Wiktionary:Information desk/2018/February

In the sense of relationships, what does it mean when someone says "I want someone I can come home to."? Does this merit an entry? PseudoSkull (talk) 20:36, 11 February 2018 (UTC)

It means "I want someone to be waiting for me at home." I feel like it's pretty SOP, but maybe not. —Mahāgaja (formerly Angr) · talk 20:55, 11 February 2018 (UTC)

She handled her bat for hitting footballs. (Maybe it should be wield?)

They were handling our own weapons against us. — (((Romanophile))) ♞ (contributions) 23:14, 12 February 2018 (UTC)

"They were handling our own weapons against us" does not make sense. The other one is more arguable. Equinox ◑ 23:20, 12 February 2018 (UTC)

"wield" implies using it for its intended purpose. "handle" is more generic; could mean merely picking it up. 伟思礼 (talk) 05:42, 28 February 2018 (UTC)

e.g. "a M____ian golden touch". Equinox ◑ 07:41, 13 February 2018 (UTC)

• The term Midean seems to be a thing - but I can't figure out from Googling what it means. SemperBlotto (talk) 07:49, 13 February 2018 (UTC)

The most common seems to be "Midas-like", rarely spelled "Midaslike". "Midasian" is also attested, but mostly from before 1920 or from Indian or non-native speakers after that. (Midian seems to often mean something different (Midian, Midianite), and Midean might be an alt form of it.) - -sche (discuss) 15:27, 13 February 2018 (UTC)

"Midan" just barely meets CFI. Far too rarely to meet CFI, "Midal" and "Midic" and "Midish" can also be found; "Midasine", which seems euphonic, doesn't seem to be used at all. - -sche (discuss) 17:01, 13 February 2018 (UTC)

As for the word 'human', there is something problematic because the quotation under its adjective meaning No. 2 "To err is human; to forgive is divine."(by Alexander Pope) needs correction. In fact, the correct version is "To err is human; to forgive, divine." So my edited quotation with a Twitter reference was eventually sent and technically accepted.

However, I've found later that the quotation still stays put (https://en.wiktionary.orghttps://dictious.com/en/human#Adjective); therefore, do I need a text reference for this case?--J. Wiwat (talk) 23:17, 20 October 2018 (UTC)

Fixed. Thanks. —Stephen ^(Talk) 15:17, 13 February 2018 (UTC)

I have added usage notes to global warming and climate change, noting that these are sometimes conflated, especially by laymen. I'm rather apolitical, but I do regard climate scepticism etc. as silly which could cause bias to creep in. So could somebody else check whether they pass NPOV? ←₰-→ Lingo ^Bingo _Dingo (talk) 11:57, 15 February 2018 (UTC)

What is this doing in the appendix if it's already in the namespace as an entry (see pīkake)? PseudoSkull (talk) 04:29, 19 February 2018 (UTC)

It was created by @Victar, and I have no idea why. I have deleted it, as an inappropriate use of the appendix namespace. —Μετάknowledge^{discuss/deeds} 23:08, 19 February 2018 (UTC)

It was created for testing purposes and added to appendix to not be in the way. --Victar (talk) 23:12, 19 February 2018 (UTC)

@Victar Please use Wiktionary:Sandbox or your user page (or any subpage of it) to make test edits. Thanks in advance! PseudoSkull (talk) 03:01, 21 February 2018 (UTC)

@PseudoSkull: *eye-roll* I'm well aware. I needed it to be outside of my sandbox for specific testing purposes. --Victar (talk) 03:05, 21 February 2018 (UTC)

Eye-rolls aren't necessary. You left this for someone else to clean up, and that's not cool. —Μετάknowledge^{discuss/deeds} 03:24, 21 February 2018 (UTC)

No, I left it for continued testing, which is not an inappropriate usage. The considerate thing would have been to ping me before deleting it. --Victar (talk) 07:12, 28 February 2018 (UTC)

What is the policy on entries for romanisations, for example latin alphabet representations of words written in say Greek or Cyrillic alphabets in whatever languages? Is it allowed to have "see x"-type references so searches using a romanisation query string will succeed? CecilWard (talk) 23:01, 19 February 2018 (UTC)

It is currently not permitted for most languages. If you try searching by romanisation, the entry will still appear in the search results. —Μετάknowledge^{discuss/deeds} 23:06, 19 February 2018 (UTC)

@CecilWard: See Category:Romanizations by language for the languages where romanizations are allowed. —Mahāgaja (formerly Angr) · talk 11:18, 20 February 2018 (UTC)

Can anyone here recommend a good introductory phonetics textbook, specifically about IPA? Ideally not just focussed on English pronunciation. Or maybe there are some good online resources around? Thanks! – Jberkel 05:10, 26 February 2018 (UTC)

I'd recommend Peter Ladefoged's A Course in Phonetics. —Mahāgaja (formerly Angr) · talk 07:07, 26 February 2018 (UTC)

Depends how deep you want to go. Ladefoged is an in-depth look at how phonetics works; if you just want to be able to spend a few hours and come out being able to transcribe what you hear into IPA, there are some websites that would work better. —Μετάknowledge^{discuss/deeds} 07:09, 26 February 2018 (UTC)

