(iso639.551) Many languages - how to code?

[Peter_Constable@sil.org]

On 05/05/2002 05:50:26 PM John Cowan wrote:

>Fair enough.  But given the recent mapping from SIL to ISO 639-2 tags,

Please note the status of that mapping: it is a proposal and recommendation
on the part of Gary Simons and me to the ISO committees that maintain the
ISO 639 family of languages. The meanings of ISO 639 codes (as expressed in
relation to this or any other point of reference) properly should belong to
those ISO committees. Gary and I have recommended to the ISO 639 JAC that
they review these mappings and adopt them or a revision of them as
normative documentation as to the denotation of their codes. That is their
decision, however.




>Suppose (quia absurdum est) that a need were found for allocating a
>tag for Yahi, an extinct Central Yana language of California.  I am
>not certain, but I suspect that NAI is the currently relevant ISO 639-2
>tag.

That would be correct.



- Peter


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Peter Constable

Non-Roman Script Initiative, SIL International
7500 W. Camp Wisdom Rd., Dallas, TX 75236, USA
Tel: +1 972 708 7485
E-mail: <peter_constable@sil.org>