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ISO 639: Names of Languages
Date added 29 May 2007
Last edited 10 November 2009
Full Title
ISO 639: Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages
Description
ISO 639 provides 2, 3 and 4 letter language identifiers, using the Latin alphabet, to represent the names of individual or groups of languages. It is published in 6 parts which between them cover: the major world languages most frequently represented in literature; minor, living, extinct, ancient and constructed languages; implementation guidelines; languages for families or groups; language variants. Languages devised for machine use are not included.
Standards Developing Organisation
- ISO
- International Organization for Standardization
Rights
No information available.
Lifecycle Actions
- Access, Use and Reuse
- Create or Receive
- Description and Representation Information
Standard Frameworks
- Digital Archive Standards
- Digital Repository Standards
- Electronic Records Management Standards
Standard Type
- Metadata Content Standards
Current Version
- -
- ISO 639 is made up of 6 parts, all of which are current. See Alternative Current Versions below.
Further Information
- Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages [external]
- List of the ISO 639-1 and 639-2 codes from the Library of Congress, who act as their the registration authority.
- ISO 639-3 [external]
- SIL International act as the Registration Authority for ISO 639-3
- Wikipedia entry for ISO 639 [external]
Alternative Current Versions
- ISO 639-4: Implementation Guidelines and General Principles for Language Coding
- (Not yet published)
- ISO 639-6: Alpha-4 Code for Comprehensive Coverage of Language Variants
- (Not yet published)
- 1998 - (ISO 639-2: Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages - Part 2: Alpha-3 Code) [external]
- Full text available for purchase from ISO. Provides 3 letter language identifier codes for major languages.
- 2002 - ISO 639-1: Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages - Part 1: Alpha-2 Code [external]
- Full text available for purchase from ISO. Provides 2 letter language identifier codes
- 2007 - ISO 639-3: Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages - Part 3: Alpha-3 Code for Comprehensive Coverage of Languages [external]
- Full text available for purchase from ISO. Provides extended 3 letter language identifier codes to cover major, minor, living, extinct, ancient and constructed languages.
- 2008 - ISO 639-5: Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages - Part 5: Alpha-3 Code for Language Families and Groups [external]
- Full text available for purchase from ISO. Provides 3 letter language identifiers for names of living and extinct language families and groups.
Previous Version
- 1988 - ISO 639
- Superseded - documentation is no longer available.
Referenced Standards
- ISO 15924: 2004, Information and Documentation - Codes for the Representation of Names of Scripts
- ISO 3166-1:1997, Codes for the Representation of Names of Countries and Their Subdivisions - Part 1: Country Codes
- ISO 3166-2:1998, Codes for the Representation of Names of Countries and their Subdivisions - Part 2: Country Subdivision Code
- ISO 3166-3:1999, Codes for the Representation of Names of Countries and their Subdivisions - Part 3: Code for Formerly Used Names of Countries