We have an ever growing list of languages in WiktionaryZ. There are always good reasons why we add a specific language; it has a nice script or there is someone interested in adding content or we have a potential partner with an interest in THAT language.
It was suggested to me to have Latin. The motivation was; I have this list of birds and would it not make sense.. It does make sense on one level and, on another it does not. The Latin used to come up with all these taxonomical names is not necessarily the kind of Latin that helps you learn the language.
When we want to include THAT kind of Latin, it makes sense to include the taxonomical relations and attributes that makes taxonomy the science that it is. Considering this, it will need Wikiauthors for it's publication data. It will need some specific database functionality to make this feasible..
I do want Latin but I doubt if this is a good moment to include it.
Thanks,
GerardM
2 comments:
In my opinion, the inclusion of etymologies for taxonomic names would be a “killer app” of sorts for WiktionaryZ’s Latin coverage. These taxonomic names are influenced by many things, including the discoverers’s names in some cases. Wikipedia articles often – but don’t always – contain this kind of information. Unfortunately, it’s far from machine-readable.
My family’s big red dictionary would probably stick information like "Coined by Ord, 1815" in the etymology, though I’m not sure how useful that”d really be…
The names of species, or better taxons, is of interest. They are however not a great way to learn Latin.
I would not like to mingle the "Latin" names of species with proper Latin words.. I am quite sure that Caesar did not ask "Bring me my Equus caballus"... This does not mean that I would not have Equus caballus in WiktionaryZ, I would have these as a special type of Latin and yes, the etymology of these names is fun.
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