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Language Code and Term Source Codes

Introduction
Language Source Codes
Language Source Code Usage in MARC and MODS/MADS

Introduction

Language Sources contains a list of standard language code and/or term sources and assigns a code to each. The purpose of this list is to enable the source of language codes or terms contained in metadata records to be identified. For code assignment, general structure, usage, and maintenance guidelines see Source Codes for Vocabularies, Rules, and Schemes.

Arrangement of the List

Entries in the list are arranged in alphabetical order by the code and consist of the source code followed by the bibliographic citation for the source documentation. The citations are linked to the online source for some codes.

Code Structure

Each code consists of a maximum of 12 characters, including lowercase alphabetic characters, numeric characters 0 through 9, and the hyphen (-). Possible additions to codes are described in Source Codes.

Language Source Codes

din2335
Sprachenzeichen: DIN 2335 (Berlin: Beuth)
glotto
Glottolog External Link
iso639-1
Codes for the representation of names of languages--Part 1: Alpha-2 code (ISO 639-1:2002) (Geneva: International Organization for Standardization)
iso639-2b
Codes for the representation of names of languages--Part 2: Alpha-3 code (ISO 639-2B:2002) (Geneva: International Organization for Standardization). [The bibliographic language codes are identical to both NISO Z39.53 and the MARC Code List for Languages.]
iso639-3
Codes for the representation of names of languages--Part 3: Alpha-3 code for comprehensive coverage of languages (Geneva: International Organization for Standardization)
knia
Kody naimenovanii ķązykov: GOST 7.75-97 (Minsk: Mezhgosudarstvennyi sovet po standartizatsii, metrologii i sertifikatsii)
rfc3066
Tags for the identification of languages (January 2001) (The Internet Society) [replaced by RFC 4646 and RFC 4647]
rfc4646
Tags for identifying languages External Link (September 2006) (The Internet Society) [In combination with RFC 4647, replaces RFC 3066. A language identifier as specified by the Internet Best Current Practice specification RFC4646 External Link. This document gives guidance on the use of ISO 639-1, ISO 639-2, and ISO 639-3 language identifiers with optional secondary subtags and extensions. Replaced by RFC 5646.]
rfc5646
Tags for Identifying Languages External Link (September 2009) (The Internet Society) [In combination with RFC 5645, replaces RFC 4646. A language identifier as specified by the Internet Best Current Practice specification RFC5646 External Link. This document gives guidance on the use of ISO 639-1, ISO 639-2, ISO 639-3, and ISO-639-5 language identifiers.]

Language Source Code Usage in MARC and MODS/MADS

MARC 21 Formats and Fields

  • Bibliographic records
    • 041 $2 (Language Code / Source of code)
  • Authority records
    • 377 $2 (Associated Language / Source of code)
  • Community Information records
    • 041 $2 (Language Code / Source of code)

MODS/MADS Elements

  • mods: language / languageTerm @authority
  • mods: recordInfo / languageOfCataloging / languageTerm @authority

  • mads: language / languageTerm @authority
  • mads: recordInfo / languageOfCataloging / languageTerm @authority

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