ISO 639-2 Language Code List

The ISO 639-2 is an international standard that defines codes that uniquely represent language names. It uses a three-letter code set and currently supports over 490 languages. This standard was developed in response to the limitations of ISO 639-1, which was not sufficient to cover all language requirements for bibliographic and terminology purposes. Language codes from ISO 639-2 were initially designed for use by libraries, information services, and publishers to denote languages during the exchange of information. However, today they are also widely used in computerized systems. Since its inception, the standard has undergone multiple revisions and is still periodically maintained.

Typical applications of these language codes include cataloging in libraries, organizing content in information systems by language, language identification in publishing, use as language identifiers in software localization, and acting as shorthand for longer language names.

ISO 639-2 Language Code List

The language code table is shown below.

Are the ISO 639-2 language codes case sensitive?

The ISO 639-2 language codes should be considered case-insensitive, but they are typically presented in lowercase.

What are the differences between the terminology and bibliographic codes in the ISO 639-2 standard?

In the ISO 639-2 standard, most languages use the same code for both terminology and bibliographic purposes. However, 20 languages have different codes. The reason for this difference is that libraries historically used certain naming practices, which are different from the newer naming styles we see today. While older library traditions influence bibliographic codes, the codes used for terminology are more modern, often similar to the ISO 639-1 two-letter codes. To avoid major issues when updating vast numbers of library records worldwide, some languages have alternate codes.

Example:
dut – Dutch (Bibliographic)
nld – Dutch (Terminology)

Does ISO 639-2 cover the same set of languages as ISO 639-1?

No, ISO 639-1 and ISO 639-2 represent different sets of languages. While ISO 639-1 uses two-letter codes for over 180 languages, ISO 639-2 uses three-letter codes, encompassing more than 490 languages. ISO 639-2 incorporates all the languages from ISO 639-1 and additionally includes a broader array of languages, families, and groups not specified in ISO 639-1. Hence, ISO 639-2 has a more extensive reach.

How does ISO 639-2 standard categorize languages based on their scope?