ISO 21636-3:2024

International
Standard
ISO 21636-3
First edition
Language coding — A framework
2024-06
for language varieties —
Part 3:
Application of the framework
Codage des langues — Identification et description des variétés
de langues —
Partie 3: Exigences et recommandations pour la mise en œuvre
Reference number
© ISO 2024
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ii
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviated terms . 2
3.1 Terms and definitions .2
3.2 Abbreviated terms .2
4 Indication of language varieties according to the dimensions of linguistic variation . 2
4.1 Overview .2
4.2 Indication of individual language varieties .3
4.3 Indication of the (geographical) space dimension of linguistic variation .4
4.4 Indication of the time dimension of linguistic variation .4
4.5 Indication of the social group dimension of linguistic variation .5
4.6 Indication of the medium dimension of linguistic variation .5
4.7 Indication of the situation dimension of linguistic variation .7
4.8 Indication of the person dimension of linguistic variation .8
4.9 Indication of the proficiency dimension of linguistic variation .8
4.10 Indication of the communicative functioning dimension of linguistic variation .8
Bibliography .10

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Foreword
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This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 37, Language and terminology, Subcommittee
SC 2, Terminology workflow and language coding.
A list of all parts of the ISO 21636 series can be found on the ISO website.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

iv
Introduction
An increasing amount of digital language resources (LRs) are being created (including via retro-digitization),
archived, processed and analysed. Within this context, the detailed and exact characterization of language
varieties present in a given language use event is quickly gaining importance. Here, language use includes
all modalities such as written, spoken, or signed, and also new forms of language use supported by digital
technology (in social media and similar forms of digital communication). Such modalities demonstrate one
way in which languages vary internally. Others include, for instance, familiar regional (dialectal) and social
variation.
In the past, a primary goal of working with LRs was the archiving and preservation of LRs. However, new
goals have now emerged and are still emerging:
— Institutions and individuals need to exchange metadata (i.e. bibliographic description data and other
secondary information) for making the information on existing LRs widely available in a harmonized form.
— Researchers are identifying primary data (i.e. the LRs themselves) for various research purposes,
including research on linguistic variation.
— Researchers and developers need LRs for the development of more advanced language technologies (LTs)
and for testing purposes, because LTs, in particular those concerning speech recognition and language
analysis, are entering more dimensions of human communication.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned goals and purposes, along with others not outlined in the
ISO 21636 series, a standardized set of metadata for the identification of language varieties is important
for guaranteeing the frictionless exchange of secondary information. Well-organized metadata also help
to indicate the degree of interoperability (equalling re-usability and re-purposability of LRs), and the
applicability of LTs to different situations or LRs over time. These metadata are applicable in eBusiness,
eHealth, eGovernment, eInclusion, eLearning, smart environments, ambient assisted living (AAL), and
virtually all other information-rich applications which depend on information about LRs. A clear metadata
approach is also a prerequisite for the durability of LR archiving (in particular in the case of cultural heritage
and scientific research data).
ISO 639 provides a framework for identifying the individual languages used in an LR. The ISO 21636 series
presupposes and complements ISO 639 in that it extends the language coding framework in order to allow for
the identification of different types of language varieties (e.g. geographical, social, modal). The identification
of language varieties can then be included in general metadata, library metadata and archival metadata for
describing LRs (which may also include technical information, time and location of recording, and similar
general information, which are not included in the ISO 21636 series).
The conceptual framework developed in this document for dealing with linguistic variation respects the
major approaches represented in the linguistic literature without simply reproducing them. The framework
is closest though in general orientation and in a number of details, such as the role assigned to idiolects, to
[6]
work of a type represented by Lieb .
The metadata categories and values addressed in this document can be candidates for a future fine-grained
coding of language varieties based on the comprehensive principles of the ISO 21636 series. Thus, this
document fits within the general framework of the ISO/IEC 11179 series for metadata.
Stakeholders include, but are not limited to:
— information and communication technologies (ICTs) industry (including LTs);
— libraries;
— the media industry (including entertainment);
— internet communities;
— people engaging in language documentation and preservation;

v
— language archivists;
— researchers (linguists, in particular sociolinguists, ethnologists, sociologists, etc.);
— people and institutions providing language training;
— emerging new user communities.
It is anticipated that these stakeholders will need to refer not only to a certain individual language, but also
to a certain language variety, for instance for oral human-computer interaction, or for tailoring a certain
LR or LT to the needs and specific environment of a target user group. An initial step towards achieving
the needed specificity involves the ability to identify the dimension(s) of linguistic variation internal to
individual languages involved, and the respective relevant language varieties. A conceptually sound uniform
framework of reference as developed in the ISO 21636 series is superior to the proliferation of different
individual ad-hoc solutions.
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International Standard ISO 21636-3:2024(en)
Language coding — A framework for language varieties —
Part 3:
Application of the framework
1 Scope
The ISO 21636 series provides a framework for the identification and description of varieties of all individual
human languages (see ISO 639).
It is applicable to sign languages.
It does not apply to:
— artificial means of communication with or between machines (such as programming languages);
— those means of human communication which are neither fully nor largely equivalent to human language
(such as sets of individual symbols or gestures that each carry isolated meanings but cannot be freely
combined into complex expressions).
This document gives guidance on how to apply the framework to identify basic dimensions and sub-
dimensions of linguistic variation and the resulting varieties, including major modalities of human
communication. It does not include any code or individual identifiers.
This document is structured strictly analogously to ISO/TR 21636-2. For a general description of the
dimension and varieties dealt with in each clause, the user can refer to the corresponding clause in that
document.
This document focuses only on the identification and description of language varieties, not on the general,
formal or technical aspects of the description of human language resources (LRs), which are covered by
general metadata frameworks.
NOTE 1 For the general description of a language resource, a user can minimally apply at least the metadata of
[7]
the Open Language Archives Community (OLAC) metadata standard , which provides an application of the Dublin
[8]
Core metadata element set as defined by the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) . These descriptors have been
recognized in ISO 15836-1:2017.
[9] [10]
NOTE 2 The Component Metadata Infrastructure (CMDI) provides a best practice guide for the sake of
technical and content interoperability between LRs as well as of their sustainability.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes
requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references,
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 15924, Information and documentation — Codes for the representation of names of scripts
ISO 21636-1, Language coding — A framework for language varieties — Part 1: Vocabulary

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