[OSM-talk] nomoj de internaciaj objektoj / nazwy obiektów międzynarodowych ? names of international objects

[Oleksiy Muzalyev]

For many geographical names there are articles in the Latin version of 
Wikipedia. For example, for the Black Sea: 
https://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontus_Euxinus

for Poland: https://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonia , for Canada: 
https://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada , etc.

So if one wishes to add a name in Latin, i.e. name:la in the editor, it 
is possible just to look it up in the Latin version of Wikipedia.

The Latin language was widely used in the cartography and in science in 
general over the past centuries. For example Isaac Newton's book 
"Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica", one of the most important 
works in the history of science, was published in 1687 in Latin.

And it is still used in science nowadays. The legacy of the Rēs pūblica 
Rōmāna & Imperium Rōmānum, including its language, is so enormous that 
it can never get extinct. At the same time the Latin does not have a 
standing army any more.

So it is indeed kind of neutral. What is beneficial and safer for 
mappers in some parts. Besides the name in Latin is often recognizable 
for people who speak English, French, German, etc. Even for people from 
the Cyrillic, Chinese, Korean, etc. background it is often also 
understandable, since the Latin alphabet is studied at the elementary 
school.

Please, note that the titles of some Wikipedia articles change from time 
to time. The titles of wikidata items change much less frequently. By 
adding the wikidata tag we add also the Wikipedia articles indirectly, 
since the links to articles in all available language versions are 
present on the wikidata page. Besides, a wikidata item is a part of the 
database, so it is also machine-readable, while a Wikipedia article is 
just an HTML page intended for reading by humans.

Best regards,

Oleksiy

Suggestion 2b: use the name in a neutral language, i.e. planned or 
extinct: Lingvo Internacia Esperanto (EO), Interlingua (IA), Ido (IO), 
Latin (LA), I don't know Latin, so I would need help.

> Suggestion 2b: use the name in a neutral language ... or extinct: ... 
> Latin (LA), I don't know Latin, so I would need help.

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