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    Web Version of the 2003 Edition   
Table of ContentsIntroduction
  Name Sequence 
A-B -- A-ch'ang to Byzantine GreekC-G -- Cabardan to GypsyH-K -- Habe to KyrgyzL-N -- La-oop to NzimaO-S -- O-wen-k`o to SyryenianT-Z -- Ta River Van Kieu to Zyrian
Code Sequence
  alternative 
ASCII version
Changes in 2003 edition
Changes since 2003 edition
*Next printed edition:*To be announced 

INTRODUCTIONThis document contains a list of languages and their associated three-character   alphabetic codes. The purpose of this list is to allow the designation of the   language or languages in MARC records. The list contains 457 discrete codes,   of which 55 are used for groups of languages. 
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CHANGES IN 2003 EDITION
  This list includes all valid codes and code assignments as of February 2003.   There are 24 code additions and 5 changed code captions in this revision.   
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STRUCTURE OF THE CODES  The language codes are three-character lowercase alphabetic strings usually   based on the first three letters of the English form or, in some cases, vernacular   of the corresponding language name. The codes are varied where necessary to   resolve conflicts. In the case of modern and older forms of some languages,   the initial letters of each part of the language name are used to form the code,   e.g. *gmh* for German, Middle High, and *goh* for German, Old   High. When the name of a language is changed in the list, the original code   is generally retained.   
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INDIVIDUAL LANGUAGE CODES  This list includes individual codes for most of the major languages of the modern   and ancient world, e.g. Arabic, Chinese, English, Hindi, Latin, Tagalog, etc.   These are the languages that are most frequently represented in the total body   of the world's literature. Additional codes for individual languages are created   from time to time when it becomes apparent that a significant body of literature   in a particular language already exists, or when it is determined that the amount   of material in a language is growing.  Usually only one code is provided for a given language, even if that language   can be written in more than one set of characters. In a few cases however, separate   codes are provided for the same spoken language written in different characters.   
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LANGUAGE GROUP CODES  In addition to codes for individual languages, the list also contains a number   of codes for language groups. While some individual languages are given their   own unique code, although linguistically they are part of a language group,   many individual languages are assigned a group code, because it is not considered   practical to establish a separate code for each.  Group codes may be recognized by the fact that the name listed in association   with the code does not represent an individual language, and includes either   the generic term "languages" or the expression "(Other)," as opposed to names   of individual languages which do not include these terms. For example:   
- myn
- Mayan languages
- nic
- Niger-Kordofanian (Other)

 These language group codes are generally established at a very broad level,     e.g. South American Indian (Other) *sai*. Although some South American     Indian languages have their own unique codes, such as Mapuche *arn*     and Aymara *aym*, all other South American Indian languages which have     not been assigned a unique code, such as the Cumana language, are assigned     the group code *sai*.   
Some group codes have been established at an intermediate level when individual     languages and dialects within that group did not warrant discrete codes, yet     it was felt that assignment to one of the very broad group codes was not sufficiently     specific. For example, the Athapascan language group, a subgroup of North     American Indian languages, is given the code *ath*, and that code rather     than *nai*, the code for North American Indian (Other), is assigned     to Athapascan languages not having their own codes.   
 Ancient languages which are not given unique codes are assigned the code     for the major language group to which each belongs, rather than the code for     the modern language which evolved from the ancient language. Thus, the language     Swedish, Old is assigned the code *gem* for the language group Germanic     (Other) instead of the code *swe* for the modern language Swedish.   
 Dialects are normally treated like any individual language entered in the     list, and are generally assigned a group code. However, if a dialect of a     language as well as the language itself is entered in the list, the dialect     is usually assigned the same code as the code for the language. If the language     is assigned a group code, the dialect is assigned the same group code. For     example, Bolinao, a dialect of Sambali, and Sambali language itself are both     assigned *phi*, the group code for Philippine (Other). If the language     has a unique code, the dialect is also assigned that code rather than the     code for the group to which both belong. For example, Aja, a dialect of Ewe,     is assigned *ewe*, the code for Ewe. In a few instances, however, both     the language and a dialect of that language have their own unique codes. For     example, Akan has the code *aka*, and Twi, a dialect of Akan, has the     code *twi*.   
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NAMES OF LANGUAGES AND DIALECTS  The form of name of a language used in this code list normally corresponds to   the form of the name appearing in *Library of Congress Subject Headings*   (LCSH), with the exception that names of individual languages in the list generally   do not include the terms "language" or "dialect" and consist of only the substantive   portion of the name. For example:   English 
(name in code list)
  English language 
(name in LCSH)
LCSH forms of names have not been used for the code list name if they make   use of subdivisions; instead such headings are reformulated into phrase expressions   for this list. This most often occurs in connection with headings for local   dialects: 
  Morvan French 
(name in code list)
  French Language--Dialects--France--Morvan 
(name in LCSH)
In addition, names of early forms of modern languages often appear in the   code list in a form different from LCSH which frequently makes use of chronological   subdivisions:   
    Swedish, Old (to 1550) 
(name in code list)
    Swedish language--To 1550 
(name in LCSH)

