Hello! I’ve just recently started reviewing (I got ill as soon as I managed to get the level required ~.~), and I’ve found quite a lot of edits that are just text translations.
Context: I live in Catalonia, an “autonomous communities” (think of it as states in the USA) of Spain. Spain, as a whole, has only one official language (Spanish). Catalonia has two official languages (Spanish and Catalan, which Spain recognizes as a regional language). Due to societal things that I won’t go into, bad-faith anti-Catalan actors are a possibility.
From the ~40 reviews I’ve done, 5-10% have been literal translations, for example:
Informational sign of the Congost River in La Garriga, a municipality of Catalonia.
It’s written in Catalan, with no translation.
Descriptions offered:
Catalan: History of the Congost river through La Garriga.
Spanish: History of the Cosgost river through La Garriga.
Note that the Spanish version has the wrong river name (coSgost).
Playground for kids in Blanes, a city of Catalonia.
Titles:
Catalan: Els Pins neighbourhood playground.
Catalan: Els Pins playground.
Spanish: Los Pinos playground.
Note: Names of neighbourhoods are not translated in Spanish, meaning that the Spanish version should be: “Parque Infantil de Els Pins” instead of “Parque Infantil de Los Pinos”
Description:
Spanish: Play area with varied wooden constructions.
Catalan: Play area with varied wooden constructions.
I didn’t take screenshots from the others, but they followed the same pattern. Assuming that the waypoints were originally the Catalan version: A perfect valid waypoint translated into not-correct Spanish.
Questions:
Is there any way to know which one is the original? So far, the ones I’ve had have had issues in one of the two languages, but I do not know what to pick if both were perfectly valid.
In case of the playground, which version should be the ideal one (if the Spanish had the correct neighbourhood name)?
Should I assume bad-faith (as in the case of the Catalan sign) and report as abuse?
No, not without checking the app or database to see.
Use your best judgement
I try not to make assumptions and not assume bad faith or abuse unless I’m sure of it.
Hola! I was in Barcelona a few weeks ago and had a lovely time. I made a few submissions - all in Spanish because that’s the language I was most comfortable with (I’m English speaker and I am studying Spanish language - un café sin azúcar, sin leche ).
I don’t think there’s a good answer for you. I know there is a lot of pride in the Catalan history and see it as being important to be represented in the system, but maybe tourist areas or historical signs should be Spanish to help visitors understand?
But they mean exactly the same, I wish there was an option called: “The original one”, as the edit can be seen as a waste of time for the reviewers.
I submit all my Wayspots in Spanish, even if the plaque/text is solely in Catalan, as I live in a heavily touristic city (70k population, 6.5 million visitors/year) and it would make it more accessible. Adding to that, I only speak Catalan with my family and two or three friends; I’m quite rusty with the grammar as I barely text haha.
My attitude towards these edits is: “I trully don’t care, both of them are right. I’m wasting my time thinking about it.”, but wanted to make sure about what the community thought before doing it wrong.
I’m in the US and even here it isn’t uncommon to find Spanish or German being used in certain communities. I accept them (assuming eligibility) and would never think to submit an edit or accept an edit to English. I suspect it helps with their identity.
Of course I’m curious to what other Europeans, Spanish, or Catalans might say.
As said above, I also don’t think there is going to be a defined answer for you here that is rooted in rules or even in community conclusions so it’s going to be a lot of “use your best judgement”.
I frequently encounter “language war” edits between eg. German and French in areas located at linguistic borders. While in many cases it makes sense to prioritize “what the majority here speaks”, in my case it can be tough or almost impossible to establish which exact side of the linguistic border a specific set of coordinates is (and of course I understand in Barcelona there isn’t even such a criterion to go on, for good reason). If you are reasonably fluent in both languages, you can try to language-agnostically focus on what conveys more information, is more grammatically correct or is generally speaking a higher quality description. That’s my approach anyway
If you have reason and evidence to suspect foul play (it happens), that can be reported through abuse channels.
