Talk:乌鸦

Why put "crow" and "raven" as separate senses?

Crow and raven are separate in English but it looks like Chinese doesn't differentiate them, at least not in this word. So why force the English inerpretation of two senses here?

For comparison, all Aboriginal languages of Australia have many terms for different species of kangaroo and very few languages have a generic word covering only the species that English "kangaroo" covers.

Yet of course we don't list a whole bunch of senses for English "kangaroo" based on that.

"Kangaroo" is a generic term that covers many species which have different names in other languages.

"乌鸦" is a generic term that covers many species which have different names in other languages.

We could go even further and list each species of crow and raven. Choosing the exact level used in the English language seems purely Anglocentric. — hippietrail (talk) 12:54, 12 January 2014 (UTC)

They are different senses in English and each translation may use usage examples, quotes, etcetera. Any existing synonyms may refer to a specific sense. If both "crow" and "raven" are on the same definition line, then it can be mistakenly assumed that they are the same sense, and a synonym refers to both. --Anatoli ^{(обсудить}/^вклад) 02:14, 13 January 2014 (UTC)

I actually prefer the format of this entry to 兔子 (rabbit, hare), 老鼠 (mouse, rat) or 羊 (goat, sheep). --Anatoli ^{(обсудить}/^вклад) 02:24, 13 January 2014 (UTC)

So it's decided that we should always base senses of foreign terms on the English senses? If just sometimes, how do we decide when? — hippietrail (talk) 10:02, 15 January 2014 (UTC)

It's just my opinion. It's a matter of style. Chinese are aware of differences and that's why there are synonyms for individual senses. Besides, it's the English Wiktionary. If it were a Wiktionary where these senses are also the same, then it wouldn't matter. --Anatoli ^{(обсудить}/^вклад) 10:42, 15 January 2014 (UTC)