What are ISO 639 language codes?

What are ISO 639 language codes?

ISO 639 language codes exist to identify the languages, dialects and language scripts worldwide. It is an international standardization of linguistic codes. The most important for localization are: the 639-1, 639-2, and 639-3 ISO code set.

ISO 639 basics

ISO 639 language codes were released by ISO (International Organization for Standardization). ISO standards are the most frequently used linguistic codification - from language recognition to translation; ISO language codes have proven to be crucial for neural learning. Lingohub translation management platform supports all language codes defined in ISO 639 standard.

ISO 639 contains language designators that allow the assignment of target locales for localization projects. A locale is a set that defines the language and region preferences that the user wants to see in their user interface. Usually, a locale identifier includes a language code and a country or region code. The most famous ISO language standard sets are the ISO 639 for language codes and ISO 15924 standard of codes for language scripts.

ISO 639 language standard has several different sets, while the following three are currently the most relevant:

• ISO 639-1: two-character code which serves as identifiers for major (macro) languages from the world, as well as some ancient languages.
• ISO 639-2: the three-character code covers almost all the languages of the world and has identifiers for language families. Includes as well historical and constructed languages.
• ISO 693-3: largely overlaps with ISO 639-2, but includes several less-known languages. Created with computer systems in mind.

How to choose the right ISO code for your project?

Here are several things to take into account when choosing the right language code for the localization of your project: Will you be able to reach your target audience with a macro language? Is your audience’s language region-specific? Is there a language variant that exists in several different territories? Does your localization project require different scripts for the same language?

ISO 639-1 Language Code List

The 639-1 language code list is available below.

What is the ISO 639-2 language standard?

The ISO 639-2 standard was released for the first time in 1998, as a build up of ISO 639-1. The ISO 639-1 language provides a list of two-letter identifiers of mostly macro languages. On the other hand, the ISO 639-2 standard provides a more extensive list and a three-letter codification.

Which languages does ISO 639-2 include?

The ISO 639-2 language standard includes:

• Individual languages
• Macrolanguages - a group of linguistically varied dialects within one “umbrella language“.
• Language collections - or collective language codes refer to languages which have a similarity, but not a high enough level of similarity to be considered dialects (example, Germanic, Slavic languages)
• Special situations

Special situations group include 4 generic codes, which are also present in the ISO 639-3 standard:

• mis - uncoded or miscellaneous languages
• mul - when several languages are used simultaneously
• und - undetermined, when a language is not identified
• zxx - non linguistic content, such as onomatopoeia (animal sounds)

ISO 639-2 Code Language Checklist