Help:Contributing/languages: Difference between revisions
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Add languages bar to translatable page |
Fix example table to property P1; show the In more languages workflow (via update-page on MediaWiki MCP Server) |
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{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%" | {| class="wikitable" style="width:100%" | ||
|- | |- | ||
! <translate><!--T:4--> Field</translate> !! <translate><!--T:5--> What it is</translate> !! <translate><!--T:6--> Example ( | ! <translate><!--T:4--> Field</translate> !! <translate><!--T:5--> What it is</translate> !! <translate><!--T:6--> Example (property P1)</translate> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| <translate><!--T:7--> Label</translate> || <translate><!--T:8--> The short, human-readable name of the entity</translate> || <translate><!--T:9--> | | <translate><!--T:7--> Label</translate> || <translate><!--T:8--> The short, human-readable name of the entity</translate> || <translate><!--T:9--> instance of</translate> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| <translate><!--T:10--> Description</translate> || <translate><!--T:11--> A one-line clarification that disambiguates the entity</translate> || <translate><!--T:12--> that class of which this subject is a particular example and member</translate> | | <translate><!--T:10--> Description</translate> || <translate><!--T:11--> A one-line clarification that disambiguates the entity</translate> || <translate><!--T:12--> that class of which this subject is a particular example and member</translate> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| <translate><!--T:13--> Aliases</translate> || <translate><!--T:14--> Alternative names or spellings that also resolve to the entity</translate> || <translate><!--T:15--> | | <translate><!--T:13--> Aliases</translate> || <translate><!--T:14--> Alternative names or spellings that also resolve to the entity</translate> || <translate><!--T:15--> — (P1 has no aliases yet)</translate> | ||
|} | |} | ||
<translate> | <translate> | ||
<!--T: | <!--T:31--> | ||
To add or edit terms in another language | To add or edit terms in another language: | ||
<ol> | |||
<li>Open the entity (for example <tvar name="p1">[[Special:EntityPage/P1]]</tvar>) and enter edit mode.</li> | |||
<li>Open the <tvar name="morelanguages">"In more languages"</tvar> section at the top of the page.</li> | |||
<li>Choose the language, type the value, save.</li> | |||
</ol> | |||
</translate> | |||
<translate> | |||
<!--T:35--> | |||
Every field takes a <tvar name="lang">language code</tvar> (for example <code>en</code>, <code>fr</code>, <code>de</code>, <code>eo</code>) and the value for that language. | |||
</translate> | </translate> | ||
| Line 37: | Line 47: | ||
== <translate><!--T:21--> Translating wiki pages</translate> == | == <translate><!--T:21--> Translating wiki pages</translate> == | ||
<translate><!--T:22--> Wiki pages (help pages, documentation, the main page) are translated with the <tvar name="translate-ext">[https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Translate Translate extension]</tvar>. A translation administrator marks a page for translation; translators then work through the translation interface.</translate> | <translate> | ||
<!--T:22--> | |||
Wiki pages (help pages, documentation, the main page) are translated with the <tvar name="translate-ext">[https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Translate Translate extension]</tvar>. A translation administrator marks a page for translation; translators then work through the translation interface. | |||
</translate> | |||
* <translate><!--T:23--> <tvar name="special-translate">[[Special:Translate|Special:Translate]]</tvar> — the translation interface, listing untranslated units per page.</translate> | * <translate><!--T:23--> <tvar name="special-translate">[[Special:Translate|Special:Translate]]</tvar> — the translation interface, listing untranslated units per page.</translate> | ||
Revision as of 07:32, 19 August 2026
The knowledge base is multilingual by design: every item and property can carry labels, descriptions and aliases in many languages, and wiki pages can be marked for translation. This page explains how the two mechanisms work and the house rules around them.
Labels, descriptions and aliases (entity terms)
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 | — (P1 has no aliases yet) |
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, de, eo) and the value for that language.
House rules for entity terms
- 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.
Translating wiki pages
Wiki pages (help pages, documentation, the main page) are translated with the Translate extension. A translation administrator marks a page for translation; translators then work through the translation interface.
- Special:Translate — the translation interface, listing untranslated units per page.
- Translated pages are served in the reader's interface language automatically; you can force a language with
?uselang=fr. - Translation units are the
<translate>blocks in the source wikitext — keep them self-contained, one sentence or short paragraph each.
House rules for translated pages
- Machine translation is a starting point, not a final answer: always read and correct machine-translated units.
- Keep terminology consistent with the entity terms (labels/descriptions) used in the data layer.
- Do not translate tvar placeholders or markup — translate only the human-readable text.
See also
- Help:Contributing — contributing to this wiki
- Help:Contributing/code — code blocks and syntax highlighting
- Translate extension help (official)