Template:Infobox language/doc

This template is for use in articles about languages or dialects. It provides a common standard for displaying data about a language.

Placement
The template should placed at the very top of the wikitext of the article, before any text. The absolute basic syntax is as shown below:
 *   ← this ends the template call

However, you will probably want to add more than just this. Other parameters are listed below, they can be incorporated anywhere between the first and last lines, and in any order.

Additional parameters
There are several more parameters that can be defined between the opening and closing lines. These are:
 * |nativename=additional or native name of the language [most of these are not actually the native name]
 * |altname=secord additional or native name
 * |states=countries in which it is mainly spoken ← you do not have to define both this and region
 * |region=geographic region in which it is mainly spoken ← you do not have to define both this and states; use this parameter for a single statement about geographic distribution
 * |speakers=the number of native speakers of the language. If no date is supplied, missing date will be displayed.
 * |date=the date of publication of the estimate of the number of speakers.
 * Used for calculations for obsolete data, so needs to start with a 4-digit year. Exception: If ⟨NA⟩ is entered, nothing will display. If ⟨no date⟩ is entered, "no date" will display.
 * Articles with old dates (currently ≥ 30 years) appear in Category:Language articles with old speaker data.
 * |ref=reference for the speaker data.
 * If ⟨e16⟩ is entered, this will automatically generate a reference to the Ethnologue 16 article that bears the ISO 639-3 code entered at 'iso3'.
 * To link to the auto-generated reference from elsewhere in the article, use.
 * ⟨e15⟩ can be used to ref the 15th edition, for example for extinct languages which are no longer supported.
 * |speakers2=a 2nd line for speaker data, such as L2 speakers, appearing after the date.
 * If this is a second line of L1 speakers, it should be arranged so that, if there are two dates cited, the oldest appears in the date parameter, for automated update calculations. Data from different countries should not be added together if they are not comparable: say if one is from 1973 and another from 2006, or if one is rounded to the nearest million and another is on the order of 10,000.
 * |iso1=the ISO 639-1 code for the language
 * |iso2=the ISO 639-2 code for the language; creates a link to the ISO page ← see just hereafter for the situation where a language has two ISO 639-2 codes
 * |iso3=the ISO 639-3 code for the language; creates a link to the ISO page ← see below for the situation where multiple ISO 639-3 codes apply; if there is no ISO 639-3 code, set |iso3=none to return the text none and add the article to a list of uncoded languages
 * |lingua=the Linguasphere code for the language
 * |linglist(2,3)=the Linguist List code(s) for the language. May be a proper ISO code maintained at Linguist List, or a local non-ISO code; creates a link to the Linguist List page.
 * |lingname(2,3)=the Linguist List name for the language, or other comment
 * If any of these are unknown, simply leave them out: the template will provide a default text. If a language has two ISO 639-2 codes, one will be defined as the bibliographic code, and the other terminological. These can be added in separate fields using the following parameters:
 * |iso2b=the ISO 639-2 bibliographic code
 * |iso2t=the ISO 639-2 terminological code

Genetic classification
You can use the language template to show the genetic classification of a language at a glance. This classification is displayed as a descending staircase of language families, from the broadest to the most specific. To add the genetic classification use the following:
 * |fam1=the broadest possible widely accepted language family of which the language is a part ← if this would be exactly the same as you have defined for familycolor, it may be omitted
 * |fam2=a more specific sub-family
 * |fam3=a more specific group

You can keep adding parameters in like fashion until you have completed the classification. If you would prefer to enter some other information in this box (for example, disputed), use this parameter instead:
 * |family=whatever you want to say

Optional parameters
Some parts of the template remain invisible unless they are specifically called. Only use these parameters if they are required.
 * |fontcolor=colour of font against 'familycolor' ← the font colour is usually black, use this to change it if it is difficult to read
 * |pronunciation=pronunciation of the native name of the language in IPA → remember to enclose the transcription in an IPA template such as IPA-all
 * |nation=list of countries in which it is an official language
 * |minority=list of countries in which it is a recognised minority language
 * |agency=regulatory body or language academy for the language
 * |extinct=date of extinction, or information about extinction ← this replaces speakers
 * |era=era of use of an ancestral form of a language ← this replaces speakers
 * |script=writing system(s) used to represent the language ← in the form script (instantiation), such as "Latin (English alphabet)" (Common variants of "Latin (alphabet)" redirect to Latin script. For the Latin alphabet itself, add an element such as .)

Language with more than one ISO 639-3 code
Some languages have a number of ISO 639-3 codes, one for each dialect of that language. If you try putting all of these codes in the usual iso3= parameter, it will get quite messy. Instead, use the following parameters:
 * |lc1=language code of the first dialect
 * |ld1=name of the first language dialect

For subsequent dialects, use lc2 and so forth. Lc entries will be automatically linked to the Ethnologue site. Wikipedia articles on the dialects may be linked from the ld entries..

For languages with an ISO 639-3 macrolanguage code and several individual codes, use iso3 for the macrolanguage and lcn, ldn for the individual codes.

Sign languages
This template is appropriate to use for sign languages. The following parameter is used instead of speakers:
 * |signers=number of people who sign that language

Once this parameter is defined or familycolor=Sign is set, the rest of the template makes sure that any reference to 'speaking' is replaced by ones to 'signing'. Setting this parameter automatically makes the coloured bars of the infobox, the colour defined for sign languages, and provides a default of iso2=sgn if no other text is provided. All the other parameters work in exactly the same way.

Constructed languages
This template is appropriate to use for constructed languages. The following parameters can be used:
 * |creator=name of language creator
 * |created=year of first creation
 * |setting=the use or setting for the language
 * |posteriori=natural-language sources

Using these parameters, or setting familycolor=Conlang, automatically sets the coloured bars of the infobox to background with white fonts, and removes the states and region parameters from use (nation is also disabled). If the iso2 parameter is left undefined, it is treated as being iso2=art. For conlangs, the family or famn parameters are used to describe the hierarchy of purpose of the language, whereas posteriori is used to describe the a posteriori sources on which the conlang draws.

Images in the template
You cannot put large images into the language template: they just make it very messy. You can place a small image at the top of the template using the following parameters:
 * |image=image name.png
 * |imagesize=200px ← overrides the default image size
 * |imagealt=alt text
 * |imagecaption=caption
 * |imageheader=very simple description of image ('logo', 'map', 'script', etc.) ← this is placed in the left-hand column

If you have a slightly larger image or two, such as a map, you can place at the bottom of the template, spanning both columns, with the following parameter:
 * |map(2)=image name.png
 * |mapsize=300px ← overrides the default image size
 * |mapalt(2)=alt text
 * |mapcaption(2)=caption

The usual image markup applies for both images. Alt text is for visually impaired readers, and the caption is for all readers; typically they should have little in common (see WP:ALT).

Footer notice
A notice or notices may be placed at the bottom of the infobox:
 * |notice(2)=ipa ← places a notice about the Unicode fonts used for displaying IPA
 * |notice(2)=signnotice ← adds various links for sign languages
 * |notice(2)=Indic ← places a notice about Indic-font support

Sub-templates

 * Template:Infobox language/codelist
 * Template:Infobox language/family-color
 * Template:Infobox language/genetic
 * Template:Infobox language/linguistlist
 * Template:Infobox language/ref
 * Template:Infobox language/quilt
 * Template:Infobox language/IPA notice
 * Template:Infobox language/Indic
 * Template:Infobox language/signnotice