Clarification on language code data standards used in translations.txt about transit HOT 2 OPEN

Hi Juliet!

Thank you for raising these questions and pointing out that source of confusion in such a clear and guided manner, this is always very much appreciated! Based on a quick review of the spec text, our interpretation is that all language code fields (agency.agency_lang, translations.language, feed_info.default_lang and feed_info.default_lang) in the spec, should use the IETF BCP 47 standard as stated in the Field Types section at the top of the Reference document.

The mention of the ISO 639-2 standard seems to refer only to the use of the mul code in feed_info.feed_lang, which is applicable in case of feeds containing information in multiple languages within the same dataset (i.e. translations aside), see PR#180 for further context.

This seems to be the main source of confusion, perhaps a simple solution could be to remove the mention of the ISO 639-2 standard in the description for feed_info.feed_lang, leaving the use of the mul code intact. Alternatively, the IETF BCP 47 standard could be mentioned in each language code field to provide additional clarity, but it could also be argued that this would be redundant if specified in Field Types.

I wonder if other Producers/Consumers have been interpreting this in the same way and which language tags they usually refer to when they write GTFS and/or when using in their validators.

from transit.

Thank you for pointing out an inconsistency in the GTFS documentation in your first issue! It’s contributions like yours that help us make the spec more accessible. 🚀

from transit.