[Ltru] Re: "mis" update review request

[John Cowan]

Peter Constable scripsit:

> (Is "kind" meant to be a word in English, a word in some other language,
> or a reference to something else? I assume the first.)

I think Mark's point was that "kind" is ambiguously English or Dutch
(or German, if you discount the lower-case "k").

The normative text of ISO 639-2 says (section 4.1.2):

	The language code mul (for multiple languages) should be applied
	when several languages are used and it is not practical to
	specify all the appropriate language codes.

I think that is meant to cover mixed-language documents, not documents
whose language is ambiguous, but I don't want to start yet another hooraw.

> But that's a different question from how (or if) people should use
> mis. IMO we should say that implementers of BCP 47 SHOULD NOT use mis
> except if they have an immediate need to apply a language subtag and
> have determined that there is no available language subtag encompassing
> the language of the given content. E.g. I know it's Martian and there's
> no ISO 639 ID for Martian. (Hypothetical example assumes Martians
> exist and that this is not encompassed within art.)

Or, until 639-3 codes are available in BCP 47, any language that doesn't
have its own 639-2 code or plausible covering collection.


-- 
John Cowan   http://ccil.org/~cowan    cowan at ccil.org
In might the Feanorians / that swore the unforgotten oath
brought war into Arvernien / with burning and with broken troth.
and Elwing from her fastness dim / then cast her in the waters wide,
but like a mew was swiftly borne, / uplifted o'er the roaring tide.
        --the Earendillinwe