Translating:MediaWiki/Basic glossary

From translatewiki.net

DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT

DON'T TRANSLATE


About this page

This page is a list of the most common and basic technical terms, which are necessary for using the MediaWiki software. The list is designed to be conveniently translatable to all the languages in which MediaWiki is used. It is not supposed to be an exhaustive glossary of all MediaWiki terms, but only of those that are the most necessary for all languages, and in particular, for bootstrapping the localization in a new language.

This list should be translated to all languages, including those in which MediaWiki already has a well-established terminology.

It includes both terms that have particular meaning in MediaWiki, such as "category" and "template", and general computer terms, such as "file" and "upload". See the "Questions and answers" section for an explanation about that.

Usage

The glossary is sorted alphabetically by the English name.

Next to many terms, there are icons. Clicking these icons may provide more information:

  • User:Amire80/глоссарий/links/Wikipedia icon A link to the relevant encyclopedic article in the English Wikipedia that describes the thing in question. Check the interlanguage links of this article to find articles in other languages you may know.
  • User:Amire80/глоссарий/links/Wiktionary icon A link to the relevant page in the English Wiktionary. Make sure to read the definitions carefully and pick the one that is closest to the meaning you need. Many words in the English Wiktionary have translations to other languages. Scroll down, find the "Translations" list, find the translations list with the sense that interests you, and find your language. If your language is not listed, consider adding a translation to Wiktionary.
  • User:Amire80/глоссарий/links/MWorg icon A link to the relevant technical documentation page on the mediawiki.org website.

Questions and answers

Why is this list needed?
To help volunteer translators have a convenient localization experience, and to help end users of MediaWiki have a convenient reading and editing experience, and to do it both in languages that have well-established history of MediaWiki localization, and new languages that want to join this world.
How will it help translators to new languages?
Wikipedia, the project for which MediaWiki was created, is over twenty years old. It is enormously successful in many languages. Accordingly, the MediaWiki software is one of the most massively localized pieces of software ever. More and more languages want to join this success. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to translate the terminology to the new languages that want to join. Seeing a long list of whole sentences with difficult terms is intimidating for new volunteer localizers. This creates inefficiency: the localizers, who are not necessarily computer experts, have to jump between translating user interface strings and looking for good translations of more and more terms that pop up in them. Instead, it may be more convenient to translate the most basic terms at once, before starting the translation of the actual MediaWiki messages.
How will it help translators to languages into which MediaWiki has already been translated for a long time?
Having more people work on translations is always good for sustainability, efficiency, and mutual verification. In some languages, the same small group of translators has been doing all the volunteer localization work for years. Their work is wonderful, but it should be easy for new people to join, too. New volunteer translators may know the language well and have good intentions, but because of lack of experience, they may use inconsistent terminology. Finally, even for well-established languages, it may be useful to consider refreshing the terminology occasionally.
Why does this list include basic common computer terms, such as "file" and "upload"?
This may seem unnecessary, especially in well-established languages. However, in MediaWiki these terms often have a particular meaning. In addition, MediaWiki is often the first, or one of the first pieces of software that is translated into a language, and they don't have even this basic terminology. It's useful for the more established languages, too: some of these terms may have several correct translations into a certain language, but only particular translations are used in the wiki editors community of that language.
Who decides what is correct and what is not?
This is a wiki and there is no designated "editor-in-chief". What is correct is decided by the community of the editors and the users of the MediaWiki software—in the Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Wiktionary in that language, and in other sites that use MediaWiki.
Where can I find good translations for a term?
If this term was not translated in the MediaWiki localization into your language yet, try to look for it in the following places:
Other websites and apps in your language.
A general dictionary that translates from another language, such as English, French, or Russian, into your language.
An external glossary—a specialized list of professional terms. Such dictionaries are usually organized by topics, and the most relevant terms for MediaWiki can be found under the topics of computer science, information technology, and library science.
If you cannot find such terms using any of the methods suggested above, try asking a person who knows this language well, for example a teacher, a writer, a journalist, a lawyer, or a scientist.
What can we do if in our language we use different translations for one English term?
Up to you. You can decide to use just one translation and change the translations of all the messages that were already translated to use that single term. You can decide to list all the possible translations in this glossary, and add comments about when to use each. You can even suggest splitting the term in the English language if you think that it may be useful to other users!
What can we do if several distinct English words have the same translation in our language?
If the different English words usually appear in different contexts, it’s OK, and you probably don’t have to bother doing anything special. The user will hopefully figure it out. If the different words appear in the same context, be creative and find something that works in your language. For example, consider adding another word that helps understand the special meaning.
Software localization needs not only terms, but also style guides. Where can we write one for our language?
You are right! Style guides for several languages already exist, and if one doesn’t exist for your language, you should write it! Unlike terminology, which has similar structure in all the languages, style is unique to every language, so you are totally free to organize it any way you want.
What other related glossaries are there?
  • Terminology (here on translatewiki)
  • MediaWiki Glossary
  • Wikimedia Glossary
  • Wikidata Glossary
  • There are Wikipedia glossaries in several languages. Note that these are specific to the Wikipedia in that particular language. They may include jargon that is specific to that Wikipedia and some rules that apply in that language, but not necessarily in others:

