Page Comparison

The ONIX Language of Text field and the Thema Language Qualifier both require a little effort to understand, but when you get a firm grasp on them you will find the two systems support each other, allowing you to supply clear language information to retailers.

In ONIX, Language of Text doesn't actually refer to the language the book is written in.  Instead, it identifies the language of the reader—the intended language market.  Generally, these values are identical. But consider a book written partially or entirely in French that is intended for use in language instruction. In ONIX the Language of Text is set as English, not French, allowing retailers selling to an English-language market to identify the book as appropriate for their market.

The Thema Language Qualifier works in a different way. The language a book is written in is never a subject on its own, even if this is a major selling point of the book. A book may feature dialogue written in Quebecois or Jamaican Creole, but that is not actually a subject of the book.  The ONIX Language of Text would still be based on what language group the retailer is selling to – likely French in the former or English in the latter, and it would be up to the marketing and descriptive copy to highlight use of dialect as a feature of the book. 

But consider a French-language book whose intended audience is English-speakers learning the French language. The ONIX Language of Text (English) tells the retailer which market the book is intended for, and the Thema Language Qualifier (French), plus a Subject code from “Language teaching & learning group,” allows the retailer to place the book properly within their store or system.

Of course, any time a book is about a language—say, the history or etymology of French—then a Thema Language Qualifier would always be used regardless of what language the book was written or sold to.  

Qualifiers are exactly that:  They don't define the book's subject, they provide additional information about the subjects used.  The subject code would define the difference between a language instruction text and a history of language book.  The Qualifier adds the language.