Language

Definition

Languages classified within the Taxonomy, in accordance with ISO 639-2 and partly ISO 639-3.

Description

The language taxonomy lists natural languages like Engelska and Nederländska.

The language taxonomy is primarily based on ISO 639-2 (for which it should have full coverage), and uses the terms translated into Swedish by SIS. Where certain needs have been identified there are languages from the ISO 639-3 series present as well. These are included to be able to distinguish between certain dialects, primarily for using interpretation services.

Note, however, that the full ISO 639-3 classification has not been implemented in the Taxonomy.

A language within the Taxonomy can have a number of attributes, representing ISO-specific codes as well as URIs to open language repositories such as ISO and Glottolog.

There are three attributes denoting ISO codes: iso_639_1_2002, iso_639_2_1998 and iso_639_3_2007. These codes pertains to the version of the standard in which they are present.

For instance, the Kurdish language Kurmanji is only present in ISO 639-3, and is therefore only attributed with a iso_639_3_2007 code:

{
    "id": "nTYu_SG6_CNa",
    "preferred_label": "Kurdiska - Kurmanji",
    "definition": "Kurmanji",
    "uri": "http://data.jobtechdev.se/taxonomy/concept/nTYu_SG6_CNa",
    "iso_uri": "https://iso639-3.sil.org/code/kmr",
    "glottolog_uri": "https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/nort2641",
    "iso_639_1_2002": null,
    "iso_639_2_1998": null,
    "iso_639_3_2007": "KMR"
}

Afrikaans is present in both ISO 639-1 and ISO 639-2 and is thus attributed with codes from both series.

{
    "id": "vitY_dty_VbD",
    "preferred_label": "Afrikaans",
    "definition": "Afrikaans",
    "uri": "http://data.jobtechdev.se/taxonomy/concept/vitY_dty_VbD",
    "iso_uri": "https://iso639-3.sil.org/code/afr",
    "glottolog_uri": "https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/afri1274",
    "iso_639_1_2002": "AF",
    "iso_639_2_1998": "AFR",
    "iso_639_3_2007": null
}

The language Bemba is present in ISO 639-2 but not in ISO 639-1:

{
    "id": "nc4p_BwA_2HH",
    "preferred_label": "Bemba",
    "definition": "Bemba",
    "uri": "http://data.jobtechdev.se/taxonomy/concept/nc4p_BwA_2HH",
    "iso_uri": "https://iso639-3.sil.org/code/bem",
    "glottolog_uri": "https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/bemb1257",
    "iso_639_1_2002": null,
    "iso_639_2_1998": "BEM",
    "iso_639_3_2007": null
}

If the ISO 639-3 code is identical to the ISO 639-2 code, only the latter is present. Maybe we should look into amending this.

Regarding dialects

The Taxonomy does not distinguish between language and dialect. Language concepts are represented as a flat structure, attributed with the type language, see GraphQL example below.

Interpreter languages

Please consult the language collection chapter for information on interpreter languages.

Governance

The languages are managed by the editorial team at the Jobtech unit within Arbetsförmedlingen.

Languages classified in ISO 639-3 may be added when specific needs arise.

GraphQL examples

The queries below can be tested through our GraphiQL interface.

Get all languages

query MyQuery {
  concepts(type: "language") {
    id
    preferred_label
    definition
    uri
    iso_uri
    glottolog_uri
    iso_639_1_2002
    iso_639_2_1998
    iso_639_3_2007
  }
}