Re: Language Subtag Registration

[Kent Karlsson <[e-mail]>]

Den 2015-10-30 14:03, skrev "Michael Everson" <[e-mail]>:

> On 30 Oct 2015, at 08:51, Kent Karlsson <[e-mail]> wrote:
>> 
>> Den 2015-10-29 23:42, skrev "Michael Everson" <[e-mail]>:
>> 
>>> Well, the Wikimedia Foundation Language Committee does have immediate needs
>>> for a conformant subtag, and ³wpsimple² is intended to mean only the variety
>>> of simple [...] languages which conform to the guidelines for simplification
>>> used on Wikimedia¹s projects.
>> 
>> In that case, I'd say there should be no prefix field in the record for this
>> subtag. Which languages to which this subtag is (appropriately) applicable is
>> defined externally to the language subtag registry, and no need to update
>> that field in the registry  if/when another language becomes (appropriately)
>> applicable.
> 
> Whom does that silence serve? Previously we listed a prefix, and if another
> prefix became appropriate, we added it.

Then that prefix was listed for (believed) linguistic limitation which
turned out to be too limited. Here, it would be for an *administrative*
reason ("has Wikimedia added another simple language recommendation?"),
not a linguistic one. There is no point in having to synchronize Wikimedia
and the language subtag regstry.

But, as Peter says, this registration proposal is strange, because it
appears targeted at one particular organisation's needs, which might not
be applicable for others.

As I mentioned in an earlier thread, I would not be opposed to more general
"simple/basic/easy<level>" variant subtag(s), without any prefix, for
marking that the language is intended to be simpler "than normal" for
accessibility reasons. (And, if needed, another level of variant subtags for
saying which kind of simplification.) But others were not so enthusiastic...

/Kent K

> Michael