Proposal for a subtag registration (fr-2004-ORTOGRAF or
fr-ortograf ?)
Doug Ewell
dewell at roadrunner.com
Wed Dec 12 08:05:07 CET 2007
Mario Périard <mario underscore periard at hotmail dot com> wrote:
> We want to break this isolation and develop (among many things) a
> localized version of Linux in Ortograf (under the code fr-ortograf or
> another).
>
> We can't create a translation team for localize LInux, Gnome, KDE...
> if we do not have an official language subtag.
It's been said before, but software such as Drupal which does not accept
private-use tags such as "x-quelque" or "fr-x-quelque" is not conformant
to RFC 4646. Though not officially registered, these tags are just as
valid as "fr-FR".
Peter Constable stated the situation so perfectly that I won't diminish
his words by paraphrasing them, so instead I'll repeat them for
emphasis:
"The decisions made in this list must not be driven by limitations in
particular software implementations. Our business is not to provide
workarounds for existing software. Our business is to provide tags that
make sense in the context of exemplary implementations to meet
legitimate needs of identifiable user communities."
> We use the code "frm" on our site precisely because only official
> subtags are allowed by our content manager software. Since the subtag
> I suggested ('2004-ortograf') is not valid I suggest the subtag
> 'ortograf'. I can re-submit a registration form if it is required.
The language tag "frm" unequivocally means "Middle French" as spoken in
the period roughly spanning from 1400 to 1600 CE. If that is the
language in which the pages are expressed, then "frm" is the right tag.
If the pages are in any other language, including Modern French in any
orthography, then "frm" is the wrong tag regardless of how "official" it
is. You may as well tag the pages "zh".
> If you have any doubt on the seriousness or the international
> (francophone) scope of the Ortograf standard, I suggest you to contact
> other bodies that work around Ortograf:
> ...
> Groupe Ortograf-Europe:Louis Rougnon-Glasson - Président (
> louis.rougnon-glasson at laposte.net)
I was surprised to see the reference to the work of M. Rougnon-Glasson
in France, since his "Ortograf" project appears quite different from M.
Périard's -- it is a full-scale spelling reform for French, not just the
intellectually handicapped, which makes substantial use of ligatures to
represent French vowels:
http://www.alfograf.net/ortograf/images/tract/paj-512-61-alfograf-liste.pdf
In fact, M. Rougnon-Glasson seeks to distance his initiative from that
of M. Périard:
"Le mouvement ORTOGRAF-alfograf ou ORTOGRAF-Franche-Comté (pour le
distinguer de ORTOGRAF-Québec) propose un processus de réforme tout à
fait différent de celui de Mario Périard sur le site internet de la
ville de Montréal."
http://www.vulgum.org/spip.php?breve17
In fact, although I previously supported 'ortograf' as the most logical
subtag value for M. Périard's sytem, should it be registered, I now see
great potential for confusion between the two "Ortograf" proposals and
suggest that 'periard' would make a more suitable subtag value. (Almost
anything would be better than either 'montreal', which implies that the
majority of the city of Montréal uses M. Périard's system, or '2004',
which is just about as obscure and non-intuitive as a subtag can be.)
> Frankly, don't you think that a community of impaired people deserve a
> recognition as well as 2 or 3 scholars who study the spelling of a
> man, Jean Nicot, in the 16th century (frm-1606nict), futhermore if
> this recognition will be put an end to their isolation? You can make a
> difference to make theirs lives better.
It isn't up to us to judge the relative importance of scholars versus
handicapped people, and it isn't up to us to save the world. We assist
the Language Subtag Reviewer in reviewing and registering subtags that
represent meaningful linguistic distinctions.
I'm becoming more convinced of the merits of M. Périard's request, but
would still like to see more concrete proof of its usage instead of more
assertions.
--
Doug Ewell * Fullerton, California, USA * RFC 4645 * UTN #14
http://home.roadrunner.com/~dewell
http://www1.ietf.org/html.charters/ltru-charter.html
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