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SPECIAL CODES FOR SPECIAL SITUATIONS  In addition to codes for individual languages and language groups, codes are   also provided for three special situations.   
Undetermined [und]
This code is used if the language associated with an item cannot be determined.     This code is also used for works having textual content consisting of arbitrary     syllables, humming or other human-produced sounds for which a language cannot     be specified.

Multiple languages [mul]
This code is used when two or more languages are associated with an item,     and it is not practical to use codes for all of the languages.

Blanks [###]
Three blanks are used in place of a language code when the item has no sung,     spoken, or written textual content (e.g. instrumental or electronic music;     sound recordings consisting of nonverbal sounds; audiovisual materials with     no narration, printed titles, or subtitles; machine-readable data files consisting     of machine languages or character codes).
 
 
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ARRANGEMENT OF THE LIST  The list is made up of two basic parts: Part I: Name Sequence, and Part II:   Code Sequence. A description of these two parts follows.   Part I: Name Sequence  In this part, the languages are listed alphabetically by the name. An entry   for an individual language gives the name followed by the code in brackets,   both in boldface. Any variant names of the language are listed on successive   lines, with the first variant preceded by the symbol UF (used for). For example: -  Aramaic [arc] 
-    -  UF 
  - Biblical Aramaic
  - Chaldean 
The entry for an individual language which does not have a unique code, but is assigned a group code is similar, except that the assigned code with its language group name is given on the lines following the name. For example: 
-  Chabacano 
-    - Assigned collective code  [crp] 
  - (Creoles and Pidgins (Other))    - UF 
  - Chavacano
  - Zamboangueño 

The entry for a language group is also similar to that for an individual language,   with the addition of a list of the individual languages which have been assigned   that group code. This list follows the variant names, if any are given. For   example: 

- Creoles and Pidgins (Other) [crp] 
-    - UF 
  - Pidgins    -  Collective code for: 
  -  Chabacano
  -  Fanakalo
  -  Naga Pidgin
  -  San Basilio del Palenque Spanish Creole
  -  Unami jargon 

The variant names from each of these entries also appear in their alphabetic   position in the list as references, but not in boldface. For example: 
- Bafang 
-    -  USE 
  - Fe'fe' 
- Chaldean 
-    - USE 
  - Aramaic 
These references do not give the code; the entry under the name referred to must be consulted to determine the code. Part II: Code SequenceIn this part, the languages and their codes are listed alphabetically by the code. Only the name of the individual language or language group and the associated code are given in this part. Tracings or references for variant forms of the language names are not included. For example: - arc
- Aramaic
- bai
- Bamileke languages

Languages which are assigned a group code are not included in the code sequence   part. Thus, the language Fe'fe' which is assigned the group code *bai*   does not appear in this part of the list.

