User:Sbb1413/ENGVAR proposal

I have withdrawn this proposal due to the lack of feasibility and the fact that it may go against the spirit of COM:LANG.

This page shows my proposed implementation of English Wikipedia's WP:ENGVAR policy in Wikimedia Commons. The proposal is based on English Wikipedia categories and Joshbaumgartner's now-rejected proposal.

Policies and guidelines

Main policy

When creating a new category, the following principles apply to determining the correct variant of English to use in the category name in certain cases:

1. Proper names of organizations, works, etc. should use the spelling of the subject in their category name, regardless of variant.
2. Regional topics should use a variety of English predominant in the topic's region in their category name. However, avoid using terms that are ambiguous in most varieties, for example "stories" for "storeys".
3. It is not necessary to use local dialectal terms if there are globally-recognized alternatives. Also, industries and academic/scientific fields with internationally-recognized standard naming conventions should reflect these standards in category names.

In all other cases, there is no automatic preference as to which variant of English should be used. Category names should not be changed solely in an attempt to standardize on a particular variety of English in country categories. It is acceptable to have subcategories with names in a different variety of English than their parent category in cases where the parent is a general category while the child category is region-specific (e.g. Category:Gas stations in the United States being under Category:Petrol stations by country).

Universality principle

Identical items should have identical names at all levels of categorization. Categorization structure should be as systematical and unified as possible, though regional subcategories may be named in accordance with the appropriate regional English variant. Analogic categorization branches should have analogic structure.

Category names

The category names below are mostly based on English Wikipedia and Wiktionary. Almost all names are provided in singular.

Airplane

• Commonwealth countries (except Australia, Canada, New Zealand): aeroplane
• European Union and dependencies: aeroplane
• Rest of the world: airplane

Apartment

• Commonwealth countries (except Australia, Canada): flat
• European Union and dependencies: flat
• Rest of the world: apartment

Association football

Although Australia, Ireland, New Zealand also use "soccer", the term "football" is very common there for association football.

• Canada: soccer
• Melanesia: soccer
• United States: soccer
• Rest of the world: association football

Astronautics

• Post-Soviet states (except the Baltics): cosmonautics
• Rest of the world: astronautics

Astronaut

Avoid "spationaut" or similar for European countries.

• China: taikonaut
• Post-Soviet states (except the Baltics): cosmonaut
• Rest of the world: astronaut

Automobile

• Commonwealth countries (except Australia, Canada, New Zealand): car
• European Union and dependencies: car
• Rest of the world: automobile

Autumn

• Canada: fall
• United States: fall
• Rest of the world: autumn

City centre

• Canada: downtown
• United States: downtown
• Rest of the world: city centre

Color

• Commonwealth countries (except Canada): colour
• European Union and dependencies: colour
• Rest of the world: color

Eggplant

• Britain and Ireland: aubergine
• Malaysia: brinjal
• Singapore: brinjal
• South Africa: brinjal
• South Asia: brinjal
• Rest of the world: eggplant

Elevator

• Commonwealth countries (except Australia, Canada): lift
• European Union and dependencies: lift
• Rest of the world: elevator

Gasoline

• Commonwealth countries (except Canada): petrol
• European Union and dependencies: petrol
• Rest of the world: gasoline

License plate

Use "licen(c/s)e plate" for all countries. Avoid "number plate" for being ambiguous.

• Commonwealth countries: licence plate
• European Union and dependencies: licence plate
• Rest of the world: license plate

Organization

• Commonwealth countries (except Canada): organisation
• European Union and dependencies: organisation
• Rest of the world: organization

Petrol station

• Canada: gas station
• Philippines: gas station
• United States: gas station
• Rest of the world: petrol station

Program

• Commonwealth countries (except Australia, Canada): programme
• European Union and dependencies: programme
• Rest of the world: program

Railway

• United States: railroad
• Rest of the world: railway

Storey

Use "storey" for all countries. Avoid "story" for being ambiguous.

Transport

• United States: transportation
• Rest of the world: transport

Truck

• Commonwealth countries (except Australia, Canada): lorry
• European Union and dependencies: lorry
• Rest of the world: truck

Templates

{{Topic by country-au}}, {{Topic by country-ca}}, {{Topic by country-gb}}, and {{Topic by country-us}} for Australian, Canadian, British, and American varieties respectively. All of these are varieties of {{Topic by country}}, and they should be as close to the main template as possible. However, they are currently implemented at regional levels, as there are problems implementing them at the national level.