Why does ISO 639-3 have many language codes for Arabic but only one for English?

Question

ISO 639-3 has many language codes for Arabic, but only one for English.I'm an Arab who is familiar with multiple Arabic dialects. We do not call it anything but "لهجات" which is translated to "dialects".We also call it "عامية" which is translated to "slang". I've never heard an Arabic man call its region's dialect a language. Yet the ISO classification for Arabic contain more languages than Arabic countries.Arabic with over 30 language:http://www-01.sil.org/iso639-3/documentation.asp?id=ara English with just one:http://www-01.sil.org/iso639-3/documentation.asp?id=engI know there are many difference between the American and British English. And there are differences between the South African, Canadian, North Ireland, Scottish and the Australian English. There is also the old Shakespeare period English language.Still just one English language under the ISO 639-3.**Update:** AFAIK No official reorganization for any dialect from any Arabic country. Arab countries teach only the main Standard Arabic language in schools and it's used in official documents.It's the official language in the highest Arabic body, the [Arab League](language of the Arab https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_League)Also except for some variations in North Africa Arabs understand each other very clearly similar to different speaker of English (like English in India - English in Scotland).

Answer 1

The reason Arabic has many language codes while English has only one is due to the linguistic diversity and mutual intelligibility within each language group:

1. Arabic's High Dialectal Variation:
2. Arabic is a macrolanguage, meaning it consists of many distinct varieties that can be mutually unintelligible.
3. Classical Arabic (used in religious and historical texts), Modern Standard Arabic (formal communication), and many regional dialects (Egyptian Arabic, Gulf Arabic, Levantine Arabic, etc.) differ significantly in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.
4. Some Arabic dialects are distinct enough to be classified as separate languages in ISO 639-3
5. English's High Mutual Intelligibility:
6. Despite regional variations (American, British, Australian, etc.), English remains largely mutually intelligible across its dialects.
7. The differences between varieties of English are mostly in pronunciation, some vocabulary, and minor grammatical structures, rather than fundamental linguistic divergence.

Answer 2

Hi there,

Most of learners intend to learn a language to be able to communicate.

When someone learns English, no major differences in spoken American English from The British English. People from the UK and the US, or South Africa and Australia still can speak English without hassle.

In addition, the English that people speak in streets is the same English that the newspapers are written in. No big difference, or almost no difference at all.

Unlike English, two Arab people, one from Mauritania and one from Egypt could not understand each other if both spoke in their each two dialects. They have to speak in MSA, which is different from the spoken Arabic in all the Arab countries. The language of books, newspapers, is not the language that people speak in daily situations. That's why Arabic is categorized differently.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

Regards,

Mohamed