Wikipedia talk:Embassy/Archives/2022/November

"Meta" should be a link

In Wikipedia:Embassy #Current issues the word "Meta" should be a link.

Ping welcome, Steue (talk) 19:40, 16 October 2022 (UTC)

@Steue, linked per nom Lemonaka (talk) 07:59, 11 November 2022 (UTC)

@ Lemonaka, thanks for your execution, message and ping. Steue (talk) 06:36, 15 November 2022 (UTC)

Names of the languges in English

It would be nice if (e.g.) below each message (and e.g. to the left of the link) there would be the name of this language in English. This would be especially appreciated for the messages in such as: Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Suomi (Finnish) and Portuguese.

And, where the name of the language is not very close to the name of the country (such as Tagalog or Suomi) the name of the country would be appreciated too.

If the space on the left is not enough for both, or generally, the name of the country could be placed to the right of the (centralized) link.

Both might as well be links.

Ping welcome, Steue (talk) 19:15, 16 October 2022 (UTC)

Why? Do you think people don't recognize their own languages without its name being given in English? --Macrakis (talk) 00:33, 20 October 2022 (UTC)

@Macrakis You got it backwards. It's because some English speakers may need help with a foreign language but don't know its vernacular name. It has happened to me. I think both the vernacular and the English name would be more useful. Thinker78 (talk) 01:54, 22 October 2022 (UTC)

@Thinker78: If you're English-speaking, you don't need the other languages. If you're a speaker of another language, you don't need your own language tagged in English. --Macrakis (talk) 16:59, 23 October 2022 (UTC)

@Macrakis You are mistaken. If I am English-speaking and I am seeking help with a language whose name in vernacular is very different than English or uses another script, then I won't be able to find it. Thinker78 (talk) 00:13, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

If you are English-speaking, you are not the intended audience for that section. --Macrakis (talk) 20:18, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

I think you are mistaken. The message in the lead of the page states clearly, "Welcome to the embassy of the English Wikipedia!" An embassy in the general sense serves the purpose of helping their own "citizens" and that of other countries in certain issues. Thinker78 (talk) 21:14, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

This is the embassy of the English Wikipedia towards non-English speakers. But it's not worth discussing further. Bye. --Macrakis (talk) 21:31, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

I think you are mistaken as I pointed out. Bye and Cheers! Thinker78 (talk) 03:06, 25 October 2022 (UTC)

Thanks Thinker78 for trying so hard to support my point.

@Macrakis: Of course a Chinese person will recognise the message which is written in Chinese. But I (ME) (using English) would like to know too, even if I'm not the adressee. I just would like to know from which country this foreign script is - just out of interest.

And there aren't so many foreign scripts, here, so it wouldn't be this much work to add these few English names.

My problem is: I have come across websites in foreign scripts, ending in ".com" or ".net", sometimes having an English version. And I would like to learn, a bit, to recognize, whether something is e.g. Chinese or Japanese.

And this location here would / could be a good teacher.

This is what the wikipedia is all about: giving people information which they seek.

Ping welcome, Steue (talk) 06:31, 15 November 2022 (UTC)

The purpose of this page on Wikipedia is not to educate people in recognizing a dozen languages. The purpose of this page is to help people who use other languages with international and cross-language issues. Along the same lines, we do not link common words on Wikipedia pages to help language learners (e.g., "A table is used for work and eating."), even though you might think that Wikipedia is an excellent English-teaching tool.

If you want to determine what language is being used on a web page, you can try cutting and pasting a few words into Google Translate and use "detect language". That covers over a hundred languages. --Macrakis (talk) 23:50, 15 November 2022 (UTC)

I think we still disagree about the target groups of this page. If anything this page is a two-way street. Ambassadors may help people coming from other Wikipedias and help people from this Wikipedia. I have consulted with ambassadors from other languages about issues pertaining to said languages or regions. For example about the pronunciation of a German word or about a local newspaper. Thinker78 (talk) 03:02, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

For help with German, you can go to de:Wikipedia:Embassy, which helpfully redirects to de:Wikipedia:Botschaft. --Macrakis (talk) 15:36, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

I think it is easier and more automatic for me and editors of English Wikipedia to go to a page in the English Wikipedia, rather than go to a Wikipedia in another language. Thinker78 (talk) 00:51, 18 November 2022 (UTC)