A fact from Briscan appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 20 February 2019 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:
Did you know... that the historical card game of Briscan has been described as a "Gothic extravaganza", squeezing "a truly phenomenal range of scores and melds" from a 32-card pack?
This article is within the scope of WikiProject France, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of France on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.FranceWikipedia:WikiProject FranceTemplate:WikiProject FranceFrance articles
This article is part of WikiProject Board and table games, an attempt to better organize information in articles related to board games and tabletop games. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.Board and table gamesWikipedia:WikiProject Board and table gamesTemplate:WikiProject Board and table gamesboard and table game articles
This article has been given a rating which conflicts with the project-independent quality rating in the banner shell. Please resolve this conflict if possible.
These () are parentheses (the singular of which is parenthesis), and these [] are brackets. The Rambling Man (talk) 11:23, 20 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Looking at the Merriam-Webster and Cambridge dictionaries, that's an American distinction, in which case we should follow WP:ENGVAR and stick to the original. To wit, the Cambridge Dictionary states "bracket: either of two symbols put around a word, phrase, or sentence in a piece of writing to show that what is between them should be considered as separate from the main part. Examples: "Biographical information is included in brackets." "You should include the date of publication in round brackets after the title." (my italics). Either way, we should use the correct spelling and "parantheses" is not it. Bermicourt (talk) 13:07, 20 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I'd already fixed it by the time your wrote this, so I'm not sure why you're still making this point. And "round brackets" are parentheses, so I think we're just fine as we are. Cheers now. The Rambling Man (talk) 13:15, 20 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, actually the main point is that this is an Americanism and so, strictly, we're breaching WP:ENGVAR by converting the text from British English to American English. Elsewhere a parenthesis is "a remark that is added to a sentence, often to provide an explanation or extra information, that is separated from the main part of the sentence by commas, brackets, or dashes. Example: the sentence "Her youngest sister - the one who lives in Australia - is coming over next summer" contains a parenthesis. Bermicourt (talk) 13:40, 20 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
No, it's not an Americanism, I'm not American. And the article has no strong ties so ENGVAR doesn't really apply, just best to stick with the technically correct word. Cheers. The Rambling Man (talk) 18:54, 20 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
And technically, your example sentence (which contravenes MOS) uses a spaced hyphen. Just to let you know. The Rambling Man (talk) 18:55, 20 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
ENGVAR discourages us from changing from one version of English to another unless there is a regional connexion (sic). And AFAICS there is a clear difference between British and American English usage in this case. "Parenthesis" and "brackets" have wider meanings in British English than in American English, the version you are insisting on. Another reliable source, the Oxford Dictionary of English, describes brackets as "a pair of marks ( ) [ ] { } < > used to enclose words or figures..." So the term "parentheses" is no more "technically correct" than "brackets" in the version of English in which I composed the article.
And just to let you know: I claim no credit for "my" example sentence; it was from the Cambridge Dictionary. Bermicourt (talk) 20:31, 20 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Just to reiterate, I'm not insisting on using American English, just the terms used to commonly describe these artefacts. I'm now permanently heading away from this discussion to concentrate on the continued improvement of some of the articles which somehow have been deemed suitable for the main page. Cheers. The Rambling Man (talk) 20:35, 20 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
