<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">I guess I wasn't precise enough in using
the term "language" -- I meant linguistic entities. I previously
asked if Flemish had a code in 639-3 and was told that "vls"
was the ISO 639-3 code for Vlaams, which is apparently sometimes called
Flemish. However, I was looking for a code that meant the Flemish dialect
of Dutch. This was confusing and as a result, I gave some bad advice to
a Digital Cinema project. I wasn't proposing that Dutch/Flemish be granted
a language code.</font>
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<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Point taken on Ethnologue's authority.
Thanks, Kent.</font>
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<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Regards,</font>
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<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Karen Broome<br>
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<td width=40%><font size=1 face="sans-serif"><b>"Kent Karlsson"
<kent.karlsson14@comhem.se></b> </font>
<p><font size=1 face="sans-serif">01/24/2008 01:46 AM</font>
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<div align=right><font size=1 face="sans-serif">To</font></div>
<td><font size=1 face="sans-serif"><Karen_Broome@spe.sony.com></font>
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<div align=right><font size=1 face="sans-serif">cc</font></div>
<td><font size=1 face="sans-serif"><ietf-languages@alvestrand.no></font>
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<div align=right><font size=1 face="sans-serif">Subject</font></div>
<td><font size=1 face="sans-serif">RE: Principles of Operation</font></table>
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<br><tt><font size=2>Karen Broome wrote:<br>
> I don't know if this is like the issue of two languages <br>
> named "Flemish" or if these entries are describing unique
regional <br>
<br>
"Two Flemish languages"? (Yes, I see that Ethnologue strangely
hints<br>
at that.) Hardly. Flemish isn't even one language. Flemish is a<br>
(set of) dialect(s) of Dutch (see http://taalunieversum.org/en/, esp.<br>
http://taalunieversum.org/en/about_us/ first bullet point re.<br>
stanardised orthography). I don't think Flemish should have a<br>
*language* code of its own.<br>
<br>
> Do we need Ethnologue to clarify or is Ethnologue not considered <br>
> the authority -- yet?<br>
<br>
I would be VERY careful to consider Ethnologue a reliable<br>
authority -- yet.<br>
<br>
Just looking at some languages I'm familiar with, it lists Scanian,<br>
Dalecarlian, and Jamtska as "languages". Actually they are just<br>
three of the many dialects of Swedish (a few more are listed in<br>
http://swedia.ling.gu.se/snabbmeny.html; 100+ dialects; depending<br>
on your level of granularity, it is far from complete, alternatively<br>
the major ones all have a few subdialect samples each). Fortunately,<br>
those three dialects do NOT have a language code in 639-3.<br>
<br>
Getting back to "Flemish", Ethnologue lists English and Frisian<br>
as dialects of it. I guess you would all agree that that is not<br>
the case...<br>
<br>
And these are otherwise well-known and well-researched languages.<br>
And still Ethnologue got it way wrong.<br>
<br>
And I note that many language codes for 639-3 just got retired,<br>
since they referred to non-existing languages (not just actually<br>
being dialects, but truely non-existing, or is some cases duplicates).<br>
Which might not be all that surprising as yet, given the scope 639-3.<br>
<br>
/kent
k<br>
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