Editing this glossary

This document is living, not frozen. It’s maintained by the community and for its benefit. Please be mindful of the following guidelines when editing it:

  1. The primary purpose of this glossary is to help the people who localize MediaWiki, especially beginners.
  2. It's not supposed to be too long. It's not a comprehensive glossary of all computer terms, MediaWiki, Wikimedia communities, or wiki editing. It must remain focused on what is necessary the Most important messages.
  3. Its readers are usually people for whom English is not the native language, and who are often not very experienced with editing wikis. It's recommended to listen to the episode 38. What Is a Learner's Dictionary? of the Word Matters podcast, or read that episode's transcript for good examples of defining terms for native speakers and for learners of the language. This glossary is supposed to be more like a learners dictionary.
  4. This glossary is supposed to be general for MediaWiki and Wikimedia sites in all languages. Avoid giving examples that are unique to one particular language or wiki or linking to policy or help pages in particular wikis.

The glossary

A

account User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A stored record of information about a wiki user, identified by a username.

B

beta User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A function that is enabled on a wiki site for testing by users.

C

category User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A grouping of related wiki pages. This word is also used as the namespace name for category pages.
category page User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A wiki page in the Category namespace. A part of its content is generated automatically by creating a list of pages that are tagged as belonging to this category. It can also have more text that explains the category. A category page can itself belong to categories, in which case it's a subcategory of these categories.
category talk User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Short for "category talk page". Used as the namespace name for category talk pages.
category talk page User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A talk page associated with a category page.
contribution User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Any action that a user does to change the content of a wiki: editing, reverting, translating, uploading files, etc. Different from donation.
cookie User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A small piece of information sent by a server to a the browser and then returned by the browser each time it accesses that server. It is mostly used to identify the users and store information about them.
credit User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
An explicit acknowledgment of a source of text or image using the name of an author or an organization, a link to a website from which the information was copied, etc.

D

desktop User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Related to using a wiki on a desktop or a laptop computer, with a large screen and a physical keyboard. Different from mobile.
developer User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A programmer who develops the code that runs a wiki: core MediaWiki software, MediaWiki extensions, templates, modules, gadgets, tools, etc.
diff User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A comparison between two versions of a wiki page.
discussion User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Largely the same thing as talk, but this other word can be used in contexts that are more social and less technical.
donation User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A gift of money or something else to the person or the organization that manages a wiki site. Different from contribution

E

edit User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
As a verb: Change the content of a wiki page. As a noun: Any action of editing a wiki page.
editor User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A user who edits a wiki page.
external link User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A link to a page on another website.

F

file User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A piece of information stored on a computer storage device and identified by a name. In MediaWiki, files are usually images, audio clips, videos, and documents (PDF, DjVu). This word is also used as the namespace name for file pages: If the filename is "Taj Mahal.jpg", the file page name "File:Taj Mahal.jpg".
filename User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
The name of a file. Begins with a description of the file's content and ends with an extension that identifies the file type. For example, ".jpg" is an extension for photograph files, and "Taj Mahal.jpg" is a good name for a file that includes a photograph of the Taj Mahal.
file page User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A wiki page that displays a file and information about it: on which wiki pages is this file used, who uploaded it, the file's copyright status, and so on.
file talk User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A talk page associated with a file page. If the filename is "Taj Mahal.jpg", the file talk page's title is "File talk:Taj Mahal.jpg".
free User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
This doesn't mean "costing zero dollars". This refers to the freedom that the users have to read, copy, modify, and distribute the content of a wiki. It's a synonym of "liberated", "unconstrained", etc.

