This International Standard specifies the sequence of characters to be used in the alphabetical ordering of multilingual terminological and lexicographical data (terms, term elements, or words) represented in the Latin alphabet. Character sets of languages represented in the Latin alphabet are taken into account insofar as terminological or lexicographical data have been recorded. Character sets used in internationally standardized transliteration into Latin script are also taken into account.

The sequence of alphabetical characters given is intended for multilingual purposes only and is not intended to affect the alphabetical order of any specific language.

The main part of this International Standard specifies letter-by-letterordering of character strings. Normative annex A treats word-by-word ordering, which is a widely used alternative to this system.

Informative annex B gives two additional rules that may be useful for lexicographical and terminological ordering.

Informative annex C gives ordering rules for chemical names.

Informative annex D lists the character repertoire of the Latin alphabet.

Informative annex E lists languages using the Latin alphabet.

Informative annex F gives alphabetical sequences derived from the sequence specified in this International Standard for a number of languages that use the Latin alphabet.

Normative annex G gives a formal description of the rules laid down in the main part of this International Standard conforming with ISO/IEC 14651.