Hola buenas @Eweer! Aquí MegaTrainerRed desde España! (thanks @elijustrying for the tag)
El tema de las lenguas oficiales puede ser muy complejo a veces. Todo lo que voy a comentar a continuación es opinión personal y no hay que tomarlo como una verdad absoluta:
Por lo que tengo entendido, a la hora de nominar o revisar, preferiblemente, se ha de dar preferencia a la lengua local (en este caso el catalán). Eso no significa que sea incorrecto nominar en otros idiomas oficial del área o en idiomas diferentes (inglés, alemán, francés, etc.). Yo en lo personal, siempre intento nominar en la lengua oficial o más usada de la zona porque así me gustaría que se hiciese donde yo vivo. Si me encuentro una nominación en otro idioma lo más probable es que lo edite para ponerlo en español ya que es la lengua más usada en mi zona y doy prioridad a los jugadores locales que a los turistas.
Por lo tanto, yo en lo personal priorizo el gallego, catalán, vasco o cualquiera otra lengua oficial en sus respectivas zonas, por lo que si reviso ediciones de título o de descripción para estos casos les daré prioridad.
Personalmente no comparto la idea de nominar propuestas en idiomas diferentes al local argumentando el turismo, pues quienes van a soler interactuar con esos wayspots serán las personas locales.
Cómo te han dicho, lo mejor es utilizar tu mejor juicio. Si las ediciones dicen exactamente lo mismo puedes elegir la que tú consideres más apropiada. Si una aporta más información o es de mayor calidad que la otra, elige la que sea más beneficiosa para el wayspot.
Compartimos opinión entonces, yo como lengua local lo miro por pueblo. En el caso de mi ciudad, hay mucho extranjero que no habla Catalán, así que prefiero ponerlas en Español. Como siempre, muchísimas gracias!
I’d say, put the title in the local Catalonian language (the literal name of the thing), and use the description for a translation into the wider-used language, Spanish. The description can even start with “Traducido al español:”.
I live in the U.S. where we have LOTS of Hispanic churches - maybe a hundred in a 25k radius. I like the title to be the actual name (in this case: Spanish), and the description “Translation into English:” and then the title in English (the local language). Maybe other information too.
That way more gamers are included. And understanding is enhanced.
I believe that to identify the original, you need to activate ‘Show text diff.’ I understand that the text with the strike-through is the new version. I have also noticed attempts to change from Catalan to Spanish and from Catalan to French. It’s very sad that people are so disrespectful towards other languages.
Niantic doesn’t require any specific language be used in any part of the world, just that the titles and descriptions be accurate in whatever language is used. Many will nominate while on vacation, and may not know the languages of where they are, so they use the language they are most comfortable with.
Like others in the US have said, we do get several languages, depending on where in the country the nomination was submitted; we also do not have an official language, like other countries. I see a good deal of Spanish nominations from Texas, California, and other states with large Spanish-speaking populations. I’ve gotten German from Ohio and Pennsylvania, as the Pennsylvania Dutch, despite their name, speak German, and live in those states. I’ve even seen indigenous languages from time to time!
My bonus location is also near the Canadian border, which has 2 official languages, French and English. I’ve gotten both languages from Canadian nominations, and as long as they are correct and accurate to the POI, I’ll accept, regardless of language.
Again, Niantic is looking for accurate titles and descriptions, regardless of the language. And yes, they do realized there are many parts of the world where multiple languages are used, like parts of the US and Catalonia. I would not want to force a Spanish-only speaker in Texas to soley submit in English when it’s perfectly fine to submit in Spanish.
I don’t believe this is correct (but please correct me if I’m wrong). As far as I’m aware the strike-through is not connected to the original or edited version, it is random whichever one show the strike-through changes.
The strikethrough simply is showing the differences between the wording. It has nothing to do with which is the current or which was recently submitted.
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