G

gadget User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Gadgets are pieces of JavaScript code that can be written on a wiki site by the site's editors to enhance the site's functionality. This word is also used as the namespace name for gadget pages.
gadget page User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A wiki page in the Gadget namespace. It stores the source code for a gadget.
gadget talk User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Short for "gadget talk page". This word is also used as the namespace name for gadget talk pages.
gadget talk page User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A talk page associated with a gadget page.

H

help User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Technical documentation for using the wiki. This word is also used as the namespace name for help pages.
help page User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A wiki page in the Help namespace.
help talk User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Short for "help talk page". Used as the namespace name for help talk pages.
help talk page User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A talk page associated with a help page.
history User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Short for "page history" or "version history". A list of versions of a wiki page, showing the time, the user, the edit summary, and other information about each revision.
home User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Short for home page.
home User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Same as main page.

I

interlanguage link User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A link to a version of the same wiki page in another language.
interwiki link User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A link to a page on another wiki page using specific syntax.
internal link User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A link to another page on the same wiki.
invoke User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Verb: To call a module, run it, and insert the result of the call into a wiki page. A similar operation with templates is called transclusion

J

word User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Definition.

K

word User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Definition.

L

link User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A piece of text or an image that the user can click to go to another web page.
license User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A legal document that specifies the terms of use for a text, an image, or a video, especially with regards to copyright law.
log in User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Verb: To identify oneself to the wiki site as the owner of a user account. A user who has logged in is not anonymous, and the user's edits and actions are attributed to the username in the page history and logs.
log out User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Verb: To disconnect from the account and become anonymous.

M

main User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
When discussing namespaces: The namespace of a wiki, in which the content pages of a wiki are stored. Opposed to other namespaces, such as Talk, User, Category, Template, etc. Titles of pages in the main namespace don't have a prefix.
main page User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A wiki page that is the first page shown to the visitors of a wiki site. May be called "home page" or "front page" in other publications.
media User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
This doesn't mean "journalism". This is a general name for various media files stored in a media repository. For example: image file, audio file, video file, etc. This is quite technical and rarely used, and may simply be transliterated or left untranslated.
MediaWiki User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A software package for running wiki sites. Originally developed for Wikipedia, and also used on many other websites, most of which are not related to Wikipedia. This word is also used as the namespace name for pages for local customization of user interface messages.
MediaWiki talk User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Short for "user talk page". Used as the namespace name for user talk pages.
MediaWiki talk page User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A talk page associated with a page in the MediaWiki namespace.
message User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A string that appears in the user interface of a MediaWiki website. Messages can be translated on translatewiki. When needed, they can be customized locally in the MediaWiki namespace, and this will override the translation written on translatewiki.
mobile User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Related to using a wiki on a mobile device, such as a phone or a tablet, with a small screen and no physical keyboard. Different from desktop.
module User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A piece of code that can be invoked from wiki pages and add some text to these pages. Modules are similar to templates, but templates are written in wikitext and modules are written in the Lua programming language. Modules are not a part of core MediaWiki software, but are provided by the Scribunto extension. This word is also used as the namespace name for module pages.
module page User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A wiki page in the Module namespace. It stores the source code for a module and the module's usage documentation.
module talk User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Short for "module talk page". This word is also used as the namespace name for module talk pages.
module talk page User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A talk page associated with a module page.

N

namespace User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Every page on a wiki belongs to a namespace. The main content pages of a wiki are said to belong to the main namespace, and their names have no prefix. Pages in other namespaces have a prefix, such as "Talk:", "User:", "Special:", etc.

O

word User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Definition.

P

page User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Any page on a MediaWiki site. Can be a wiki page or a special page.
password User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A secret string that the user writes to identify while logging in.
preferences User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Every user's personal choices about how a wiki site works: how to show the preview, whether links should be underlined, which entries does the watchlist show and hide, etc.
project User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
In MediaWiki, this is used to describe a wiki and the community of people editing it. For example, the French Wikipedia, the Russian Wikisource, Wikidata, Commons, and translatewiki are projects.
project namespace User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
"Project" is one of the namespaces on all wikis. Pages in this namespace are used for several purposes, for example project policies, discussions among projects participants, lists of suggested tasks to work on, and so on. When pages in this namespace are displayed, the word "Project" is replaced with the project name. For example, in the English Wikipedia, the page "Project:About" is the same as "Wikipedia:About". Both titles can be used as links, but "Wikipedia:About" is displayed to readers.
project talk User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A project talk page is a talk page associated with a page in the Project namespace. For example, if the project page title is "Wikipedia:About", the project talk page title is "Wikipedia talk:About".

