Wiktionary:Babel
User language templates help communication in different languages by making it easier to find someone who speaks a certain language. The idea started at Wikimedia Commons and is also used at Meta-Wiki and some other Wikipedias, to different extents. To participate, you can add the Babel template to your user page by doing this:
- Start off with {{Babel-X|
- Next add one of the following codes for each language you speak or understand, separated by |, where xx is the Wikipedia code for the language. The general usage of each code level is as follows (note that not all languages have all levels, but you may create the template you are missing, except for de-5):
- xx-0 if you don't understand the language at all. Don't use it for every language you don't know; only when there is some reason why you might be expected to know it.
- xx-1 for basic ability - enough to understand written material or simple questions in this language.
- xx-2 for medium ability - enough for editing or discussions.
- xx-3 for advanced level - though you can write in this language with no problem, some small mistakes might happen.
- xx-4 for 'near-native' level - although it's not your first language from birth, your ability is something like that of a native speaker.
- xx-5 for professional proficiency.
- xx (no hyphen or number) for native speakers who use the language every day and know it very well, including colloquialisms.
- Expanded definitions of these levels are also available.
- Then finish by adding closing braces: }}
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| Search user languages |
So, for example, {{Babel-X|en|de-1}} would indicate a native speaker of English with basic knowledge of German. {{Babel-X|en-5|sv|no-4|he-3|lt-2|es-1|an-0}} would indicate a professional profiency of the English language, a native speaker of Swedish with an almost-native knowledge of Norwegian, advanced knowledge of Hebrew, an intermediate knowledge of Lithuanian, a basic knowledge of Spanish and no knowledge of Aragonese.
These templates add you to the category associated with your level of understanding, and to the overall category for that language.
To find someone who speaks a particular language, see user languages, and follow the links. For the most part, the two and three letter codes are taken from ISO 639, but see this list for a comprehensive guide.
You can help expand this system by creating templates for your language. Categories have already been created for most languages which have editions of Wikipedia containing over a hundred articles; they just need labelling up! It's recommended to copy the English or French versions when expanding the scheme, as most of the languages listed here are incomplete.
Note that all sign languages currently use the same template with language code "sgn", with the exception of American Sign Language users who should use the ASL template. Other sign languages can be specified within the {{User sgn}} template itself. The use of this parameter requires the user to perform an extra step when using the {{Babel-#}} templates, described here.
Contents |
Alternatives
There are other options for achieving results the same as or similar to the standard Babel-X template above.
- You can add stand-alone language templates. Format: {{User xx-1}}{{User yy-1}}{{User zz-1}}.
- You can use the Babel-N template. Format: {{Babel-N|1={{User xx-1}}{{User yy-1}}{{User zz-1}}}}.
- You can use top and bottom templates to make the box. Format: {{Userboxtop}}{{User xx-1}}{{User yy-1}}{{User zz-1}}{{Userboxbottom}}.
Natural languages
de - Deutsch (German)
Category: User de
- User de-0 — unable to contribute in German
- User de-1 — basic
- User de-2 — intermediate
- User de-3 — advanced
- User de-4 — near native
- User de-5 — professional
- User de — native
en - English (English)
Category: User en
- User en-0 — unable to contribute in English
- User en-1 — basic
- User en-2 — intermediate
- User en-3 — advanced
- User en-4 — near native
- User en-5 — professional
- User en — native
es - Español (Spanish)
Category: User es
- User es-0 — unable to contribute in Spanish
- User es-1 — basic
- User es-2 — intermediate
- User es-3 — advanced
- User es-4 — near native
- User es-5 — professional
- User es — native
fr - Français (French)
Category: User fr
- User fr-0 — unable to contribute in French
- User fr-1 — basic
- User fr-2 — intermediate
- User fr-3 — advanced
- User fr-4 — near native
- User fr-5 — professional
- User fr — native
ja - 日本語 (Japanese)
Category: User ja
- User ja-1 — basic
- User ja-2 — intermediate
- User ja-3 — advanced
- User ja-4 — near native
- User ja — native
nl - Nederlands (Dutch)
Category: User nl
- User nl-1 — basic
- User nl-2 — intermediate
- User nl-3 — advanced
- User nl-4 — near native
- User nl — native
zh - 中文 (Chinese)
Category: User zh
- User zh-1 — basic
- User zh-2 — intermediate
- User zh-3 — advanced
- User zh-4 — near native
- User zh — native
