HIS Registry of Peoples

 

 FAQ -- Registry of Peoples

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Table of Contents 1. Overview 2. Code table 3. Other tables 4. Working with Ethnic Entities by Country and Language 5. Change management 6. Distribution

 

1. Overview

The function of the Registry of Peoples is to document the standardized codes used for identifying the primary peoples (people groups) of the world. The ROP provides a reference list of ethnic identifiers representing the discrete human aggregations of the world. Data is encoded using the Latin-1 (ISO-8859-1) character set.

 

1.1  Identifiers

The Registry provides a unique code and definitive name for each people.

 

1.1.1    ROP Code

ROP Codes are 6-digit, numeric fields that provide a unique identifier for each ethnic entity. Each code is perpetual – it will not be used more than once, even if the entity it identifies is removed from the database.

 

1.1.2    ROP Name

ROP Names are identifiers recommended as standard reference names. Each reference name is based on the self-name or a representative construct name of an ethnic entity as determined by the Registry Editor. Each name represents the largest cohesive group of individuals considering themselves related and speaking one or more languages.

 

These identifiers are stored in the primary table of the ROP, ROP_Peoples.

 

1.2 Descriptors

The Registry provides two descriptors for each people group. A minimum of two descriptors is necessary to accurately define a people.

 

1.2.1    Location Descriptor

Each person in every people group lives in an identifiable location. Thus each people group record will reference at least one location descriptor, although it will likely reference more, since many people groups of the world are spread across geo-political boundaries.

 

1.2.2  Language Descriptor

Each person in every people group speaks a language. A people group record includes at least one language descriptor, and more if the people group is multi-lingual.

 

1.3    Criteria for Ethnic Entity Identification

 

1.3.1  Ethnic Entities

A distinction between two ethnic groups, which are given separate entries and assigned separate codes, derives from a large set of cultural characteristics that vary in importance among human cultures and societies.  Further detail on these characteristics may be found in wide circulation in various academic disciplines. 

 

1.3.2  Determinations

Specific determinations result from extensive research at various levels, and are intended to represent the self-identity of each listed ethnic entity.  In addition, naming conventions and grouping are considered to take into account common terminology and conventions for descriptions of human culture from relevant disciplines.

 

1.3.3     Self-Identity

In general the term “ethnic entity” refers to the largest cohesive group of individuals considering themselves related for reasons that may include biological kinship, shared history, shared customs or other shared aspects of self-identity, and speaking one or more languages. 

 

1.3.4.   Descriptors

A people is defined by the combination of these and other factors referred to as “ethnicity” or “culture.”  The definition of a discrete “people” requires a minimum of the two descriptors location and language.  As we investigate the real-life situations of human existence, we do not find a one-to-one correspondence of peoples to languages or of people names to language names.

 

1.3.5  Religion

Every people is associated with at least one religion. Religion may be a significant enough factor to separate otherwise identical people groups, constituting sufficient reason to create a separate entry for each in the ROP. The ROP, however, does not attempt to provide a full reference of each people group to all known religions.

 

1.3.6    Sub-groupings

It is often possible to identify smaller subgroupings in any of the ethnic entities defined in the ROP.  The ROP does not provide codes for such subgroups. The ROP code for the larger entity would be applicable to all these subgroups.

 

1.3.7    Social Strata

Additionally, it is possible to identify social strata or categories which include segments of multiple people groups and may be useful for communication and cultural access strategies. Users of the ROP codes may want to link a variety of additional data to the provided ethnic codes in any dynamic combination.

 

2. Code table

ROP_Peoples

This is the primary table of the ROP. It contains the ROP Code and the recommended standard reference name for each people. The primary consideration for the standard name is the name by which that people call themselves. Balanced with this are internal variations within the people group itself, differences among sub-groups, common variations or different names used in academic disciplines or standard reference sources, variations in other languages or alternative transliterations. Common variations will be included in the table of alternate names – ROP Alternate People Names (q.v. below). Note that there is not a one-to-one correspondence of peoples to languages or of people names to language names.

 

Note that the 116000 series entries are provisional and have not been fully reviewed.  These entries contain likely duplicates of earlier entries. 53 of these remain in the release of 05 May 2003.  Expect changes related to these entries in the next update. 

 

The ROP Code for People table contains the following four columns:

 

            Column                         Format              Description

            ROP_PeopleCode        int                     The HIS code for a people.

            PeopleName                varchar(75)        The recommended name of the people.

            Memo                           varchar(255)      Space for originator’s and editor’s notes.

            Source                         varchar(25)        Origin of the people record.

