LANGUAGE SUBTAG REGISTRATION FORM (R4): pinyin

[Michael Everson]

On 11 Sep 2008, at 12:09, Mark Davis wrote:

> zh-Latn-pinyin. This is to represent Mandarin Chinese written in the  
> Hanyu Pinyin form, as opposed to Wade-Giles.While "Latn" is implied  
> by the variant tag, for better implementation behavior it is  
> included, so the prefix should be "zh-Latn". This is just like how  
> biske has "rozaj" in its prefix (sl-rozaj).
>
> This does not follow the pattern of fonipa, since it is a specific  
> romanization of a specific language. If we are to be consistent with  
> the pattern of denying "eastern", we should not broaden this tag to  
> be more than what is intended. The name "pinyin" would be the best  
> name, since that is the most recognizable term. I do not want the  
> year 1954 in the subtag, nor the year 1979, nor any other year,  
> since those would be too restrictive.

It may not be like "fonipa" (which is and is intended to be truly  
universal) but it is like "fonupa" which is for a restricted set of  
languages.

> be-acade. This should not have the year in the variant subtag  
> either, since that would be too restrictive, and not represent the  
> form that is intended for registration. After all, as in the  
> registration form (text originally from Yuri), "The  
> "academic" (normative, literary) form, existing in a relatively  
> unchanged form for 75 years". This tag is for the more general  
> category; those specific forms could be added later, using the "sl- 
> rozaj-biske" model if someone wants forms that are specific to a  
> form defined by a work in a given year: 1959, 1985, 2008, or  
> whatever. But that is not the intention for this subtag -- it is not  
> year-specific.

The year in 1959acad specifies its source just as the year in  
1694acad. Like the Académie Française, the Instytut movaznaŭstva  
(Nacyjanal'naj) Akadèmii navuk Belarusi is just an institution. To  
specify an orthography approved by either of those institutions  
reference to some specific normative reference is required.

Mark seems to want a tag that means "not Taraskievič" -- but that is  
too vague. I don't believe we can register subtags with negative  
meanings.
Michael Everson * http://www.evertype.com