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.
Adding babel on your user page
[change]| Babel user information | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Users by language |
To participate, you can add the Babel template to your user page by doing this:
- Start off with {{#babel:
- 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: }}
So, for example, {{#babel:en|de-1}} would indicate a native speaker of English with basic knowledge of German. {{#babel:en-5|sv|no-4|he-3|lt-2|es-1|an-0}} would indicate a professional proficiency 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 (an example is shown on the right).
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.