Adding variant subtags 'aluku' and 'nduyka' and 'pamaka' for dialects

Peter Constable petercon at microsoft.com
Thu Aug 20 17:18:11 CEST 2009


From: ietf-languages-bounces at alvestrand.no [mailto:ietf-languages-bounces at alvestrand.no] On Behalf Of Doug Ewell

> There is also the registration form posted at the IANA site.  

Then I guess my question is whether we think that is sufficient. Do we know all the ways that the LSTR will get used? Will records from the registry, but not the corresponding details in registration forms, get presented to users in some context where they are left to interpret the record without the benefit of the forms? If so, would potential risks warrant a small mitigating addition to the comment field, or are the risks negligible? I'm suggesting the small addition might be worthwhile, but I can be easily swayed -- if others feel, like Doug, that no addition is needed.


>> So, I think there's more potential for misinterpretation of the intent 
>> for variants than for language, region or script IDs.

> I think this distinction is important and/or interesting to those of us on this 
> list and LTRU, but I'm not sure the average user cares.  

Well, as well, there are a lot of average users who wouldn't care enough to understand if the subtag was meant to be used for one thing or two.


> Maybe I'm too close to the process

We all are, but we need to try to anticipate some naïve user.


>> In order to make this a *helpful* comment, rather than a pleasant 
>> abstraction of your thinking that we can sit back and enjoy, would 
>> you, Peter, like to offer a proposed edit?
>
> He did:  "It might be helpful to keep something to the effect of 'Aluku 
> and Boni are alternate names' in the comment field."
>
> I contend that that would be just as useful, nor more and no less, as
> this:
>
> Type: language
> Subtag: nl
> Description: Dutch
> Description: Flemish
> Added: 2005-10-16
> Suppress-Script: Latn
> Comments: Dutch and Flemish are alternate names

Perhaps a reasonable comparison, though there are differences in the scenarios: not-well-known dialect names for a not-well-known language versus well-known names for a well-known language within a sociolinguistic milieu that has various complexities.



Peter


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