W3C resource, approved by consensus. (Includes Working Drafts.)
Non-W3C resource or W3C resource that is not yet approved by consensus.
Recommended technique.
This page lists links to resources on the W3C Internationalization Activity site and elsewhere that help you author XML content for internationalization. It is one of several techniques pages. A dynamic version of this page is also available, to help you get an overview and drill down quickly to what you need.
On this page: Characters • Language • Markup & text • Text direction • Supporting localization
Introducing character sets and encodings
W3C Getting Started article.
Character encodings for beginners
What is a character encoding, and why should I care? W3C article.
Brief overview of encoding declarations. W3C article.
W3C article.
W3C article.
What is the 'Document Character Set' for XML and HTML, and how does it relate to the encodings I use for my documents? W3C article.
Using character escapes in markup and CSS article
How can I use character escapes in markup and CSS, and when should I use or not use them?
HTML 4.01, 24 Character entity references in HTML 4 specification
List of character entity references supported by HTML 4 and XHTML 1.0.
XML 1.0, 2.4 Character Data and Markup specification
Characters that must be escaped.
XML 1.0, 4.1 Character and Entity References specification
Main section describing escapes in the XML spec.
XHTML 1.0, C.16. The Named Character Reference ' specification
Advice to not use &apos in XHTML.
Characters or markup? article
There are a range of control-like Unicode characters, some of which fulfill the same role as markup. Which should I use, and which should I avoid?
Unicode in XML & Other Markup Languages? W3C note
Guidelines on the use of the Unicode Standard in conjunction with markup languages such as XML.
Unicode controls vs. markup for bidi support article
To correctly format bidi text in (X)HTML or XML content, should I use Unicode control codes or markup?
Using Unicode controls for bidi text article
If I'm unable to use markup to correctly order bidirectional text, what can I do?
HTML, XHTML, XML and Control Codes article
How do I handle control codes (ie. the 'C0' U+0000-U+001F and 'C1' U+007F-U+009F ranges) in XML, XHTML and HTML?
XML 1.0, 4.1 Character and Entity References specification
Main section describing escapes in the XML spec.
XHTML 1.0, C.16. The Named Character Reference ' specification
Advice to not use &apos in XHTML.
W3C Getting Started article.
Declaring Language in XHTML and HTML
W3C tutorial.
How to choose the right attribute values. W3C article.
W3C article.
Why use the language attribute?
Why use the language attribute? W3C article.
In W3C document, Best Practices for XML Internationalization.
How to choose the right attribute values. W3C article.
How do I use language markup in HTML or XML content when I don't know the language, or the content is non-linguistic? (W3C article)
IANA's language tag registry.
Language Subtag Registry search tool
User friendly interface to IANA's language tag registry by Richard Ishida.
Points to a document containing both RFC 4646 (Tags for the Identification of Languages) and RFC 4647 (Matching Language Tags)
RFC 4646 Tags for the Identification of Languages
The specification.
RFC 4647 Matching of Language Tags
The specification.
Description of the language identification mechanism in the XML 1.0 spec (section 2.12)
xml:lang in XML document schemas
When should I use xml:lang and when should I define my own element or attribute for passing language values in an XML document schema (DTD)?
Why use the language attribute?
Why use the language attribute? W3C article.
Automatic font assignment for CJK text
W3C test page
Automatic font assignment for CJK text
W3C test results
Follow the guidelines in the IETF's BCP 47 for language attribute values.
Use the subtag zxx when the text is known to be not in any language.
Which language tag is right for me? How do I choose language and other subtags? Covers all the subtag types in the latest version of BCP47. W3C article.
A simple overview of the syntax for language tags in BCP 47. W3C article.
In W3C techniques document, Specifying Language in XHTML and HTML Content.
How do I use language markup in HTML or XML content when I don't know the language, or the content is non-linguistic? W3C article.
Two-letter or three-letter language codes
Should I use two-letter or three-letter ISO language codes in language tags? W3C article.
This is the official location where you will find all subtags available for use in language tags.
User friendly interface to IANA's language tag registry by Richard Ishida. Provides for checking of subtags as well as lookup. Up-to-date with latest version of BCP 47.
Points to a document containing both RFC 5646 (Tags for the Identification of Languages) and RFC 4647 (Matching Language Tags)
RFC 5646 Tags for the Identification of Languages
The specification.
RFC 4647 Matching of Language Tags
The specification.
xml:lang in the XML spec (section 2.12)
In W3C document, Best Practices for XML Internationalization.
The "Translate" data category in the ITS Recommendation (section 6.2).
In W3C document, Best Practices for XML Internationalization.
W3C Recommendation.
In W3C document, Best Practices for XML Internationalization.
In W3C document, Best Practices for XML Internationalization.
Working with Composite Messages
W3C article.
Re-using Strings in Scripted Content
W3C article.
In W3C document, Best Practices for XML Internationalization.
The "Terminology" data category in the ITS Recommendation (section 6.4).
In W3C document, Best Practices for XML Internationalization.
HTML, XHTML, XML and Control Codes
How do I handle control codes (ie. the 'C0' U+0000-U+001F and 'C1' U+007F-U+009F ranges) in XML, XHTML and HTML? W3C article.
What to do if a Unicode character or font glyph is missing. W3C article.
In Best Practices for XML Internationalization.
What you need to know about the bidi algorithm and inline markup
Article.
CSS vs. markup for bidi support
Should I use CSS or markup to correctly format Unicode-based bidirectional (bidi) text in HTML and XML-based markup languages? W3C article.
Unicode controls vs. markup for bidi support
To correctly format bidi text in (X)HTML or XML content, should I use Unicode control codes or markup? FAQ-based article.
Using Unicode controls for bidi text
If I'm unable to use markup to correctly order bidirectional text, what can I do? FAQ-based article.
Best Practices for Authoring HTML: Handling Right-to-left Scripts
Best practices document.
Unicode in XML and other Markup Languages
Unicode Technical Report #20.
The "Directionality" data category in the ITS Recommendation (section 6.7).
In W3C document, Best Practices for XML Internationalization.