Re: [Ietf-languages] ISO TR 21636 Dimensions

[Richard Wordingham <[e-mail]>]

On Fri, 27 Nov 2020 21:48:58 -0700
"Doug Ewell" <[e-mail]> wrote:

> Richard Wordingham wrote:
>  
> > On the other hand, BCP 47 can tempt one to some dubious practices.
> > For example, I might tag Unicode-encoded Pali in the Tham script as
> > pi-Lana-TH for material from Northern Thailand but as pi-Lana-LA
> > for material from North-eastern Thailand. The latter may come
> > unstuck for text to speech - I can imagine a Siamese accent being
> > used in NE Thailand.  

> I know Richard knows this, but just as a reminder: "Region subtags are
> used to indicate linguistic variations *associated with or appropriate
> to* a specific country, territory, or region." They have nothing to do
> with where the speaker, writer, signer, drummer, or whistler is
> actually located. A Siamese accent could be used in Peru.

So if the form of the Tham script and its encoding appropriate to
Pali in the province of Udon Thani in Thailand is the same as the form
and encoding appropriate to Laos, and not the commonest form in
Thailand, is it indeed appropriate to tag it as pi-Lana-LA if one
considers only the written aspects?

As monks' formal examinations in Thailand are performed in Siamese, I
have a suspicion that Pali might be read out in Udon Thani with the same
pronunciation whichever script it is written in.  The dominant script
for Pali there will be the Thai script.  I've not noticed a Lao
pronunciation in the chants at our local temple (in England), rather a
Siamese pronunciation peeping through the European and Sri Lankan
pronunciations.

Richard.