Table of Contents
1 Introduction
XBRL supports multilingual taxonomies by allowing labels to be defined in multiple languages. When labels in multiple languages are defined, the software used to display an XBRL report or taxonomy can allow the reader to view labels in their preferred language. This guidance is for taxonomy architects and taxonomy authors and covers how to use multilingual labels within a taxonomy. It is important to note that the language of a taxonomy label does not define or enforce the language of a fact in an XBRL report.
2 Language
2.1 Identifying the label language
The language for a label is identified using a tag 1, for example 'en-US' is used to identify "US English". Although more complicated formats are technically permitted, common practice is to use either a one part language code (e.g. "en") or a two part language-region code (e.g. "en-US"), and it is recommended that taxonomies use one of these two options.
In practice, unless multiple regional variations are provided, the decision to specify the region or not has proven to be of little practical consequence, with XBRL software selecting a more general or more specific alternative as required. It is observed that common practice is to use two-letter codes and taxonomy authors may wish to adopt this practice for consistency.
- Identify languages using two-letter language codes unless the taxonomy supports multiple regional variations of the same language.
2.2 Completeness of labels in different languages
Labels should be provided for every taxonomy component in use in each language that the taxonomy is meant to support. Where multiple regional variations of the same language are included in the taxonomy it is not essential to provide a label in each regional variation; taxonomy authors may choose to provide separate labels only in cases where the label would be different.
Table 1 lists examples of labels defined in different languages and regional variations. The example below shows a taxonomy that is developed with UK English as the primary language, as such a full set of labels will be provided with the "en" language code with a UK English spelling convention. Additional labels are provided where needed with a US English spelling convention using the "en-US" language code. Additionally, a full set of labels are provided in French.
| English (en) | US-English (en-US) | French (fr) |
|---|---|---|
| Support Revenue | Separate label not required | Revenus de soutien |
| Licence Fee | License Fee | Frais de licence |
- Provide labels for every taxonomy component in use in each language that the taxonomy is intended to support.
- It is not necessary to provide labels in all supported regional variations of a language where the label for all such variations would be the same.
3 Conclusion
The guidance addresses specific best practice points about the use of languages in a taxonomy: firstly, whether language or regional variation codes should be used, and secondly, the requirement for completeness of labels in different languages.
This document was produced by the Taxonomy Architecture Guidance Task Force.
Published on 2020-04-01.