Discontinued codes are also listed in this part in their alphabetical sequence.   They are identified by a hyphen preceding the code. For example: 
-ajm
Aljamía

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USE OF LANGUAGE NAMES IN CATALOGINGThe names of individual languages which appear in boldface are the form normally used in uniform titles and notes in bibliographic records. For example:   Homer. Iliad. English. 
(form in uniform title)
  Text in Coptic and French; notes in French. 
(form in note)

*Library of Congress Rule Interpretations* 1.7B2 and 25.5C may be consulted   for specific instructions and exceptions. 
The individual languages which appear in boldface also usually correspond to   the subject headings for those languages in LCSH. The relationship of language   names in this list to LCSH is described more fully above in the section "Names   of Languages and Dialects." 
Go to top of documentMARC 21 FIELDS IN WHICH CODES ARE USEDLanguage codes are used in the following MARC 21 fields: Bibliographic records
  008/35-37 Fixed-Length Data Elements / Language 
  040$b Cataloging Source / Language of cataloging 
  041 Language Code 
  242$y Translation of Title by Cataloging Agency / Language code of translated   title 
  775$e Other Edition Entry / Language code 
Authority records
  040$b Cataloging Source / Language of cataloging 
Holdings records
  008/22-24 Fixed-Length Data Elements / Language 
  040$b Record Source / Language of cataloging 
Classification records
  040$b Cataloging Source / Language of cataloging 
  084$e Classification Scheme and Edition / Language code 
Community Information records
  008/12-14 Fixed-Length Data Elements / Language 
  040$b Cataloging Source / Language of cataloging 
  041 Language Code 

The appropriate format document should be consulted for specific instructions   on the use of language codes in these fields and subfields. 
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PUBLICATION BACKGROUND
This list was originally compiled in collaboration with Library of Congress   MARC Pilot Project participants, the National Library of Medicine, the National   Agricultural Library, and the Defense Language Institute. In addition, the language   list of the Center for Applied Linguistics, *Library of Congress Subject   Headings* (LCSH), and language specialists were consulted. The list was   revised by a committee of the National Information Standards Organization (NISO)   and became an American National Standard in 1987: *Codes for the Representation   of Languages for Information Interchange* (ANSI Z39.53). In 2000, the list   was further revised to include numerous changes necessary for compatibility   with the ISO 639-2 *(Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages Part   2: Alpha-3 Code*) standard. 

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CODE MAINTENANCE
The Library of Congress is the maintenance agency for this list and for both   ANSI Z39.53 and ISO 639-2. Questions and requests for information about this   list should be sent to the Cataloging Policy and Support Office, Library of   Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540-4305 (e-mail: [email protected]).   ANSI Z39.53 and ISO 639-2 include only the list of codes and associated language   or language group name (as in Part II of this document).

Requests for new language codes are submitted to the ISO 639-2 maintenance   agency, Library of Congress, ([email protected])   and balloted by the ISO 639 Joint Advisory Committee. Once approved, they are   added to the ISO 639-2 and MARC lists and are included in ANSI Z39.53 when revised.   Notices describing additions/deletions of code values will be issued for all   changes to the language codes made in the interim period between issuance of   revised versions of this document. Please consult the MARC website (www.loc.gov/marc/)   for these notices.

Go to top of documentRELATED MARC 21 DOCUMENTS
*MARC 21 Format for Authority Data**MARC 21 Format for Bibliographic Data**MARC 21 Format for Classification Data**MARC 21 Format for Community Information**MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data**MARC 21 Concise Formats*

Go to top of documentOTHER RELATED DOCUMENTSCodes for the Representation of Languages for Information Interchange
   (ANSI Z39.53)
Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages Part 2: Alpha-3 Codes
   (
ISO 639-2
) 
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**Go to**: *MARC Code List for Languages*     |  MARC Home Page
**Library   of Congress**Comments: Library   of Congress Help Desk (   05/05/2003  )