Wiktionary:About Translingual

This is a Wiktionary policy, guideline or common practices page. Specifically it is a policy think tank, working to develop a formal policy. Policies – Entries: CFI - EL - NORM - NPOV - QUOTE - REDIR - DELETE. Languages: LT - AXX. Others: BLOCK - BOTS - VOTES.

Main category: Translingual language

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This page explains the Wiktionary treatment of "Translingual" entries. These are entries that have identical definitions in many languages. This generally occurs for terms that are not inflected. For simplicity, these terms have a single entry with a "Translingual" language header, and use the {{mul}} language code. There is some disagreement about the criteria for make certain terms Translingual, though some agreement has been found on a variety of terms.

Range

The range of use varies a bit between types of current Translingual entries. Chemical formulae, for instance, are used identically in practically all languages, whereas Han characters are not used natively outside of Asia. There is disagreement over whether "Translingual" should be restricted to only those entries used in all languages, or whether it is sufficient to have very similar usage in a large number of different languages. For entries of the second type, often the common information is explained in the Translingual entry, with individual language differences detailed in separate language sections.

Accepted

This document does not supersede the WT:Criteria for inclusion, and entries must be attested in individual languages. The following types of terms have been accepted as being Translingual.

• Chemical formulae (category) such as H₂O.
• taxonomic names (category) such as E. coli
• Codes
  • top-level domains such as .com and .fm.
  • E numbers (category) such as E100.
  • Geographic codes: national (e.g. FR) and airport (JFK).
  • Abbreviations for units of measure such as cm or MW.
• Symbols
  • Characters (e.g. 'a' and '1' and 克) that have the same definition in multiple, divergent languages.
  • Mathematical symbols such as operators (e.g. +) and functions (e.g. min)
  • Common punctuation such as &. Note, however, that this is not universal. For instance, '¿' is used only primarily in Spanish.
  • Miscellaneous symbols such as © and ♣.

Under Discussion

The classification of the following types of terms is under discussion.

• Italianate music terms such as adagio.

Format

Pronunciation

Many translingual terms are spoken character-by-character, such as FR or E. coli and therefore need no Pronunciation section. For other entries, a pronunciation section is acceptable, such as at A#Translingual.