# ISO 639-5

ISO 639-5:2008 "Codes for the representation of names of languages—Part 5: Alpha-3 code for language families and groups" is an international standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It was developed by ISO Technical Committee 37, Subcommittee 2, and first published on May 15, 2008. It is part of the ISO 639 series of standards.

## Collective codes

This is a list of ISO 639-5 codes, including the code hierarchy as given in the ISO 639-5 registry. The code und (undetermined) from ISO 639-2 can be seen as top of the hierarchy (for example, und:aav, und:euq:eu). The hierarchy is not a complete genetic hierarchy; some of the collection codes are based on geography (like nai) or category (like crp) instead.
ISO 639-5 defines alpha-3 (3-letter) codes, called "collective codes", that identify language families and groups. As of the February 11, 2013, update to ISO 639-5, the standard defines 115 collective codes. The United States Library of Congress maintains the list of Alpha-3 codes that comprise ISO 639-5.
The standard does not cover all language families used by linguists. The languages covered by a group code need not be linguistically related, but may have a geographic relation, or category relation (such as Creoles).
| Hierarchy | 639-5 | 639-2 | Language collection name | Notes |
| aav | aav | | Austro-Asiatic languages | South-Asiatic languages, not related to Australian languages |
| afa | afa | afa | Afro-Asiatic languages | |
| nai:aql:alg | alg | alg | Algonquian languages | |
| nic:alv | alv | | Atlantic-Congo languages | |
| nai:xnd:ath:apa | apa | apa | Apache languages | |
| sai:aqa | aqa | | Alacalufan languages | |
| nai:aql | aql | | Algic languages | |
| art | art | art | Artificial languages | |
| nai:xnd:ath | ath | ath | Athapascan languages | |
| sai:awd:auf | auf | | Arauan languages | |
| aus | aus | aus | Australian languages | |
| sai:awd | awd | | Arawakan languages | |
| nai:azc | azc | | Uto-Aztecan languages | |
| nic:alv:bad | bad | bad | Banda languages | |
| nic:alv:bai | bai | bai | Bamileke languages | |
| ine:bat | bat | bat | Baltic languages | |
| afa:ber | ber | ber | Berber languages | |
| ine:iir:inc:bih | bih | bih | Bihari languages | |
| nic:alv:bnt | bnt | bnt | Bantu languages | |
| map:poz:pqw:btk | btk | btk | Batak languages | |
| cai | cai | cai | Central American Indian languages | |
| cau | cau | cau | Caucasian languages | |
| sai:cba | cba | | Chibchan languages | |
| cau:ccn | ccn | | North Caucasian languages | |
| cau:ccs | ccs | | South Caucasian languages | |
| afa:cdc | cdc | | Chadic languages | |
| nai:cdd | cdd | | Caddoan languages | |
| ine:cel | cel | cel | Celtic languages | |
| map:poz:pqw:cmc | cmc | cmc | Chamic languages | |
| crp:cpe | cpe | cpe | creoles and pidgins, English-based | |
| crp:cpf | cpf | cpf | creoles and pidgins, French-based | |
| crp:cpp | cpp | cpp | creoles and pidgins, Portuguese-based | |
| crp | crp | crp | creoles and pidgins | |
| ssa:csu | csu | | Central Sudanic languages | |
| afa:cus | cus | cus | Cushitic languages | |
| day | day | day | Land Dayak languages | not to be confused with Dayak languages, which is a larger group |
| nic:dmn | dmn | | Mande languages | |
| dra | dra | dra | Dravidian languages | |
| afa:egx | egx | | Egyptian languages | |
| esx | esx | | Eskimo-Aleut languages | |
| euq | euq | | Basque (family) | Basque (eu/eus/baq) is an individual language covered by this collection code |
| urj:fiu | fiu | fiu | Finno-Ugrian languages | |
| map:fox | fox | | Formosan languages | |
| ine:gem | gem | gem | Germanic languages | |
| ine:gem:gme | gme | | East Germanic languages | |
| ine:gem:gmq | gmq | | North Germanic languages | |
| ine:gem:gmw | gmw | | West Germanic languages | |
| ine:grk | grk | | Greek languages | |
| hmx | hmx | | Hmong-Mien languages | |
| nai:hok | hok | | Hokan languages | |
| ine:hyx | hyx | | Armenian (family) | Armenian (hy/hye/arm) is an individual language covered by this collection code |
| ine:iir | iir | | Indo-Iranian languages | |
| nic:alv:ijo | ijo | ijo | Ijo languages | |
| ine:iir:inc | inc | inc | Indic languages | |
| ine | ine | ine | Indo-European languages | |
| ine:iir:ira | ira | ira | Iranian languages | |
| nai:iro | iro | iro | Iroquoian languages | |
| ine:itc | itc | | Italic languages | |
| jpx | jpx | | Japanese (family) | Japanese (ja/jpn) is an individual language covered by this collection code |
| sit:tbq:kar | kar | kar | Karen languages | |
| nic:kdo | kdo | | Kordofanian languages | |
| khi | khi | khi | Khoisan languages | |
| nic:alv:kro | kro | kro | Kru languages | |
| map | map | map | Austronesian languages | |
| aav:mkh | mkh | mkh | Mon-Khmer languages | |
| map:poz:pqw:phi:mno | mno | mno | Manobo languages | |
| aav:mun | mun | mun | Munda languages | |
| cai:myn | myn | myn | Mayan languages | |
| nai:azc:nah | nah | nah | Nahuatl languages | |
| nai | nai | nai | North American Indian languages | |
| paa:ngf | ngf | | Trans-New Guinea languages | |
| nic | nic | nic | Niger-Kordofanian languages | |
| ssa:sdv:nub | nub | nub | Nubian languages | |
| cai:omq | omq | | Oto-Manguean languages | |
| afa:omv | omv | | Omotic languages | |
| cai:omq:oto | oto | oto | Otomian languages | |
| paa | paa | paa | Papuan languages | |
| map:poz:pqw:phi | phi | phi | Philippine languages | |
| map:poz:plf | plf | | Central Malayo-Polynesian languages | |
| map:poz | poz | | Malayo-Polynesian languages | |
| map:poz:pqe | pqe | | Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages | |
| map:poz:pqw | pqw | | Western Malayo-Polynesian languages | |
| ine:iir:inc:pra | pra | pra | Prakrit languages | |
| sai:qwe | qwe | | Quechuan (family) | Quechua (qu/que) is a macrolanguage covered by this collection code |
| ine:itc:roa | roa | roa | Romance languages | |
| sai | sai | sai | South American Indian languages | |
| nai:sal | sal | sal | Salishan languages | |
| ssa:sdv | sdv | | Eastern Sudanic languages | |
| afa:sem | sem | sem | Semitic languages | |
| sgn | sgn | sgn | sign languages | |
| nai:sio | sio | sio | Siouan languages | |
| sit | sit | sit | Sino-Tibetan languages | |
| ine:sla | sla | sla | Slavic languages | |
| urj:fiu:smi | smi | smi | Sami languages | |
| ssa:son | son | son | Songhai languages | |
| ine:sqj | sqj | | Albanian languages | Albanian (sq/sqi/alb) is a macrolanguage covered by this collection code |
| ssa | ssa | ssa | Nilo-Saharan languages | |
| urj:syd | syd | | Samoyedic languages | |
| tai | tai | tai | Tai languages | Thai (th/tha) is an individual language covered by this collection code |
| sit:tbq | tbq | | Tibeto-Burman languages | |
| tut:trk | trk | | Turkic languages | Turkish (tr/tur) is an individual language covered by this collection code |
| sai:tup | tup | tup | Tupi languages | |
| tut | tut | tut | Altaic languages | |
| tut:tuw | tuw | | Tungus languages | |
| urj | urj | | Uralic languages | |
| nai:wak | wak | wak | Wakashan languages | |
| ine:sla:zlw:wen | wen | wen | Sorbian languages | |
| tut:xgn | xgn | | Mongolian languages | Mongolian (mn/mon) is a macrolanguage covered by this collection code |
| nai:xnd | xnd | | Na-Dene languages | |
| esx:ypk | ypk | ypk | Yupik languages | |
| sit:zhx | zhx | | Chinese (family) | Chinese (zh/zho/chi) is a macrolanguage covered by this collection code |
| ine:sla:zle | zle | | East Slavic languages | |
| ine:sla:zls | zls | | South Slavic languages | |
| ine:sla:zlw | zlw | | West Slavic languages | |
| nic:alv:znd | znd | znd | Zande languages | Zande (individual language) (zne) is an individual language covered by this collection code |
SIL International treats ISO 639-2 code him (Himachali languages / Western Pahari languages) as an ISO 639-5 code, although it does not appear in the official list of ISO 639-5 codes maintained by the Library of Congress (the registration authority for ISO 639-5).

