25.5C. Language [Formerly 25.5D]
Form of Languages:
When naming a language in a uniform title, base the name on the form found in the current edition of USMARC Code List for Languages (and the updates published in Cataloging Service Bulletin).
Note the following when using the USMARC code list:
Use the name found in boldface type (e.g., "Frisian," not "Friesian").
Use the name for a specific language rather than the name of a language group (e.g., use "Bunun," not "Austronesian (Other)"). (Language groups are indicated by the term "languages" or by the qualifier "(Other).").
Do not include in the name parenthetical dates that appear with the name (e.g., use "Béarnais," not "Béarnais (post-1500)").
Retain other parenthetical qualifiers that appear with the name (e.g., "Afrihili (Artificial language)"; "Luo (Kenya and Tanzania)"). Exception: For "Serbo-Croatian (Cyrillic)" and "Serbo-Croatian (Roman)," use "Serbo-Croatian."
For the early form of a modern language that is found in an inverted form, follow AACR2 and use the early form in direct order within parentheses following the modern language (e.g., for "French, Old (ca. 842-1400)," use "French (Old French)").
For the AACR2 example, "French (Anglo-Norman)," use the USMARC code list form, "Anglo-Norman."
Greek:
For the USMARC code list forms "Attic Greek," "Greek, Ancient," and "Greek, Modern," use "Greek."
Exception: If the item is a translation from one specific Greek form into another Greek form, or contains text in two specific forms, use in the uniform title the specific form(s) within parentheses following "Greek." In specifying the form of the Greek, use one of the following terms:
"Greek (Ancient Greek)" for the period before 300 B.C.
"Greek (Hellenistic Greek)" for the period 300 B.C-A.D. 600
"Greek (Biblical Greek)" for the Septuagint and the New Testament
"Greek (Medieval Greek)" for the period 600-1453
"Greek (Modern Greek)" for the period 1453-
Multilingual Works:
If a work was originally issued in a single edition in two or more languages and there is no evidence that one text represents the original and the others translations of this original, do not add the languages after the uniform title when the edition being cataloged is in all these languages. For example, some documents of international bodies are first issued with a text in all the official languages of the body; also, the laws of some countries with two official languages (e.g., Belgium, South Africa) are originally issued in both official languages. However, if another edition of such a work is issued in only one of the languages, or in additional languages, add the name of the language or "Polyglot" after the uniform title for this edition, leaving the uniform title for the original without a language designation.
If a work was originally issued simultaneously in separate editions in different languages and there is no evidence that the text in one of the languages is the original, select one of the editions as the original according to 25.3C and treat the others as translations.
Unpublished Works:
Occasionally an author’s work is translated into another language but has not been published in the author’s original language. If the translation indicates the original has never been published but given the author’s title in the original language, use this title in the uniform title on the translation. In case of doubt as to whether the original title given in the translation is indeed the original title, do not use that title as the uniform title.
See also:
