[Archivesspace_Users_Group] Non ISO 639-2b languages?

[Custer, Mark]

Kevin,

What you've done for now sounds like the best option within the current structure of ArchivesSpace.

Although ArchivesSpace could be updated with other controlled lists, like ISO-639-3, I'd be curious if it would be possible -- and, more importantly, useful -- to try to adopt the IETF BCP 47 language tag standard instead (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IETF_language_tag). IETF BCP 47 is itself an amalgamation of different language and script codes (although for stability reasons might not always be fully compatible with those), with the added ability to specify a lot more detail (as well as to extend the codes for local uses as needed) based on its syntax.  I suppose it's a bit like the ability to create pre-coordinated subject headings.

This is on my mind right now, as well, especially in regard to EAD and EAC-CPF and their relationship to systems like ArchivesSpace.  EAD2002 embedded a lot of code lists (like country codes, language codes, etc.) directly in the schema.  This is nice for validation purposes, but those ISO standards change over time, and EAD2002 was only released once, which means that many of the country codes (e.g. the county code for Serbia) and language codes now in those ISO standards (and now in ArchivesSpace) are not in EAD2002.  EAD3 went in a new direction, adding those code lists to a separate validation step.  Right now, EAD3 supports validation processes for a variety of ISO code lists:  ISO 639-1, 639-2, 639-3, ISO 3166, ISO 15924, and ISO 15511.  So, no problem for using ISO 639-3 in EAD3, but you cannot import or export it into ArchivesSpace.

I'd love to see both EAD/C and ArchivesSpace adopt IETF BCP 47 language tags, but I suspect that is a lot easier said than done.  Aso, I've no clue if that would be a wise choice or not.  Personally, I'm just persuaded by how expressive and extensible the IETF language tag best practice has been defined. But that type of specificity is usually not needed (or utilized) in archival description. And in this particular use case, you just need place to add a new language code that already exists in ISO 639-3, which in and of itself does not warrant adopting IETF BCP 47 language tags 🙂

Anyhow, I'd love to hear what others think on this topic, are already doing, planning, etc.

Mark



________________________________
From: archivesspace_users_group-bounces at lyralists.lyrasis.org <archivesspace_users_group-bounces at lyralists.lyrasis.org> on behalf of Kevin W. Schlottmann <kws2126 at columbia.edu>
Sent: Monday, August 24, 2020 8:00 AM
To: Archivesspace Users Group <archivesspace_users_group at lyralists.lyrasis.org>
Subject: [Archivesspace_Users_Group] Non ISO 639-2b languages?

Dear List,

As we work through a hundred years of legacy description from home, we are encountering many interesting things. We recently converted from PDF the Elsie Worthington Clews Parsons collection (MARC view: https://clio.columbia.edu/catalog/4079199/librarian_view<https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fclio.columbia.edu%2Fcatalog%2F4079199%2Flibrarian_view&data=02%7C01%7Cmark.custer%40yale.edu%7C0cefef4271c949c4868408d84825690a%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637338672806580291&sdata=QtKlrcPMm0MJExp%2BOOYUO3ylv49ZOTvKO9N4wnD9BjY%3D&reserved=0>).  There is a lot of important Hopi-language material in the collection, so we were hoping to add Hopi as a controlled language.  However, ISO 639-2b doesn't include Hopi or even its parent language group.  The 'hop' code is only in ISO 639-3: https://iso639-3.sil.org/code/hop<https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fiso639-3.sil.org%2Fcode%2Fhop&data=02%7C01%7Cmark.custer%40yale.edu%7C0cefef4271c949c4868408d84825690a%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637338672806580291&sdata=9sf%2FpTNkA%2FH%2FFE1K4J%2BWZ5GxlkYyDThkAfa5ZHIF6GA%3D&reserved=0>

For now, we've included the "uncoded languages" value in the controlled language dropdown in AS, and added a language note about the Hopi material as well.

I'd be curious to hear how anyone else has handled non-ISO 6392b languages in ArchivesSpace.

Best,

Kevin

--
Kevin Schlottmann
Head of Archives Processing
Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Butler Library, Room 801
Columbia University
535 W. 114th St., New York, NY  10027
(212) 854-8483
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