Help:Contributing/languages: Difference between revisions
Describe the static-copy translation model (ADR static-llm-translation); drop Special:MyLanguage links and Translate-extension workflow (via update-page on MediaWiki MCP Server) |
The {{Languages}} bar is now included automatically on every content page (LanguageBar extension) — note it, don't add it by hand (via update-page on MediaWiki MCP Server) |
||
| Line 32: | Line 32: | ||
== Wiki pages == | == Wiki pages == | ||
Pages are written in English as plain wikitext — no translation markup. A translation is a separate static page at a language-suffixed title (<code>Page/fr</code>, <code>Page/eo</code>), maintained by hand with machine-translation assistance. A <code>{{Translation}}</code> banner at the top of a copy records which English revision it mirrors, and a <code>{{Languages}}</code> bar on the English page lists the available copies. The English original is always authoritative. | Pages are written in English as plain wikitext — no translation markup. A translation is a separate static page at a language-suffixed title (<code>Page/fr</code>, <code>Page/eo</code>), maintained by hand with machine-translation assistance. A <code>{{Translation}}</code> banner at the top of a copy records which English revision it mirrors, and a <code>{{Languages}}</code> bar on the English page lists the available copies — the bar is included automatically on every content page, so you never add it by hand. The English original is always authoritative. | ||
Copies are created only once a page has settled editorially — translating a page that is still being restructured is wasted work. Browser machine translation complements, never replaces, the static copies: <code>fr</code> is covered in all browsers, <code>eo</code> only in Chrome. | Copies are created only once a page has settled editorially — translating a page that is still being restructured is wasted work. Browser machine translation complements, never replaces, the static copies: <code>fr</code> is covered in all browsers, <code>eo</code> only in Chrome. | ||
Latest revision as of 09:21, 10 September 2026
The knowledge base is multilingual on a best-effort basis: en, fr, eo. Multilingualism works in two places: inside entities — labels, descriptions and aliases — and on wiki pages, as static translated copies. Contribution is never blocked on translation: write in the language you know; translations are produced separately.
Entities and properties
Items and properties are single entities: there is exactly one page per entity (for example Special:EntityPage/Q1), shown in the reader's interface language. The multilingual content lives inside the entity as per-language values.
| Field | What it is | Example (property P1)
|
|---|---|---|
| Label | The short, human-readable name of the entity | instance of |
| Description | A one-line clarification that disambiguates the entity | that class of which this subject is a particular example and member |
| Aliases | Alternative names or spellings that also resolve to the entity | example of |
House rules:
- A label and a description must be unique together per language: no two entities may share the same label + description pair in the same language.
- Do not copy Wikidata property numbers — properties are mirrored and mapped via equivalence statements instead (see the ontology alignment decision).
- Prefer the local, human-written value over a machine translation; if you use a machine translation, review it against the original before saving.
Workflow
To add or edit terms in another language:
- Open the entity (for example Special:EntityPage/P1) and enter edit mode.
- Open the "In more languages" section at the top of the page.
- Choose the language, type the value, save.
Every field takes a language code (for example en, fr, eo) and the value for that language.
Wiki pages
Pages are written in English as plain wikitext — no translation markup. A translation is a separate static page at a language-suffixed title (Page/fr, Page/eo), maintained by hand with machine-translation assistance. A
banner at the top of a copy records which English revision it mirrors, and a
bar on the English page lists the available copies — the bar is included automatically on every content page, so you never add it by hand. The English original is always authoritative.
Copies are created only once a page has settled editorially — translating a page that is still being restructured is wasted work. Browser machine translation complements, never replaces, the static copies: fr is covered in all browsers, eo only in Chrome.
Producing and maintaining translations
- Translator — how copies are produced, kept in sync and verified
See also
- Help:Contributing — contributing to this wiki
- Help:Contributing/code — code blocks and syntax highlighting
- Help:Contributing/languages/translator — producing and maintaining translations