3. Other tables

The ROP contains seven tables in addition to the basic code table. The attached diagram shows how they are keyed. Reference is also made in the diagram to three other tables, ROG_GeopoliticalRegions, ROL_Language, and ROR_Religions, none of which are part of the Registry of Peoples, but which represent primary tables in separate registries. There are four kinds of tables in the ROP: the primary code table, linking tables, supplemental data tables, and a change history table. Each table, with the exception of ROP Change History, contains a memo field for editorial comments, and a text field for entering source information.

 

3.1     ROP Geopolitical Index

This is a linking table that cross-references each ROP_PeopleCode to codes for one or more geographical locations in which the people is documented to live. 

 

The ROP Geopolitical Index contains the following six columns:

            Column                         Format              Description

ROPGeoID                    int                     A unique code that represents each instance of a people in one or more geographical locations as described in the HIS Registry of Geography.

ROP_PeopleCode        int                     See ROP_Peoples above.

ROG_GeoCode            char(2)              See Registry of Geography: ROG_GeopoliticalRegions.

ROPGeoName              varchar(75)        Name of people as represented in this geographic region.

            Memo                           varchar(255)      Space for originator’s and editor’s notes.

            Source                         varchar(25)        Origin of the people record.

 

3.2     ROP Geopolitical Language Index

This is a linking table that cross-references each people-geopolitical combination to one or more languages they are known to speak. More than one people may be linked to the same language, as necessary to represent documented reality.

 

The ROP Geopolitical Language Index contains the following five fields:

Column                         Format              Description

ROPGeoLangID            int                     A unique code that represents each instance of a language, as described in the HIS Registry of Language, spoken by a people in one or more geographical locations as described in the HIS Registry of Geography.

ROPGeoID                    int                     A unique code that represents each instance of a people in one or more geographical locations as described in the HIS Registry of Geography.

ROL_LanguageCode     char(3)              See Registry of Language: ROL_Languages.

            Memo                           varchar(255)      Space for originator’s and editor’s notes.

            Source                         varchar(25)        Origin of the people record.

 

3.3     ROP Geopolitical Religion Index

This is a linking table that cross-references each people-geopolitical combination to one or more religions they are known to practice. More than one people group may be linked to the same religion, as necessary to represent documented reality.

 

Note that the ROP Geopolitical Religion Index contains no data in this Original Release, because the Registry of Religions is not yet complete. As soon as the Registry of Religions is ready for a first release, cross-reference work between it and the Registry of Peoples will begin, followed by a data-populated release of the ROP Geopolitical Religion Index.

 

The ROP Geopolitical Religion Index contains the following five fields:

Column                         Format              Description

ROPGeoReligionID       int                     A unique code that represents each instance of a religion, as described in the HIS Registry of Religion, spoken by a people in one or more geographical locations as described in the HIS Registry of Geography.

ROPGeoID                    int                     A unique code that represents each instance of a people in one or more geographical locations as described in the HIS Registry of Geography.

ROR_ReligionCode       char(3)              See Registry of Religion: ROR_Religions.

            Memo                           varchar(255)      Space for originator’s and editor’s notes.

            Source                         varchar(25)        Origin of the people record.

 

3.4     ROP Alternate People Names

This is a supplementary table of alternate names by which this people may also be known or listed in various sources. In some cases the name is one segment of the group, or the name of a language or dialect associated with the primary name or a segment.

 

The ROP Alternate People Names table contains the following three columns:

            Column                         Format              Description

ROP_PeopleCode        int                     See ROP_Peoples above.

ROPAltName                 varchar(75)        Alternate name of a people.

Memo                           varchar(255)      Space for originator’s and editor’s notes.

            Source                         varchar(25)        Origin of the people record.

 

3.5            ROP Dialects

This is a supplementary table of dialect names and IDs. Dialect IDs are related back to corresponding dialect IDs in the ROP Geopolitical Language Index, and thus to an ROL_LanguageCode and an ROP_PeopleCode. A dialect may be either determinative or simply descriptive of a people.

 

The ROP Dialects table contains the following fields:

Column                         Format              Description

            DialectID                       char(5)              An identifier that represents a spoken dialect, created and maintained by SIL.

            ROL_LanguageCode     char(3)              Three letter code from the Registry of Languages ROL_Languages.

            Dialect                          varchar(50)        Dialect name.

Memo                           varchar(255)      Space for originator’s and editor’s notes.

            Source                         varchar(25)        Origin of the dialect record.

 

3.6            ROP Supplemental Language Data

This is a supplementary table of language names and IDs for speech forms of identified people groups whose speech has not yet been assigned a separate code by the HIS Registry of Languages (ROL). A language is named by designation of the narrowest grouping of related languages, by standard language classification, plus the term "Unclassified." For example, a language identified by linguists as a member of the Tibeto-Burman group, but not further identified, would be assigned the ID "XXB," with the Language Name "Tibeto-Burman, Unclassified." For peoples whose language status is unknown, the ID "XXX" is assigned, with the Language Name "Unknown."

