[Ura-list] ISO639-3: Any requests?

[Michael Everson]

Please note that mrj (Hill Mari, Western Mari) and mhr (Eastern and Meadow Mari (Eastern Mari)) both have Wikipedias. 

Can you be clear as to what change you are considering recommending?

Michael Everson

> On 13 Feb 2019, at 16:18, Jeremy Bradley <jeremy.moss.bradley at univie.ac.at> wrote:
> 
> Dear colleagues,
> 
> I have found myself in an unexpected position where colleagues from SIL International have approached me about changes to language codes in ISO639-3 - specifically, they've received several requests to have a code added for Northwestern Mari, and wanted to know if that is a legitimate classification. In my interactions with the responsible person, I mentioned that the way Mari is handled is less than optimal, and ... she tells me that this can actually be fixed. I just need to tell her what changes she should request.
> Before I request changes that would be unpopular in the wider scene on my own initiative, I wanted to ask if: ( a ) anyone has any objections to my suggestions regarding Mari given below, ( b ) anyone has any similar requests for other Uralic languages that I should pass on, while I have a live communication channel with the right person.
> 
> -----------------------
> 
> Currently, there are three codes for Mari:
> 
> chm - Mari (macrocode)
> mrj - Western Mari
> mhr - Eastern Mari
> 
> The labeling is not great as mhr first and foremost refers to the Meadow Mari literary standard (used primarily in the eastern parts of Mari El), and not the         Eastern Mari dialects (spoken by the diaspora in and around the Ural mountains east of Mari El). Since the Eastern Mari diaspora does use the Meadow literary standard, Russian- and Mari-language sources in recent years make reference to "Meadow-Eastern Mari" when talking about the literary standard. This label could be adopted for mhr, while mrj could be renamed "Hill Mari" to match contemporary usage. ("Western Mari" isn't as problematic as "Eastern Mari" as there is no ambiguity here, but it is still a somewhat dated nomenclature that doesn't represent usage by the speaker community.)
> 
> A new code could be created for Northwestern Mari as there is a distinct literary norm - it doesn't see much usage and has no official standing, but it exists. As there are no attempts to create a distinct literary norm for Eastern Mari (that I know of), the criteria for an own code are not currently met (there has to be either lacking mutual intelligibility, or a distinct literary norm, for there to be a code), and Meadow and Eastern Mari should currently stay subsumed under mhr.
> 
> -----------------------
> All the best,
> Jeremy
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Jeremy Bradley, Ph.D.
> University of Vienna
> 
> 
> http://www.mari-language.com
> jeremy.moss.bradley at univie.ac.at
> 
> 
> Office address:
> Institut EVSL
> Abteilung Finno-Ugristik
> Universität Wien
> Campus AAKH, Hof 7-2
> Spitalgasse 2-4
> 1090 Wien
> AUSTRIA
> 
> Mobile: +43-664-99-31-788
> Skype: jeremy.moss.bradley
> 


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