Wikipedia:Naming conventions (languages)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Articles on

primary topic, a natural disambiguator like "... language" is preferred (e.g. French language
).

Programming languages should be disambiguated with the suffix "(programming language)" if the name is not sufficiently unambiguous. For example, VBScript does not need clarification, while Python (programming language) does.

Redirects

In the examples above, we would place a redirect to Arabic at

VBScript programming language
. This will accommodate writers using alternative and older naming conventions. If the ISO 639-3 code for the language appears under a different header at Ethnologue, either a different spelling or a different name altogether, make that a redirect as well. Similarly, if the spelling or name changes between editions of Ethnologue, all should have redirects. Country specification is placed between parentheses, and 'language' added, so ISO Kom (Cameroon) should have at least a redirect at Kom language (Cameroon): this is the default format used by several lists of languages and ISO codes. If more than one ISO code or name has been assigned, as is common when Ethnologue treats as separate languages those considered to be dialects of a single language by reliable sources, or when spurious codes/names are retired, place redirects under these as well.

Languages and their speakers

Tswana
PersonMotswana
PeopleBatswana
LanguageSetswana
CountryBotswana

Where a common name exists in English for both a people and their language, it is most often the case that neither is the

primary topic exists, a disambiguation page containing links to both articles (and other ambiguous articles) should be created at the base name, as with English or Tagalog
.

The template {{Infobox ethnonym}} may be used to list the various native forms, as at right for Tswana.

Language families

Kalenjin language (a specific Kalenjin language), where the phrase "a Kalenjin language
" requires the plural form in the link:   a [[Kalenjin languages|Kalenjin language]].   X languages is preferred over X language family because it leaves the actual nature of the grouping (genetic, geographic, or otherwise) an open question, which saves us from nit-picking about the article title in the case of controversial families, or whether the article covers a 'branch', 'group', 'subfamily', etc.

Dialects, registers, and other varieties

The choice of "language" or "dialect" should follow the

variety
" is neutral, and the fact that a particular source uses this term cannot be used to help decide between "language" or "dialect" (i.e. the fact that the term used is "variety" rather than "language" does not imply it is not a language, or vice versa).

The word "language" is used for varieties which have standard forms, per common usage, even if they are not distinct languages by other criteria, as for example

Malaysian language alongside Malay language
.

The term

Bukusu dialect (Luhya). For local differences in pronunciation, accent is preferred. Varieties can be titled either using the bare name (provided they are the primary topic), or by prepending a modifier to the name of the parent language, as at Standard German and African-American English. This is useful when there is disagreement as to whether a variety is an accent or a dialect, as at Estuary English, or a dialect or a separate language, as at Egyptian Arabic and Mandarin Chinese, or whether it constitutes a single dialect or several, as at Southern American English
.

See also