 

The ROP Supplementary Language Data table contains the following fields:

Column                         Format              Description

 

3.7     ROP Supplemental Data

This is a supplementary table that holds data that is related to specific people-geopolitical combinations, and which in some cases, may help clarify understanding of the group, but which is not present in any defining factors for the group.

 

The ROP Supplemental Data table contains following fields:

Column                         Format              Description

ROPGeoID                    int                     A unique code that represents each instance of a people in one or more geographical locations as described in   the HIS Registry of Geography.

Ethno14Popl                 numeric            The Ethnologue Fourteenth Edition number of speakers.

JPLPopl                       numeric            Joshua Project population.

ISPD96Popl                  numeric            Population from the 1996 IMB ISPD database.

OWPopl                        numeric            Operation World 2001 Population.

AMOPopl                      numeric            AMO (Asia Harvest) 2000 Database.

OmidPopl                     numeric            Confidential Source from South Asia.

CPPIPopl                      numeric            IMB Church Planting Progress Indicators database

                                                            population.

Memo                           varchar(255)      Space for originator’s and editor’s notes.

                                         

3.8     ROP Change History

All changes to ROP_Peoples table are reported in ROP Change History. This table is cumulative, listing all changes to successive versions of the registry.

 

The ROP Change History contains the following fields:

Column                                   Format                        Description

Code                            int                     The code that is affected by the change reported in this record.

Type                             char(1)              A one-letter code indicating the type of change: There are four possible values:

Date                             char(10)            The date the change was released in a new version of the registry. Dates are expressed as 8 digits with hyphens to separate the parts of the date, e.g. YYYY-MM-DD.

Description                   varchar(255)      Describes the change. In the case of R changes, it also describes what a user should do to fix existing data that uses the now retired code.

Note that there is not a change type for the cases of narrowing or extending the meaning of a code, such as when the ethnic entity denoted by one code is split into two ethnic entities. In such a case, the original code is retired, and two new codes are added. In this way, the user of the code set is assured that once a code has been used to tag an item of data, it will continue to be the right code to use for as long as the code remains an active member of the code set.

 

The change history table holds the cumulative list of all changes that have ever been made to the ROP_Peoples code table. For a site that has used ROP_Peoples codes in its own database, an important use of the change history table is to discover codes used in its data that are now obsolete and thus need to be changed. These will be only the codes that have been retired.

4. Working with Ethnic Entities by Country and Language

The table ROP Geopolitical Language Index provides a cross-reference of each ethnic entity to each country in which they are known to be present, and with each language a portion of that entity is known to speak.  This will present a combination of people by country by any language.

 

4.1   Same People in Many Countries

If research indicates that groupings of people living in various countries consider themselves to be one people (or research indicates this for classification purposes), the same code will be assigned to that name in all those countries. Thus in the tables linking People Names to Country Names separate entries will show for each country, but all entries will have the same code. 

 

ROP_PeopleCode	ROG_GeopoliticalCode	PeopleName	Source
100925	ML	Bambara	CPPI
100925	GA	Bambara	CPPI
100925	GM	Bambara	CPPI
100925	GV	Bambara	Guinea Research Network
100925	FR	Bambara	BM
100925	UV	Bambara	PIN / SIL
100925	MR	Bambara	CPPI
100925	NG	Bambara	CPPI
100925	PU	Bambara	BM
100925	SG	Bambara	CPPI
100925	IV	Bambara	CPPI

 

4.2  Same People or Other People by Same Name in Many Countries

The multi-table join below illustrates how codes will distinguish between peoples with the same name.  Research may indicate the same name occurs in several countries due only to a phonetic coincidence.  In other cases somewhat related ethnic entities consider themselves separate peoples for other reasons.  Some entities may need to be considered separate peoples for more technical academic or anthropological reasons. 

 

The difference in code assigned to this name in that country will indicate that the entries represent separate ethnic entities (people groups).  Sometimes language is the distinguishing factor (Tonga NDC and Tonga TOI in Zimbabwe; geography also in this case).  Sometimes it is other factors (a new lake and two generations of separated history -- Tonga TOI in Zambia and Zimbabwe).

 

ROP_PeopleCode	ROG_GeopoliticalCode	ROL_LanguageCode	PeopleName	CountryName	Source
114836	TH	TNZ	Tonga	Thailand	Ethnologue
110153	MZ	TOH	Tonga	Mozambique	CPPI
114836	MY	TNZ	Tonga	Malaysia	Ethnologue
114837	MI