Q

word User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Definition.

R

redirect User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Verb: To automatically transfer the user from one page to another. Noun: Short for "redirect page".
redirect page User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A page that immediately takes the user to another specified page when the user tries to access it.
remix User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Verb: To copy content from a wiki and modify it.
resolution User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
The quality of an image, measured in pixels count.
retrieve User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Verb: To fetch information.

S

section User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A part of a wiki page that begins with a heading, and may include one or more paragraphs, and possibly sub-sections.
source (content) User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
When discussing the content of wikis: The source of information on a wiki page or of a file.
source (wikitext) User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
In MediaWiki user interface: The representation of a wiki page in wikitext, especially as opposed to the page as it shown to readers, or to visual editing.
special User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
This is an adjective. Used as the namespace name for special pages.
special page User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A special page is a page on a wiki that cannot be edited by users. Special pages provide various services, such as display of information about the wiki, Recent Changes, Watchlist, Statistics, and special administration and editing interfaces such as Blocking, managing user rights, Translation, etc.
subcategory User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A category within another category. For example, "Cities in Paraguay" is a subcategory of "Cities in South America".

T

talk User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Short for "talk page". This word is also used as the namespace name for talk pages associated with content pages (wiki pages in the main namespace).
talk page User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A wiki page used for discussions between editors.
template User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A piece of text or code that can be embedded ("transcluded") in other pages. Common examples of templates are infoboxes, citations, tags at the top of the article, etc. Templates are similar to modules, but templates are written in wikitext and modules are written in the Lua programming language. This word is also used as the namespace name for template pages.
template page User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A wiki page in the Template namespace. It stores the source code for a template and the template's usage documentation.
template talk User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Short for "template talk page". This word is also used as the namespace name for template talk pages.
template talk page User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A talk page associated with a template page.
title User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
The name of a page.
transclusion User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Inclusion or embedding of one wiki page into another. Most often this is done with templates. A similar operation with modules is called invocation.

U

user User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Somebody who uses a wiki, usually consuming the information on it, or editing (changing) it. This may refer to a human, and also to a computer program, usually a bot. The user may be anonymous or identified using a user account. This word is also used as the namespace name for user pages.
username User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
The name of a user account.
user page User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A wiki page in the User namespace. If the username is "Alice", the user page's title is "User:Alice". Every user with an account has a user page, and can write things there, for example information about themselves or what they do on the wiki.
user talk User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Short for "user talk page". Used as the namespace name for user talk pages.
user talk page User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A talk page associated with a user page. If the username is "Alice", the user page's title is "User talk:Alice". The user talk page is used for sending messages to a user. These messages are not private, and can be read by everyone who can read the wiki.

V

word User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Definition.

W

watchlist User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A special page that shows recent changes in a list of pages that the user selected.
wiki User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
A website that anyone can edit.
wiki page User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
One web page on a wiki site.
wiki syntax User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
The syntax of wikitext.
wikitext User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
The source code of wiki pages, and the language for formatting them. The language includes things like [[]] for links, # for numbered lists, etc. Often contrasted with visual editing.
Wikidata User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
the free knowledge base that anyone can edit. A wiki website on which people curate structured machine-readable data for the use of other wikis under a free license. Managed by the Wikimedia Foundation. There is one Wikidata site, and it can include information in any language.
Wikinews User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
The free news source you can write. A wiki website on which people write news articles under a free license. Managed by the Wikimedia Foundation. There are versions of Wikinews in many languages.
Wikipedia User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
The free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. A wiki website on which people write an encyclopedia under a free license. Managed by the Wikimedia Foundation. There are versions of Wikipedia in many languages.
Wikiquote User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
The free quote compendium that anyone can edit. A wiki website on which people maintain wiki pages with lists of quotes by famous people, from famous books or films, or about various topics. Managed by the Wikimedia Foundation. There are versions of Wikiquote in many languages.
Wikisource User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
The free library that anyone can improve. A wiki website on which people maintain wiki pages with books and documents that were published elsewhere, which can be copied under a free license, and which can be useful for reading or as source material for Wikipedia and other wikis. Managed by the Wikimedia Foundation. There are versions of Wikisource in many languages.
Wikivoyage User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
The free worldwide travel guide that you can edit. A wiki website on which people write a travel guide under a free license. Managed by the Wikimedia Foundation. There are versions of Wikivoyage in many languages.

X

word User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Definition.

Y

word User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Definition.

Z

word User:Amire80/глоссарий/links
Definition.