Initial Language Subtag Registry
RFC 4645

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Network Working Group                                      D. Ewell, Ed.
Request for Comments: 4645                                    Consultant
Category: Informational                                   September 2006

                    Initial Language Subtag Registry

Status of This Memo

   This memo provides information for the Internet community.  It does
   not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of this
   memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2006).

Abstract

   This memo defined the initial contents of the IANA Language Subtag
   Registry for use in forming tags for the identification of languages.
   Since the contents of this memo only served as a starting point for
   the registry, its actual contents have been removed before
   publication to avoid confusion.

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction ....................................................2
   2. Initialization of the Registry ..................................2
   3. Initial Registry Contents .......................................5
   4. Omitted Code Elements ...........................................5
   5. Security Considerations .........................................5
   6. IANA Considerations .............................................5
   7. References ......................................................6
      7.1. Normative References .......................................6
      7.2. Informative References .....................................6

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RFC 4645            Initial Language Subtag Registry      September 2006

1.  Introduction

   [RFC4646] provides for a Language Subtag Registry and describes its
   format.  This memo defines the initial contents of the IANA Language
   Subtag Registry, using the criteria described in Section 2.

   The Language Subtag Registry is formatted in a modified record-jar
   text format, as described in [record-jar].  The specific format of
   the registry, and the definition and intended purpose of each of the
   fields, are described in [RFC4646].

   The registry is expected to change over time, as new subtags are
   registered and existing subtags are modified or deprecated.  The
   process of updating the registry is described in Section 3 of
   [RFC4646].  This memo does not define the permanent contents of the
   registry and should not be represented as doing so.

   Many of the subtags defined in this registry are based on code
   elements defined in [ISO639-1], [ISO639-2], [ISO15924], [ISO3166-1],
   and [UN_M.49].  This registry is not a mirror of the code lists
   defined by these standards and should not be used as one.

2.  Initialization of the Registry

   Section 3.7 of [RFC4646] requires that the LTRU working group create
   an initial version of the Language Subtag Registry and populate it
   with the initial set of subtags.  This involves converting the
   entries from the existing IANA language tag registry defined by
   [RFC3066] to the new format, as well as defining valid subtags from
   various source standards.  This section describes the process that
   was used to create the initial registry entries.

   The initial set of records was based on the following standards:
   [ISO639-1], [ISO639-2], [ISO15924], and [ISO3166-1].  The following
   criteria were used to select and format the records of the subtags
   included in the initial Language Subtag Registry (hereafter "ILSR"):

      1.  For each source standard, the date of the standard referenced
          in [RFC1766] was selected as the starting date.  Code elements
          that were valid on that date in the selected standard were
          added to the ILSR.  Code elements that were previously
          assigned, but that were vacated or withdrawn before that date,
          were not added to the ILSR.

      2.  For each successive change to the standard, any additional
          assignments up to the date of the adoption of [RFC4646] were
          added to the ILSR.  Values that have been withdrawn are marked
          as deprecated, but not removed.  Changes in meaning or

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RFC 4645            Initial Language Subtag Registry      September 2006

          assignment of a subtag were permitted during this process (for
          example, the [ISO3166-1] code element 'CS' was originally
          assigned to Czechoslovakia and is now assigned to Serbia and
          Montenegro).

   Code elements from [UN_M.49] were also included in the ILSR using the
   criteria above, with the following additional rules:

      3.  UN numeric code elements assigned to "macro-geographical
          (continental)" regions as of the date of adoption of [RFC4646]
          were added to the ILSR and thereby made valid for use in
          language tags.

      4.  The UN numeric code elements for "economic groupings" or