Help:FAQ
Starting out
Q: How do I add a new word?
- A: You can find out at Help:Starting a new page.
Q: Where is the alphabetical listing?
- A: Try using the search feature instead. Special:AllPages lists all of the pages in Wiktionary, including the utility pages in the Wiktionary: namespace. Category:English lemmas gives an alphabetic listing of English entries in Wiktionary, and pages in Category:Lemmas by language do the same for other languages.
Q: I’ve found a common word that is missing from Wiktionary, and thought of adding a basic entry. But it seems like you want fully grown entries or nothing! I’m not a lexicologist, just someone who feels they can contribute some simple dictionary definitions. I don’t know anything about etymology, translations either! In Wikipedia a lot of people are quite happy to come along and copy-edit, wikify etc. Does that apply here?
- A: Yes! Wiktionary is far from complete, but the wiki philosophy is just as strong. If a word does not exist on Wiktionary, add it. If you know nothing about etymology that’s fine; your humblest contribution is still better than nothing. Someone else can add the etymology later. The minimum you need to include is the language of the word, its part of speech, and its meaning.
- However, if you are contributing a translation, it is important to know to which meaning of the word the translation applies.
Q: I’ve already done some work without signing up, but now I would like to create a username to have all my work shown as my own. How can I create a new username?
- A: Just click on the Create an account or log in link on the top right of every Wiktionary page or Special:Userlogin.
Q: What are the characters in the logo?
Q: Which words can have entries in Wiktionary?
- A: This Wiktionary is intended to include "all words in all languages", with the definitions given in English. For which terms can be included, see Wiktionary:Criteria for inclusion.
Pronunciation
Q: Is there a table indicating which IPA symbols make certain sounds?
- A. Near the top of a page, there should be a pronunciation section, like so:
- Just follow the links.
Q: How do we type those symbols?
- A: When you are in the edit page you will see below the save buttons a box with many accented letters and a pull-down menu that reads “Latin/Roman”. Select “IPA and enPR” from the pull-down menu. (There isn’t an option for SAMPA as all SAMPA characters can be typed on an ordinary keyboard.) Position the text cursor where you want the symbol to be inserted, then click on the desired character.
Q: The IPA symbols are showing up as blocks in Internet Explorer, is there a way to fix this?
- A. The easiest way for Windows/Internet Explorer users is to make sure the font “Arial Unicode MS” is installed on your computer. Then, in Internet Explorer go to Tools/Internet Options.../General tab. Select the “Fonts...” button at the bottom. Make sure the “Language script” displays “Latin based”, then set the “Web Page Font” to “Arial Unicode MS”. Click OK twice to exit.
Q: I’ve tried the above, and it still doesn’t work. Any other ideas?
- A: Works fine when setting Skin to Classic, Nostalgica or MySkin on your Preferences side, but not with Skins Cologne Blue, MonoBook. Would be nice if somebody could fix this. Alternatively, try a different browser, such as Firefox, which displays these characters correctly.
Q: Are there any articles with sound pronunciation for the word? Is it possible for myself to record and submit a word pronunciation?
- A: Yes; any article on this list (of articles that reference Template:audio) has a pronunciation; you can make requests at Wiktionary:Pronunciation file requests. It's possible for anyone to record and submit pronunciations of words, but don't upload them here: they belong on Commons, so all the Wiktionaries can use them. For details see Help:Audio pronunciations and c:Commons:Pronunciation files requests.
Article format
Q: How do we format articles? Is there a standard format we should use?
- A: Guidelines for this can be seen at Wiktionary:Entry layout. The concepts on that page have varying levels of acceptability, and continue to evolve as new techniques are developed to deal with a wide array of challenges relating to different languages.
Q: Some people link to other words as they type a definition. Since every English word would eventually be listed on the Wiktionary, maybe someone could add a code (which perhaps could be turned off) that made every word link to its corresponding entry.
- A: When an article is loaded the software checks each linking word to see if the article for the word exists, and it is marked in blue if it exists, red if it does not. It only takes a fraction of a second to check each word, but if more words are checked this time is cumulative. If every word is checked, it could cause serious slowdowns. This already happens in link-rich articles. How often does one really need a link to “the”?
