request for subtag for Elfdalian

[Doug Ewell]

Mats Blakstad wrote:

> I'm going to file a request for a primary subtag for Elfdalian/
> Övdalian. What I try to sort out now is what English name that should
> be used.

I think I've said this before, but I feel quite strongly that 
"Elfdalian" should be the primary Description value. It's what SIL uses 
in their page on Swedish, where they classify it as a Swedish dialect, 
which classification is irrelevant to the choice of name.

It's important for the Registry to use consistent names based on 
SIL/639-3. There was a bit of confusion when mapping the old tags 
registered under RFC 1766 and 3066 to the new subtags based on 639-3, 
because some of the names did not agree.

"Övdalian" would probably be a suitable secondary Description value, as 
the name used by speakers. Bear in mind, though, that the Registry does 
not attempt to provide translations of names into an open-ended set of 
target languages, so this would be it.

"Älvdalian," the Swedish name, is either unnecessary or inappropriate 
for the reason you gave.

Made-up names like "Elvdalian" that attempt to reflect etymology better, 
or avoid coincidental Tolkein references, should be non-starters. (The 
plural of "elf" in English is "elves," so "Elvdalian" would hardly be an 
improvement on the latter, dubious goal.)

--
Doug Ewell | http://ewellic.org | Thornton, CO 🇺🇸