDS TO
WHICH REFERENCE MAY BE MADE IN
Reference number
NATIONAL REGULATIONS.
ISO/DIS 639-4:2022(E)
RECIPIENTS OF THIS DRAFT ARE INVITED
TO SUBMIT, WITH THEIR COMMENTS,
NOTIFICATION OF ANY RELEVANT PATENT
RIGHTS OF WHICH THEY ARE AWARE AND TO
PROVIDE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION. © ISO 2022

---------------------- Page: 3 ----------------------
oSIST ISO/DIS 639-4:2022
ISO/DIS 639-4:2022(E)
COPYRIGHT PROTECTED DOCUMENT
© ISO 2022
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii
  © ISO 2022 – All rights reserved

---------------------- Page: 4 ----------------------
oSIST ISO/DIS 639-4:2022
ISO/DIS 639-4:2022(E)
Contents Page
Foreword .v
Introduction .vii
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
3.1 Language and individual languages . 2
3.2 Linguistic variation and language varieties. 3
3.3 Types of individual languages subject to language coding . 4
3.4 Language groups subject to language coding . 6
3.5 Modalities of language use . . . 6
3.6 Written representation of individual languages .
...