This page documents the Registry of Dialects (ROD) of the Harvest Information System (HIS).
The Editor and Steward of the Registry Of Dialects is Allan Starling.
Overview
The function of the Registry is to
- Identify specific varieties of given languages (defined by ISO 639-3) that research has determined to require distinct presentations (such as audio, video or print) in order to overcome barriers of understanding or acceptance. Determining factors may include differences in vocabulary, grammatical construction, idioms, and marked accents, as well as religious or social barriers.
- Provide unique, standardized codes for these dialects.
Contents of the Registry
The Registry contains a set of dialects of living languages that have been determined to require distinct media presentations. A code in this set represents a unique dialect of a language.
By definition the scope of a dialect code is always a smaller group of speakers than the group represented by the assigned language as a whole.
Each code is a standardized five-digit code (including leading zeros, when necessary) for uniquely referring to a particular dialect. Using a code from this set not only uniquely identifies the dialect, but also identifies the language of which it is a part, through its corresponding ISO 639-3 language code.
Information on the dialect is available in the Global Recordings Network website. Users have full access to those descriptions as follows:
- For any ROD dialect code ddddd, the following URL lists available information:
http://globalrecordings.net/en/language/ddddd
For example: https://globalrecordings.net/en/language/04231 will show information for ASMAT: Waganu (ROD dialect "04231") including links to GRN material and other sites.
- For any ISO language code xxx the following URL lists information on related dialects:
http://globalrecordings.net/en/language/xxx
For example: https://globalrecordings.net/en/language/asc will show information about dialects of the ASMAT language (ISO language code "asc").
Changes to the Registry
For a speech variety to be considered a dialect it has to meet certain criteria. There are three main reasons that a speech variety is added to or drops off the list.
- Changes in ISO codes. Each year GRN receives a list of changes in ISO codes. Some codes are dropped, some codes are divided into two different codes, sometimes codes are merged, and new codes are created. Each of these has an effect on the languages and dialects associated with them, and the changes cause a ripple effect in the ROD.
- One of the criteria for being on the ROD is that an organization such as Seed Company, Jesus Film or others produce a different media presentation of the gospel in that speech variety. On a regular basis GRN receives updated lists of new products. Some of those are in already known dialects, but many are in speech varieties not considered dialects previously.
- GRN recordists, other field workers or partner organisations correct and verify data from field research and report their findings to the Language Tracking Department of GRN.
New Code Requests
If you have identified distinct speech varieties that are not in the registry, please ask to add them using the Request ROD Codes document.
Downloads
The Registry consists of three lists:
1. Code List
| Column | Format | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Dialect Code | 5 digit | The unique identifier for the dialect |
| Language Code | 3 character | The ISO code of the language of which this dialect is a part |
| Country Code | 2 character | The ISO code of the country in which this dialect is predominantly spoken |
| Dialect Name | 75 character | The name of the dialect, which is unique within a language |
| Language Name | 75 character | The name of the language of which this dialect is a part |
| Location Name | 250 character | The name of the location in which this dialect is predominantly spoken |
Download the Code List in Tab-delimited or JSON format.
2. Alternate Name List
| Column | Format | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Dialect Code | 5 digit | The unique identifier for the dialect |
| Variant Name | 75 character | An alternate name or spelling for the dialect, including names for the dialect in other languages or scripts |
Download the Alternate Name List in Tab-delimited or JSON format.
3. Changes List
| Column | Format | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Dialect Code | 5 digit | The unique identifier for the dialect |
| Date | yyyy-mm-dd | The date on which a ROD entry is added, changed or retired |
| Change Type | 1 character | The type of change that has occurred: A = Added - The dialect code is newly created M = Moved - The dialect has been assigned to a different language U = Updated - The definition of the dialect has extended, contracted or changed in some other way R = Retired - The dialect code should no longer be used |
| Prev Language Code | 3 character | The ISO code of the language to which the dialect was previously assigned |
| New Language Code | 3 character | The ISO code of the language to which the dialect is now assigned |
| Explanation | text | A more detailed description of what has changed and why |
Download the Changes List in Tab-delimited or JSON format.