Thread: How about creating a wiki for common words?

Originally Posted by kybarry

I'm glad this is coming to fruition. Pardon my wiki ignorance, but how can I use the template you guys made, and start contributing?


"The strip of fabric that hides the zipper on a pair of pants or shorts. "

This is from the Wiki under fly. This may be the technical definition, but we also use it for the zipper itself. "Hey, your fly is down," means the zipper is down.

I really support putting up idioms proverbs and common phrases. To me, those are some of the most important, and fun, parts of learning the language. Putting synonyms up there would certainly be useful, I think. For fly, you put related terms, but adding words like soar, and glide(although this is different), would be good. I didn't want to try and edit these things until I knew what I was doing; I didn't want to screw anything up. Thanks for getting the ball rolling guys!

There aren't any templates at the moment. MasterAdmin tried to import the templates that they use on Wiktionary, but it turned out to be a much more complex process than anticipated. Chiefly, it seemed as though there are many templates built on top of each other. At the moment, the idea is to create a standard infobox and manually input declensions and conjugations. The infobox has not been created; I think we are waiting for a knight in shining armor to step in with deft Wiki knowledge.

If you want, feel free to get going. Take a look at the pages that have been created already and hit "edit" to change or add anything, or to familiarize yourself with the Wiki tags. If you don't have any experience, here's a quick primer:

== example == ------> this puts 'example' as a section header
=== example2 === --------> this makes 'example2' a sub-header within a larger section.
(this can be continued with four equal signs, or five)

''example'' ---------> this italicizes 'example'
'''example''' ---------> this bolds 'example'

[[example]] --------> this creates a link within the wiki to another wiki page. if the page doesn't exist, it shows up as a red link. red links are good, though, because they draw attention and encourage people to expand the wiki.



Obviously there's a lot more, but that's really all you need to get started. Don't worry about finding the perfect format; other people will (hopefully) come along and clean things up. This is the great thing about Wikis. If all the participants do what they can, we should cover most areas. Comparative advantage and all that.

I tried to extend the 'fly' page with a picture of a fly, but the 'file upload' functionality seems disabled. I think it's a useful feature as 'a picture might be worth a thousand words'. What do you think of that?

I added one template for manual entry of noun declensions and one automatic.
You can see how to use them in the муха word http://masterrussian.net/wiki/%D0%9C%D1 ... Declension

Automatic template for words grammatically similar to муха require just one line to generate a complete table:
{{ru-noun-anim-vel-а-1|мух|му́х}}

I am going to add more automatic templates when I figure out how to use them.

I'll enable uploads a bit later.

Am I completely inept, or is there not somewhere I can find all the current entries listed? Also, I'm not sure where to 'add' a page. If we have a category on the side saying "Current entries," and a link there saying 'add,' I think it would be easier to get things done. Just let me know if I'm being silly.

When I do find out how to add, can I copy and paste this:

==Pronunciation==

==Meaning==
===Noun===
#

==Declension==

==Usage==
===Example Sentences===
====Noun====
=====Nominative=====

=====Genitive=====

=====Dative=====

=====Accusative=====

=====Instrumental=====

=====Prepositional=====

===Usage Notes===

==Translation==

==Synonyms==

==Related Terms==

==Set Expressions==

and just fill in the necessary terms? Or is there something else I have to do? Thanks!

All latest changes and entries are shown here: http://masterrussian.net/wiki/Special:RecentChanges

To create a new page, you just have to type its address (like this http://masterrussian.net/wiki/myword ) and then edit it and save that new page. Use preview before you save (that's how you can experiment)!

Originally Posted by kybarry

Am I completely inept, or is there not somewhere I can find all the current entries listed? Also, I'm not sure where to 'add' a page. If we have a category on the side saying "Current entries," and a link there saying 'add,' I think it would be easier to get things done. Just let me know if I'm being silly.

If you click on the "special pages" button in the "toolbox" section on the lower left corner, you have a lot of options. All pages, categories, etc.

Starting a page is pretty easy. Either take MasterAdmin's advice and type in the URL: http://masterrussian.net/wiki/myword or follow any red link, which accomplishes the same thing. For example, on the page for fly, there is a red link to летать. If you click on that link, it will take you to the (empty) page for летать, but you can edit it to create it. Also, if you search for a word that does not exist on the wiki, it will provide a red link for you to get started if you so desire.

Don't hesitate to experiment! It's okay if you screw up a few times as you learn how to work with a Wiki. You can always edit the page again later. The "recent changes" and "new pages" list will help us keep tabs on what's going on. If enough users get involved, we'll all be able to cover each other's mistakes.

What's the stance on further languages? The focus should be on Russian, obviously, and maybe additional emphasis on English which warrants having an actual page for "fly" alongside one for "муха". I could primarily provide additional information on German, but I think it would be too much to provide a full page for each of the possible German translations. How about an "Other Languages" section on the Russian pages?

Robin

Originally Posted by bitpicker

What's the stance on further languages? The focus should be on Russian, obviously, and maybe additional emphasis on English which warrants having an actual page for "fly" alongside one for "муха". I could primarily provide additional information on German, but I think it would be too much to provide a full page for each of the possible German translations. How about an "Other Languages" section on the Russian pages?

Robin

Let's just include that under "translations" and make a note of the language.

We should focus on Russian and English at this time.

I agree with почемучка. Other languages should go to translations (at least for now).

You can create a few German words if you want though.

Do you think we should wikitize topics about Russian culture and politics, besides the language?
There might be more interested contributors and opinions when wiki articles don't require you to know Russian.
Plus, we could use existing discussions on the forum to help us form complete articles.

Originally Posted by MasterAdmin

Do you think we should wikitize topics about Russian culture and politics, besides the language?
There might be more interested contributors and opinions when wiki articles don't require you to know Russian.
Plus, we could use existing discussions on the forum to help us form complete articles.

How would you deal with sources and impartiality (especially politics)? While wikipedia is by no means a scholarly source, there is a community consensus on specific guidelines regarding these.
Plus, I think there are already many places on the internet where this info can be found. If it's just for discussion/opinions, there's already the forum. If it's a resource, the criteria would have to be different, no?

We would welcome all opinions. And there would be consensus on some topics. The idea is to have all aspects on the issue, not just scholarly articles.

Hello! I'd like suggest something that might be useful.
I think it will be not so interesting if this project is going to be like one more online dictionary.
I would suggest that in core it should be parallel texts in different languages and not simply some translated texts but with different features sach as translation, comments separate words and phrases, sounding texts and words.
What would you think of this?