Request for variant subtag: western

[John Cowan]

Mark Davis scripsit:

> That is not correct. Section 2.2.9:
> 
> For variant and extended language subtags, if the registry contains one
> or more 'Prefix' fields for that subtag, check that the tag matches at
> least one prefix. The tag matches if all the subtags in the 'Prefix'
> also appear in the tag. For example, the prefix "es-CO" matches the tag
> "es-Latn-CO-x-private" because both the 'es' language subtag and 'CO'
> region subtag appear in the tag.

It's true that a validating processor MUST make this check, but no
such requirement is imposed on language taggers, who are restricted
only by the much more cautiously worded rules in 2.2.5:

	Variant subtag records in the language subtag registry MAY
	include one or more 'Prefix' fields, which indicates the
	language tag or tags that would make a suitable prefix (with
	other subtags, as appropriate) in forming a language tag with the
	variant. For example, the subtag 'nedis' has a Prefix of "sl",
	making it suitable to form language tags such as "sl-nedis"
	and "sl-IT-nedis", but not suitable for use in a tag such as
	"zh-nedis" or "it-IT-nedis".

> That means that if there is a prefix (such as "hy"), then you can have
> hy-western, but you can't have en-western.

en-western is invalid but not unusable.  Maybe we should tighten up the
restrictions in 3066ter.

-- 
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so very just.  --Gollum        cowan at ccil.org  http://ccil.org/~cowan