Nem_LanguageInfo 1.5.2

Nem_LanguageInfo

A .NET 8 library for accessing ISO 639 (languages), ISO 3166 (countries), ISO 15924 (scripts), and UN M.49 (regions) standardized information.

Features

• ISO 639-3 Language Data: Access comprehensive language information including codes, names, scopes, types, and aliases
• ISO 15924 Script Data: Retrieve script information by code, name, or number
• ISO 3166 Country Data: Look up countries by Alpha-2 or Alpha-3 codes
• UN M.49 Region Data: Access hierarchical geographic region information
• BCP 47 Language Tags: Parse and generate BCP 47 compliant language tags with the Dialect class
• Singleton Pattern: Efficient, thread-safe singleton instances for all data collections
• Embedded Resources: All data is embedded in the library for easy deployment

Installation

Install via NuGet Package Manager:

dotnet add package Nem_LanguageInfo

Or via Package Manager Console:

Install-Package Nem_LanguageInfo

Usage

Languages

Access language information using the Languages singleton:

using Nem_LanguageInfo;

// Get language by Part 1 code (ISO 639-1, 2-letter codes)
Language english = Languages.Instance.GetFromPart1Code("en");

// Get language by Part 3 code (ISO 639-3, 3-letter codes)
Language french = Languages.Instance.GetFromPart3Code("fra");

// Get language by name
Language spanish = Languages.Instance.GetFromName("Spanish");

// Smart lookup - automatically detects code length or uses name
Language german = Languages.Instance.GetLanguage("de");      // 2-letter code
Language italian = Languages.Instance.GetLanguage("ita");    // 3-letter code
Language japanese = Languages.Instance.GetLanguage("Japanese"); // name

// Access language properties
Console.WriteLine($"Name: {english.Name}");
Console.WriteLine($"Part1: {english.Part1Code}");
Console.WriteLine($"Part3: {english.Part3Code}");
Console.WriteLine($"Scope: {english.Scope}");
Console.WriteLine($"Type: {english.Type}");
Console.WriteLine($"Default Script: {english.DefaultScript}");
Console.WriteLine($"Script Object: {english.Script.Name}");

Scripts

Access script information using the Scripts singleton:

using Nem_LanguageInfo;

// Get script by 4-letter code
Script latin = Scripts.Instance.GetFromCode("Latn");

// Get script by name
Script cyrillic = Scripts.Instance.GetFromName("Cyrillic");

// Get script by numeric code
Script arabic = Scripts.Instance.GetFromNumber(160);

// Access script properties
Console.WriteLine($"Code: {latin.Code}");
Console.WriteLine($"Name: {latin.Name}");
Console.WriteLine($"Number: {latin.Number}");
Console.WriteLine($"Alias: {latin.Alias}");
Console.WriteLine($"Directionality: {latin.Directionality}");

Regions and Countries

Access geographic region and country information using the Regions singleton:

using Nem_LanguageInfo;

// Get country by Alpha-2 code
Area usa = Regions.Instance.GetAreaFromAlpha2("US");

// Get country by Alpha-3 code
Area canada = Regions.Instance.GetAreaFromAlpha3("CAN");

// Get region by UN M.49 code
Area europe = Regions.Instance.GetAreaFromM49("150");

// Get area by name
Area africa = Regions.Instance.GetAreaFromName("Africa");

// Access area properties
Console.WriteLine($"Name: {usa.Name}");
Console.WriteLine($"Alpha-2: {usa.Alpha2Code}");
Console.WriteLine($"Alpha-3: {usa.Alpha3Code}");
Console.WriteLine($"M49 Code: {usa.M49Code}");
Console.WriteLine($"Default Language: {usa.DefaultLanguageCode}");

Dialects (BCP 47 Language Tags)

The Dialect class represents complete language tags including language, script, region, and variant information, fully supporting BCP 47 format:

using Nem_LanguageInfo;

// Parse BCP 47 language tag
Dialect usEnglish = new Dialect("en-US");
Dialect simplifiedChinese = new Dialect("zh-Hans-CN");
Dialect canadianFrench = new Dialect("fr-CA");

