[Tagging] RFC: Names localization

Philip Barnes phil at trigpoint.me.uk
Thu Aug 2 13:23:43 BST 2012


On Thu, 2012-08-02 at 11:42 +0000, MilošKomarčević wrote:
> Tobias Knerr <osm at ...> writes:
> > On 02.08.2012 12:56, MilošKomarčević wrote:
> > > name=* without any context of what language is recorded in it is one of the
> > > biggest fallacies of OSM i18n and needs to be addressed.
> > 
> > You need to realize, though, that mappers in areas where only one
> > language is commonly used will not want to put more effort into mapping
> > names than they do today. And rightly so, imo - from their perspective,
> > it's just more work for little or no gain.
> 
> Sure. Was just stating the root of the problem, probably brought on by
> architects with little i18n experience who probably assumed only one
> language/script is used in an area (or what they though of as most areas). It
> might have made sense 'from their perspective', but they created a bit of mess
> for a lot of upcoming and very large and populous multicultural areas (take
> India for example), not to mention smaller ones all over the world. Saying it
> was for no gain is a bit short-sighted and selfish, no?
>  
> > Thus, there is a fundamental requirement for any future tagging scheme
> > for names: In areas with a single main language, _one_ tag needs to be
> > enough for a name in that language.
> 
> Agreed.
> 
> > Preferably, the key for this case should remain "name".
> 
> I don't see a problem of mandating name:xx even when only one language is used
> for added clarity, and have a bot fix up existing ones. Does break backwards
> compatibility though, so too late to fix at this point.
IMO where there is only one name on a sign, then the name should remain
a valid tag. 

Please no bots on this, as a cross-border mapper I can only see this
ending in tears. 

In Wales, some roads are named in Welsh, some English. I see no problem
in that, if there is one name then that should remain the name. A bot
really can't be applied here, it first of all has to decide which
language a name is in, and then get the tag right. how would it deal
with mixed names? Such as Llangollen Road. 

Welsh place names also drift over the border into Shropshire, where
should the border be drawn? 

Where multiple names exist on signs, larger towns and cities, mappers
have already tagged both names, as in name:en name:cy. If there is only
one name on the sign, then there should only be one name on the map.
This should then be tagged as name, as language cannot be assumed.

Even place names in England are not always English, there is a mix of
Anglo Saxon, Dane and Norman in there too.

Phil




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