## Relationship to other parts of ISO 639

Some of the codes in ISO 639-5 codes are also found in the ISO 639-2 "Alpha-3 code" standard. ISO 639-2 contains codes for some individual languages, some ISO 639 macrolanguage codes, and some collective codes; any code found in ISO 639-2 is also found in either ISO 639-3 or ISO 639-5.
Languages, families, or group codes in ISO 639-2 can be of type "group" (g) or "remainder group" (r). A "group" consists of several related languages; a "remainder group" is a group of several related languages from which some specific languages have been excluded. However, in ISO 639-5, the "remainder groups" do not exclude any languages. Because ISO 639-2 and ISO 639-5 use the same Alpha-3 codes, but do not always refer to the same list of languages for any given code, the languages an Alpha-3 code refers to can not be determined unless it is known whether the code is used in the context of ISO 639-2 or ISO 639-5.
Examples of ISO 639-2 and ISO 639-5 code relationships :
| Alpha-3 code | ISO 639-2 type | ISO 639-2 definition | ISO 639-5 definition |
| afa | remainder group (r) | Afro-Asiatic languages | all Afro-Asiatic languages |
| alg | normal group (g) | all Algonquian languages | all Algonquian languages |
| sqj | not defined | not defined | Albanian languages |

## History

The committee draft of ISO 639-5 was issued on February 23, 2005. Voting on the draft terminated on July 5, 2005; the draft was approved.
In 2006, the target publication date for the final standard was set at October 30, 2007. During the approval stage for the standard, the ISO final draft international standard ballot was not initiated until February 8, 2008. Voting ended on April 10, 2008 ("stage 50.60").
The standard was published on May 15, 2008.
Updates were made in August 2008, February 2009, and February 2013.

## Sources

* "ISO 639-5 codes ordered by Identifier". ISO 639-5 Registration Authority - Library of Congress. 2013-02-11. Retrieved 2019-01-09.