Appendix E - Initial Definite and Indefinite Articles
MARC 21 Community Information
October 2001
First indicator position in fields 630 (Subject Added Entry - Publication Title), 730 (Added Entry - Publication Title), and 740 (Added Entry - Specific Program Title), and the second indicator position in fields 245 (Title), and 440 (Series Title) contain a numeric value (0-9) that specifies the number of character positions associated with an initial definite or indefinite article to be disregarded in sorting and filing processes. Initial articles may also simply be deleted in the formulation of the heading. If the initial article is retained but is not to be disregarded in sorting and filing processes, the indicator position contains value 0.
The list below of definite and indefinite articles and the languages in which they are used is arranged alphabetically by
the article.
a |
English, |
Galician, |
Hungarian, |
Portuguese, |
Romanian, |
Scots, |
Yiddish, |
al- |
Arabic, |
Baluchi, |
Brahui, |
Panjabi (Perso-Arabic script), |
Persian, |
Turkish, |
Urdu |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Note: al- is meant to cover all of the spellings in romanization (e.g., "as" in "as-sijill"))
|
an |
English, |
Irish, |
Scots, |
Scottish Gaelic, |
Yiddish |
an t- |
Irish, |
Scottish Gaelic |
de |
Danish, |
Dutch, |
English, |
Frisian, |
Norwegian, |
Swedish |
den |
Danish, |
German, |
Norwegian, |
Swedish |
det |
Danish, |
Norwegian, |
Swedish, |
die |
Afrikaans, |
German, |
Yiddish, |
ein |
German, |
Norwegian, |
Walloon, |
en |
Catalan, |
Danish, |
Norwegian, |
Swedish |
hai |
Classical Greek, |
Greek |
hē |
Classical Greek, |
Greek |
ho |
Classical Greek, |
Greek |
hoi |
Classical Greek, |
Greek |
il |
Italian, |
Provencal/Occitan |
l' |
Catalan, |
French, |
Italian, |
Provencal/Occitan, |
Walloon |
la |
Catalan, |
Esperanto, |
French, |
Italian, |
Provencal/Occitan, |
Spanish |
las |
Provencal/Occitan, |
Spanish |
le |
French, |
Italian, |
Provencal/ Occitan |
les |
Catalan, |
French, |
Provencal/Occitan, |
Walloon |
lo |
Italian, |
Provencal/Occitan, |
Spanish |
los |
Provencal/Occitan, |
Spanish |
'n |
Afrikaans, |
Dutch, |
Frisian |
na |
Hawaiian, |
Irish, |
Scottish Gaelic |
na h- |
Irish, |
Scottish Gaelic |
o |
Galician, |
Hawaiian, |
Portuguese, |
Romanian |
ta |
Classical Greek, |
Greek |
tēn |
Classical Greek, |
Greek |
tēs |
Classical Greek, |
Greek |
to |
Classical Greek, |
Greek |
ton |
Classical Greek, |
Greek |
tōn |
Classical Greek, |
Greek |
tou |
Classical Greek, |
Greek |
un |
Catalan, |
French, |
Italian, |
Provencal/Occitan, |
Romanian, |
Spanish |
una |
Catalan, |
Italian, |
Provencal/Occitan, |
Spanish |
uno |
Italian, |
Provencal/Occitan |