// Create from objects
Language english = Languages.Instance.GetLanguage("en");
Area usa = Regions.Instance.GetAreaFromAlpha2("US");
Dialect dialect1 = new Dialect(english, usa);

// Create from codes
Dialect dialect2 = new Dialect("en", "US", "Latn");

// Create with variant
Dialect dialect3 = new Dialect("de-DE-1996");  // German with 1996 spelling reform

// Access dialect properties
Console.WriteLine($"Language: {usEnglish.Language.Name}");
Console.WriteLine($"Region: {usEnglish.Region.Name}");
Console.WriteLine($"Script: {usEnglish.Script.Code}");
Console.WriteLine($"BCP 47 Tag: {usEnglish}");  // Outputs: en-US

// Complex dialects
Dialect complexDialect = new Dialect("sr-Cyrl-RS");  // Serbian, Cyrillic, Serbia
Console.WriteLine($"Language: {complexDialect.Language.Name}");  // Serbian
Console.WriteLine($"Script: {complexDialect.Script.Name}");      // Cyrillic
Console.WriteLine($"Region: {complexDialect.Region.Name}");      // Serbia
Console.WriteLine($"BCP 47: {complexDialect}");                 // sr-Cyrl-RS

Customizing Output with DialectOptions

The ToString(DialectOptions) method allows you to customize which components are included in the output and how they are formatted:

using Nem_LanguageInfo;

Dialect dialect = new Dialect("zh-Hans-CN");

// Default behavior (no options) - includes only language code (ISO 639-1 preferred)
string simple = dialect.ToString(DialectOptions.None);
// Output: "zh"

// Include language and script
string withScript = dialect.ToString(DialectOptions.Script);
// Output: "zh-Hans"

// Include language and region
string withRegion = dialect.ToString(DialectOptions.Region);
// Output: "zh-CN"

// Include language, script, and region
string full = dialect.ToString(DialectOptions.Script | DialectOptions.Region);
// Output: "zh-Hans-CN"

// Prefer ISO 639-3 (3-letter) language codes
string part3 = dialect.ToString(DialectOptions.LanguagePreferPart3 | DialectOptions.Region);
// Output: "zho-CN"

// Prefer Alpha-3 country codes
string alpha3 = dialect.ToString(DialectOptions.Region | DialectOptions.RegionPeferAlpha3);
// Output: "zh-CHN"

// Prefer UN M.49 numeric region codes
string unM49 = dialect.ToString(DialectOptions.Region | DialectOptions.RegionPreferUnM49);
// Output: "zh-156"

// Include variant
Dialect germanVariant = new Dialect("de-DE-1996");
string withVariant = germanVariant.ToString(DialectOptions.Region | DialectOptions.Variant);
// Output: "de-DE-1996"

// Combine multiple options
string allOptions = dialect.ToString(
    DialectOptions.LanguagePreferPart3 |
    DialectOptions.Script |
    DialectOptions.Region |
    DialectOptions.RegionPeferAlpha3
);
// Output: "zho-Hans-CHN"

Available DialectOptions:

• None - Include only the language code (ISO 639-1 if available, otherwise ISO 639-3)
• LanguagePreferPart3 - Prefer ISO 639-3 (3-letter) language codes over ISO 639-1 (2-letter) codes
• Script - Include the script component (ISO 15924 code)
• Region - Include the region component (ISO 3166 Alpha-2 preferred, then Alpha-3, then UN M.49)
• RegionPeferAlpha3 - When including region, prefer ISO 3166-1 Alpha-3 codes over Alpha-2
• RegionPreferUnM49 - When including region, prefer UN M.49 numeric codes (takes precedence over RegionPeferAlpha3)
• Variant - Include the variant component if present

Note: Options can be combined using the bitwise OR operator (|).