- Also, it’s often clearer to link a compound word, or the root of a word, depending on the meaning.
Real words
Q: That’s not a real word, is it?
- A: In general, Wiktionary does not concern itself with metaphysical abstractions like “realness”. Instead, we use a set of objective criteria for inclusion (WT:CFI), and a word may meet those requirements in a number of ways, such as through its use in multiple publications over an extended period of time.
Writing definitions
Q: How should we go about writing definitions?
- A: In some respects writing a definition is an art. Begin by finding examples where the word is used, and distill a definition that would be accurate for all of the examples. It may very well be that a word can have more than one definition. You can then add the quotations as examples. See also Help:Writing definitions & How to Write a Dictionary Definition.
Q: How shouldn’t we go about writing definitions?
- A: One should not simply copy without crediting the definitions from other dictionaries and glossaries.
Q: Can I use what I find in other dictionaries and glossaries? How? How much?
- A: Yes and no! Wiktionary should represent the language as it is used in practice, and that is best done through evidence of usage. Not all dictionaries provide this kind of evidence and may only reflect usages current at the time that the dictionary was published. For example, the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary is a popular freely available source, but it must be supplemented to show how some words have changed since 1913.
- There are copyright issues associated with more recent dictionaries. Also, specialized glossaries and other books may have the only accurate definition of a technical term, but they may be protected by copyright. Fair use (or fair dealing) is important here, and can apply as long as we don’t use too much from one source. Whenever we use a source in that way, it must be credited. The legal issues about this are very complex, and it is wise to find other ways of expressing yourself so that fair use will not need to be a factor.
Limiting and/or ordering definitions
Q: To avoid bias, should we sometimes limit or order the definitions so as to avoid giving the impression that rare or difficult uses of a word are more common than they are?
- A: Yes, in theory, the oldest uses of a word should be listed first, but in the absence of historical data this is difficult to do. Furthermore, definitions are sometimes related, and should be close to each other in such circumstances. Determining which usage is most common or popular requires expressing a Point of View, and should be avoided. Links to Wikipedia or references to the Oxford English Dictionary are better ways to ensure that the definitions are complete.
Q: Is there a subset of the Wiktionary that would include only meanings that are known to be necessary for learning English as a second language, or for learning common English idioms?
- A: There is provision for this idea. If you have the time, you could consider participating in the separate project at simple:Main Page that aims to do just that! This kind of simplification is not a simple undertaking, and it has not attracted a lot of interest.
Copyright infringement
Q: I saw some copyrighted material in a certain article, submitted by user XYZ. What should I do?
- A: In a publication like ours it is never easy to determine when a copyright infringement has taken place. Fair use (see below) is not an infringement. If you suspect that an article contains copyrighted material, use the following steps:
- Don’t panic, and do your homework.
- On the talk page for the article show why you think it is a copyright violation. In particular show exactly where you think the text in question was originally published.
- As a matter of courtesy, if the material was placed by a registered user, politely let them know about this on their talk page.
- Add
{{rfc}}to the article and make a note at WT:RFC. There is no need to immediately remove the suspected material.
Q: What is copyright?
- A: Copyright is a person’s exclusive economic right to use and exploit their own creative and artistic productions. Its duration depends primarily on the laws of the country in which that person lives. It may be accompanied by moral rights such as the right to be properly credited for one’s works. A work whose copyright has expired is said to be in the public domain.
Q: What is fair use?
- A: In simple terms, “fair use” (also known as “fair dealing” or “fair practice”) is the allowable quotation of the copyrighted works of others. The concept is not relevant to works that are already in the public domain. Any such quotation must be properly credited. Whether any particular quotation constitutes fair use can often be a very difficult matter to resolve. In most cases, quoting a single definition or a brief illustrative passage from any author’s work will fall within the definition of fair use.
Namespaces
Q: Occasionally in a discussion I see a reference to a “namespace”. What