hi all! I am new to reviewing and nominating, and am trying to join in on both in Ireland.
our main language here is English, though our national language is Irish. most people don’t speak it fluently though it is taught in all schools, but there’s a passionate drive behind it to include it in as much of our daily lives as possible.
with that in mind, would it be suitable to write basic titles (ex: ‘ten miles’ markers on hiking trails) in Irish? I don’t know much about the voting pool for smaller countries, so I worry that if other European countries are voting on them, they will think the titles make no sense as they won’t know the language.
so, is it safer to stick to English so reviewers won’t be confused? or would it be a cool way to include the native language in our wayspots?
There is no language requirement for Wayfarer. You are welcome to use whatever language you’d like, just as long as the title/description in that language is accurate.
I live in the US, and get a variety of languages with nominations/edits, mainly English and Spanish. When I get something in Spanish, I always make sure to translate it to English to make sure it’s accurate.
In the end, it’s up to the submitter to decide which language they feel is best.
Personally, using native language will be better as the local community will be the 1st to review. Since the local have passion on it, i dont see any reason why you dont use it. You dont have to bother about european countries, because most probably wont see the nomination anyway.
Allow me to resurrect a thread with similar (though not equivalent) questions and discussion - please feel free to take a look:
No one here will be able to exactly say what to do in all situations - the geopolitical, historical and cultural context, as well as local sensitivities will differ depending on the area.
I am constantly confronted with language-related wayspot aspects that touch on minority languages, national issues etc in my reviewing, and frequently nominate in places where I don’t speak the language fluently. Things I try to look at/be conscious of:
on average, what would be the most understandable option to most locals of the region/city?
if this can’t be established or is completely equivalent, and I am being asked to choose for a text edit, what is the higher quality edit?
any nominator is free to nominate in whatever language they prefer or are most comfortable in without regard for who will review it or interact with it in-game. It is up to reviewers to be flexible - as you correctly note, e.g. some Central European locations cannot avoid reviewing in mixes of 5+ languages just through play area alone. That’s just how this system works when mixed with geography.
As I gather you are based in Ireland, there is no location in Ireland that would result in a play area-based reviewer pool that is not in Ireland itself or the United Kingdom. So in many cases you are not going to be able to avoid UK reviewers, but you generally won’t get people from continental Europe. But: this is a very naive way to look at it, as there are multiple variables we don’t control here, especially as we speak and there is a challenge going on that strongly encourages jumping all over the world to complete reviews. Not everyone in Ireland/UK will actually be an English speaker, many people from different regions will have home locations/bonus locations in your area even in non-challenge time.
This is a really cool read, and your perspective is very much appreciated! I’ve been thinking on it, and I think what I’ll try to do is use Irish in signs where both English and Irish are used on the signs themselves. Then write the description in English making that clear. I think it’s hard to argue with that when you can see on the sign itself that it’s a direct translation. Fingers crossed!