API Reference

Language Class

Properties:

• Name - Language name
• Part1Code - ISO 639-1 two-letter code
• Part2TCode - ISO 639-2/T three-letter terminology code
• Part2BCode - ISO 639-2/B three-letter bibliographic code
• Part3Code - ISO 639-3 three-letter code
• Scope - Language scope (individual, macrolanguage, special, etc.)
• Type - Language type (living, extinct, ancient, etc.)
• Comment - Additional comments
• DefaultScript - Default script code
• Script - Script object for the default script
• Aliases - List of alternative names

Languages Class (Singleton)

Methods:

• GetFromName(string) - Get language by name or alias
• GetFromPart1Code(string) - Get language by ISO 639-1 code
• GetFromPart2BCode(string) - Get language by ISO 639-2/B code
• GetFromPart2TCode(string) - Get language by ISO 639-2/T code
• GetFromPart3Code(string) - Get language by ISO 639-3 code
• GetLanguage(string) - Smart lookup by code or name

Script Class

Properties:

• Code - ISO 15924 four-letter code
• Number - ISO 15924 numeric code
• Name - Script name
• Alias - Alternative name
• Age - Script age
• Date - Registration date
• Directionality - Text direction (LTR, RTL, etc.)

Scripts Class (Singleton)

Methods:

• GetFromCode(string) - Get script by four-letter code
• GetFromName(string) - Get script by name or alias
• GetFromNumber(int) - Get script by numeric code

Area Class

Properties:

• M49Code - UN M.49 numeric code
• Name - Area name
• Alpha2Code - ISO 3166-1 Alpha-2 code (for countries)
• Alpha3Code - ISO 3166-1 Alpha-3 code (for countries)
• DefaultLanguageCode - Primary language code

Regions Class (Singleton)

Methods:

• GetAreaFromAlpha2(string) - Get country by Alpha-2 code
• GetAreaFromAlpha3(string) - Get country by Alpha-3 code
• GetAreaFromM49(string) - Get area by UN M.49 code
• GetAreaFromName(string) - Get area by name

Dialect Class

The Dialect class represents a complete language identifier with support for BCP 47 language tags.

Properties:

• Language - The language component of the dialect
• Region - The region (area) component of the dialect (optional)
• Script - The script component of the dialect (defaults to language's default script)
• Variant - The variant component of the dialect (optional)

Constructors:

• Dialect(string bcp47Code) - Parse a BCP 47 language tag (e.g., "en-US", "zh-Hans-CN")
• Dialect(Language language, Area region = null, Script script = null, string variant = null) - Create from objects
• Dialect(string languageCode, string regionCode = null, string scriptCode = null, string variant = null) - Create from codes

Methods:

• ToString() - Returns the BCP 47 string representation of the dialect (language code only, ISO 639-1 preferred)
• ToString(DialectOptions options) - Returns a customizable string representation based on specified options:
  • DialectOptions.None - Language code only (default behavior)
  • DialectOptions.LanguagePreferPart3 - Use ISO 639-3 codes instead of ISO 639-1
  • DialectOptions.Script - Include script component
  • DialectOptions.Region - Include region component
  • DialectOptions.RegionPeferAlpha3 - Prefer Alpha-3 over Alpha-2 country codes
  • DialectOptions.RegionPreferUnM49 - Prefer UN M.49 numeric codes over Alpha codes
  • DialectOptions.Variant - Include variant component
  • Multiple options can be combined with the bitwise OR operator (|)

BCP 47 Format Support:

The Dialect class supports the following BCP 47 language tag patterns:

• language - e.g., "en"
• language-region - e.g., "en-US"
• language-script - e.g., "zh-Hans"
• language-script-region - e.g., "zh-Hans-CN"
• language-region-variant - e.g., "de-DE-1996"
• language-script-region-variant - e.g., "sr-Cyrl-RS-variant"

Data Standards

This library implements the following international standards:

• ISO 639-3: Codes for the representation of names of languages (Part 3: Alpha-3 code for comprehensive coverage of languages)
• ISO 15924: Codes for the representation of names of scripts
• ISO 3166-1: Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions (Part 1: Country codes)
• UN M.49: Standard country or area codes for statistical use
• BCP 47: Tags for Identifying Languages (IETF Best Current Practice 47)

Requirements

• .NET 8.0 or later

License

Copyright (c) 2025, Mark Moosman

See LICENSE.txt for details.

Repository

GitHub: https://github.com/MMoosman3141/Nem_LanguageInfo

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues or pull requests.

Author

Mark Moosman