CACrown ArchivesHistory · sources · collections
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

Common Locale Data Repository

project of the Unicode Consortium to provide locale data in XML format for use in computer applications

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 15, 2026
Entity authorityQ2986828
Source-derived summary

The Common Locale Data Repository (CLDR) is a project of the Unicode Consortium to provide locale data in XML format for use in computer applications. CLDR contains locale-specific information that an operating system will typically provide to applications.

CLDR is written in the Locale Data Markup Language (LDML).

CLDR is maintained by a technical committee which includes employees from IBM, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and some government-based organizations. The committee is chaired by Mark Davis of Google; Annemarie Apple of Google is vice-chair.

Details

Among the types of data that CLDR includes are the following:

Translations for language names

Translations for territory and country names

Translations for currency names, including singular/plural modifications

Translations for weekday, month, era, period of day, in full and abbreviated forms

Translations for time zones and example cities (or similar) for time zones

Translations for calendar fields

Patterns for formatting/parsing dates or times of day

Exemplar sets of characters used for writing the language

Patterns for formatting/parsing numbers

Rules for language-adapted collation

Rules for spelling out numbers as words

Rules for formatting numbers in traditional numeral systems (such as Roman and Armenian numerals)

Rules for transliteration between scripts, much of it based on BGN/PCGN romanization

The information is currently used in International Components for Unicode, Apple's macOS, LibreOffice, MediaWiki, and IBM's AIX, among other applications and operating systems.

CLDR overlaps somewhat with ISO/IEC 15897 (POSIX locales). POSIX locale information can be derived from CLDR by using some of CLDR's conversion tools.

The CLDR covers more than 400 languages.

Editorial summary

“Common Locale Data Repository” enters the record as project of the Unicode Consortium to provide locale data in XML format for use in computer applications. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Common, Locale and Data can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current 251-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Common, Locale and Data.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Common Locale Data Repository” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Common, Locale and Data provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2986828. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Common Locale Data Repository”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Common Locale Data Repository primary sources, Common Locale Data Repository archive and Common research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Common Locale Data Repository”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Common Locale Data Repository” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.