Vocabulary Wikipedia:Manual of Style

1 vocabulary

1.1 contractions
1.2 gender-neutral language
1.3 contested vocabulary
1.4 instructional , presumptuous language
1.5 subset terms
1.6 identity

1.6.1 use of arab , arabic
1.6.2 gender identity


1.7 foreign terms

1.7.1 no common usage in english
1.7.2 common usage in english
1.7.3 spelling , romanization
1.7.4 other concerns


1.8 technical language
1.9 geographical items

vocabulary

contractions



mos:n t
mos:contract
mos:contraction

avoid use of contractions in encyclopedic writing; e.g., instead of informal wasn t or s, write not , is. however, contractions should not expanded mechanically; sometimes, rewriting sentence preferable.

gender-neutral language





mos:gnl
mos:s/he

use gender-neutral language can done clarity , precision. example, avoid generic he. not apply direct quotations or titles of works (the ascent of man), should not altered, or wording one-gender contexts, such all-female school (when student breaks rule, loses privileges).

ships may referred using either feminine forms ( , , hers ) or neutral forms ( , ). either usage acceptable, each article should internally consistent , employ 1 or other exclusively. optional styles, articles should not changed 1 style unless there substantial reason so. see wp:manual of style/military history § pronouns.

contested vocabulary

avoid words , phrases give impression of straining formality, unnecessarily regional, or not accepted. see list of english words disputed usage , wikipedia:list of commonly misused english words; see § identity below.

instructional , presumptuous language



mos:note
mos:noted

avoid such phrases remember , note that, address readers directly in unencyclopedic tone. subtle form of wikipedia self-reference. similarly, phrases such of course, naturally, obviously, clearly, , make presumptions readers knowledge, , call question reason including information in first place. not tell readers ironic, surprising, unexpected, amusing, coincidental, etc. state sourced facts , allow readers draw own conclusions. such constructions can deleted, leaving behind proper sentences more academic , less pushy tone: note naturally subject controversy in more conservative newspapers. becomes subject controversy in more conservative newspapers.

subset terms



mos:subset

a subset term identifies set of members of larger class. common subset terms including, among, , et cetera (etc.). not use redundant subset terms (so avoid constructions like: among well-known members of fraternity included 2 members of onassis family. or elements in stars include hydrogen, helium, etc.). not use including introduce complete list; instead use comprising, consisting of, or composed of.

identity



mos:identity
mos:id

when there discrepancy between term commonly used reliable sources person or group , term person or group uses themselves, use term commonly used reliable sources. if isn t clear used, use term person or group uses.

disputes on how refer person or group addressed wikipedia content policies, such on verifiability, , neutral point of view (and article titles when term appears in title of article).

use specific terminology. example, more appropriate people or things ethiopia (a country in africa) described ethiopian, not carelessly (with risk of stereotyping) african.

use of arab , arabic



mos:arab
mos:arabic

the adjective arab refers people , things of ethnic arab origin. term arabic refers arabic language or writing system, , related concepts. use arabic when referring linguistic concepts; other uses, use arab.

gender identity



mos:genderid



main biographical article on person gender might questioned
give precedence self-designation reported in up-to-date reliable sources, when doesn t match s common in reliable sources. when person s gender self-designation may come surprise readers, explain without overemphasis on first occurrence in article.
any person gender might questioned should referred pronouns, possessive adjectives, , gendered nouns (for example man/woman , waiter/waitress , chairman/chairwoman ) reflect person s latest expressed gender self-identification. applies in references phase of person s life, unless subject has indicated preference otherwise. avoid confusing constructions (jane doe fathered child) rewriting (e.g., jane doe became parent). direct quotations may need handled exceptions (in cases adjusting portion used may reduce apparent contradictions, , [sic] may used necessary). mos not specify when , how present former names, or whether use former or present name first.

see wp:manual of style/words watch § neologisms , new compounds.

referring person in other articles
generally, not go detail on changes in name or gender presentation unless relevant passage in person mentioned. use context determine name or names provide on case-by-case basis.

foreign terms



mos:foreign

foreign words should used sparingly.

where possible, non-english should marked using appropriate iso language code, e.g. {{lang|es|casa}}. there alternatives {{lang}} template provide additional information foreign word or phrase, such link language name; see category:multilingual support templates.

no common usage in english

use italics phrases in other languages , isolated foreign words not current in english. see wp:manual of style/text formatting § foreign terms details.

common usage in english

loanwords , borrowed phrases have common usage in english—gestapo, samurai, vice versa—do not require italics. rule of thumb not italicize words appear unitalicized in general-purpose english-language dictionaries.

spelling , romanization



mos:romanization
mos:romanisation
mos:diacritics

names not written in 1 of latin-script alphabets (written example in greek, cyrillic, or chinese scripts) must given romanized form use in english. use systematically transliterated or otherwise romanized name (aleksandr tymoczko, wang yanhong); if there common english form of name (tchaikovsky, chiang kai-shek), use form instead.

the use of diacritics (such accent marks) foreign words neither encouraged nor discouraged; usage depends on whether appear in verifiable reliable sources in english , on constraints imposed specialized wikipedia guidelines (see wp:manual of style/proper names § diacritics). provide redirects alternative forms use or exclude diacritics.

spell name consistently in title , text of article. see relevant policy @ wp:article titles; see wp:naming conventions (use english). foreign names, phrases, , words generally, adopt spellings commonly used in english-language references article, unless spellings idiosyncratic or obsolete. if foreign term not appear in article s references, adopt spelling commonly used in other verifiable reliable sources (for example other english-language dictionaries , encyclopedias). punctuation of compounded forms, see relevant guidelines in § punctuation, above.

sometimes usage influenced other guidelines, such § national varieties of english (above), may lead different choices in different articles.

other concerns

capitalization in foreign-language titles varies; see § titles of works.
for non-english vernacular names of species, see § animals, plants, , other organisms.
for handling of foreign-language quotations, see § foreign-language quotations.
for non-english characters resemble single quotation marks , apostrophes, see § foreign characters resemble apostrophes.
for actual non-english quotation characters, see § quotation characters.

technical language



mos:jargon

some topics intrinsically technical, editors should try make them understandable many readers possible. minimize jargon, or @ least explain or tag using {{technical}} or {{technical-statement}} other editors fix. unavoidably technical articles, separate introductory article (like introduction general relativity) may best solution. avoid excessive wikilinking (linking within wikipedia) substitute parenthetic explanations such 1 in sentence. not introduce new , specialized words teach them reader when more common alternatives do. when notions named jargon complex explain concisely in few parenthetical words, write 1 level down. example, consider adding brief background section {{main}} tags pointing full treatment article(s) of prerequisite notions; approach practical when prerequisite concepts central exposition of article s main topic , when such prerequisites not numerous. short articles stubs not have such sections.

geographical items

places should referred consistently same name in title of article (see wikipedia:naming conventions (geographic names)). exceptions made if there accepted historical english name appropriate given context. in cases such historical name used, should followed modern name in round brackets (parentheses) on first occurrence of name in applicable sections of article. resembles linking; should not done detriment of style. on other hand, better provide such variant too rarely. if more 1 historical name applicable given context, other names should added after modern english name, is: historical name (modern name, other historical names) .