internetarchive/openlibrary

List languages in correct alphabetical order

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#11962 opened on Feb 28, 2026

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 (17 comments) (1 reaction) (1 assignee)Python (4,626 stars) (1,172 forks)batch import
Good First IssueLead: @RayBBNeeds: HelpNeeds: ResponseNeeds: Review AssigneePriority: 4Type: Bug

Description

Problem

The list of languages at https://openlibrary.org/languages?sort=name doesn't display in alphabetical order correctly

The list sorts alphabetically, but differentiates between uppercase and lowercase charaters.

The list sorts alphabetically, but lists characters with diacritics at the end.

Reproducing the bug

  1. Go to https://openlibrary.org/languages?sort=name and change the website language to Croatian (or any other foreign language)
  2. Scroll down the list to see the problems shown in my above images
  • Expected behavior: the language list should display in a correct alphabetic order
  • Actual behavior: the language list doesn't display in a correct alphabetic order

Context

  • Browser: Firefox 148.0 (aarch64)
  • OS: Mac OS26.3 (25D125)
  • Logged in (Y/N): N
  • Environment (prod, dev, local): ???

Breakdown

Requirements Checklist

  • Sort the language list in correct alphabatical order for all website languages:
  • Don't differentiate between uppercase and lowercase charaters
  • Sort languages correctly using character decomposition. For instance, in Croatian the base charater is C. Characters Č and Ć are composite charaters of C, and should therefore appear after C, and not at the end of the list. Same is true for other composite characters.

Related to issue #11961

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Contributor guide

Tech stack
pythonhtmlcss
Domain
backendfrontendinternationalization
Issue type
bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
half day
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
blocked
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
PythonSorting algorithmsUnicode collation
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
30
Research direction
Investigate the sorting logic for the language list on the OpenLibrary website. Look at the backend view that serves the language data, likely in the Python codebase. Also check if client side JavaScript is involved. Review related issue #11961 for context. The fix may require implementing locale aware sorting using Unicode collation algorithm (e.g., Python's locale.strxfrm or PyICU). Ensure to test with different languages like Croatian.