I found Catford’s A Practical Introduction to Phonetics excellent, and it does a nice job of familiarizing one with pretty much the entirety of the IPA through a series of vocal ‘experiments’; not sure how it compares to Ladefoged. — Vorziblix (talk · contribs) 07:21, 4 March 2018 (UTC)

I really hate change and dislike the modern world and probably would have been better born in the 18th century, if at all. But as it is, I obsess over the stupid 1980s that I was too young to enjoy properly. What am I? Not an archaist (we're not talking about ancient times, and I don't pretentiously use old words -- how art thou, SemperBlotto?); not really a Luddite because my everyday job is developing software, as much as I may hate mobile phones; I thought of throwback, but that doesn't capture it either. Is there an English word for me or are these things still buried in the depths of psychiatry? Equinox ◑ 06:16, 27 February 2018 (UTC)

(inb4 someone posts cunt.) Equinox ◑ 06:19, 27 February 2018 (UTC)

A chronodysphoric, hehe. Wyang (talk) 06:21, 27 February 2018 (UTC)

A melancholy individual hehe :) Leasnam (talk) 06:23, 27 February 2018 (UTC)

A... ~romantic~ Anglish4699 (talk) 17:56, 27 February 2018 (UTC)

Friends' answers: An oldie, weird, a fool, an old soul... Anglish4699 (talk) 18:32, 27 February 2018 (UTC)

Does there really have to be a term for this specific constellation of characteristics? —Mahāgaja (formerly Angr) · talk 18:37, 27 February 2018 (UTC)

How about a nostalgic? PseudoSkull (talk) 19:53, 27 February 2018 (UTC)

• I suspect we're missing a colloquial sense at Luddite, though it may be hard to cite, that is broader than opposition to merely technological change, but to all change. —Μετάknowledge^{discuss/deeds} 20:25, 27 February 2018 (UTC)

Masochistic? — Mnemosientje (t · c) 20:57, 3 March 2018 (UTC)

The English definition is somewhat wrong. Fluent and fluency don't just refer to speaking a language. Confer http://www.dictionary.com/browse/fluent?s=t and https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fluent. Fluent and fluency with languages refers to the ability to use the language, which includes in writing and speech. Jclu (talk) 00:01, 28 February 2018 (UTC)

Hello, Can you please explain to me how I can add a a word in another language when it is already listed. I want to add some words in ojibwe, but when I try to add them, they already exist as words in another language. How do I add an ojibwe entry also? added by User:Hk5183

The easiest way I know is

• Go to the existing page and scroll down to the last section of the last language alphabetically before Ojibwe (if there is a ==Translingual== entry, that comes first, next is ==English== if any, and then all other languages using that word are in alphabetical order).
• Click the 'Edit' link for that section, and when the edit pane opens, scroll to the end of it and add four lines as follows: one blank line, then a line which is only ----, then another blank line, then the new language header, ie ==Ojibwe==; add an edit summary saying "added ==Ojibwe==", check the Preview and then Publish the edit.
• Click on the 'Edit' link for the new 'Ojibwe' section, and proceed as if you were on a new page.

(The reason for saving after adding the new language header is so the main part of the edit will show in the edit summary as an edit to ==Ojibwe==, rather than an edit to the other language.) --Enginear 01:36, 28 February 2018 (UTC)

Another way to accomplish the first part is to edit the entire page and add the heading, publish and then edit the section.  This way, "added ojibwe" doesn't appear in the other language at all. 伟思礼 (talk) 05:48, 28 February 2018 (UTC)

Is there a policy and/or format for links from Wiktionary to Wikipedia?

For example, I think https://en.wiktionary.orghttps://dictious.com/en/내가 would benefit by a link to https://en.wikipedia.orghttps://dictious.com/en/Korean_pronouns 伟思礼 (talk) 05:39, 28 February 2018 (UTC)

@伟思礼: There is the {{pedia}} template. I have used it on 내가. —suzukaze (t・c) 05:46, 28 February 2018 (UTC)

Cool!  Thanks for the other edits, too. Gives me a pattern to follow next time I have a similar entry. 伟思礼 (talk) 05:55, 28 February 2018 (UTC)

No problem! —suzukaze (t・c) 05:58, 28 February 2018 (UTC)

https://en.wiktionary.orghttps://dictious.com/en/User_talk:伟思礼#Welcome is valuable information, but it should be offered to people who create an account or login for the first time with a wikipedia account. Before we create entries, instead of after we discover a user page is possible and decide to create one. I would not have discovered it had I not had a reason to add to a talk page. — This unsigned comment was added by 伟思礼 (talk • contribs).

Many wikis have a bot that places it automatically on new users' talk pages. We could consider that, although in nearly all cases (including yours), someone leaves the message as soon as a new editor gets involved in creating content. —Μετάknowledge^{discuss/deeds} 07:27, 28 February 2018 (UTC)

I try to do it as soon as possible (for good editors only that is), but I've come across users who haven't been welcomed for years sometimes. (I still thank them; it's a formality.) PseudoSkull (talk) 07:29, 28 February 2018 (UTC)