| Language | |
|---|---|
| Alternative name | |
| Native name | |
| Native to | Country1, Country2 |
| Region | Region(s) within the above country(s) |
| Ethnicity | ethnicity defined by the language |
Native speakers | XX million (2000 – date of reference or census)[reference] |
Parent family
| |
Standard forms | |
| Dialects |
|
| Official status | |
Official language in | CountryA, CountryB |
| Regulated by | Language Academy |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | xyz (default ref) |
xyz (if support was moved there) | |
| Glottolog | xyz123 default 2nd ref |
| AIATSIS[1] | xyz (for Australian languages) |
(for Bantu languages)[2] | |
Classification
editA description of the genetic classification of the language.
History
editProbable history of the language. What language(s) it is derived from and when it started diverging from the ancestral language(s). Dates of movement of major groups of speakers, etc. Brief descriptions of important changes in the language, such as reduction of sounds or grammatical cases.
When creating sub-articles, use the formula History of XXX where XXX is the standard English name of the language. Avoid the bulkier format History of XXX language since there is no need for disambiguation in this case.
Geographic distribution
editIn what countries/regions the language is spoken, and how many people speak it there.
Official status
editList which countries have this language as an official language or other special status.
Dialects/Varieties
editList of varieties/dialects of the language. Major dialects with lots of information should probably have their own page.
Derived languages
editCreoles and other languages that are derived from this language.
Sounds/Phonology
editIf there is a significant amount of information here, it is probably best to have a separate article on the phonology, called XXX phonology (eg Somali phonology). See Wikipedia:WikiProject Phonetics/Phonology template for a suggested structure.
If a separate page is not warranted, it may still be best to divide the information in this section into sub-sections following the structure on the above phonology template.
If there is a separate page, give a brief summary here, eg the number of consonant and vowel phonemes; important features such as phonemic use of tone or vowel harmony; and unusual or interesting features of the language's phonology.
Grammar
editA general outline of the grammar of the language. Focus on what makes the grammar of the language unique compared to other languages, related as well as unrelated. Lists of each word class and their individual properties, as well as full-fledged inflection or conjugation tables, are probably best put in a separate article.
Morphology
editGeneral description of the morphology of the language.
Syntax
editGeneral description of the syntax of the language. What is the usual word order (SVO, SOV, VSO, etc.)? Theoretical descriptions, lists of example sentences, and explanations involving syntax trees are probably best put in a separate article.
Vocabulary/Lexis
editThis section should contain a discussion of any special features of the vocabulary of the language, like if it contains a large number of borrowed words or a different sets of words for different politeness levels, taboo groups, etc.
Writing system
editA brief description of the writing system(s) used to write the language. Writing systems have their own page, so what's written here should just be a brief discussion of how this language makes any special use of the writing system and a link to all the writing systems used to write the language.
Examples
editSome short examples of the language in the writing system(s) used to write the language. You might also include sound samples of the language being spoken. Avoid making lists of tourist phrases such as "hello", "goodbye" and "where's the lavatory?" since these do not represent the specifics of either grammar or phonetics particularly well.
References
editBe sure to cite sources. Use these example styles and citation templates as a guide.
- ^ xyz (for Australian languages) at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
External links
editThe first link should be the appropriate {{Interwiki}}, if such a thing exists.
Websites like Ethnologue, Language Museum, the Rosetta Project Archive, and Omniglot often have useful information on languages; if so, they should be provided in the external links.
The Ethnologue report for the language is far from authoritative and should only be used as a useful tool to start new articles. Ideally it should not be the only source. SIL International has in several cases made classifications that are at odds with the rest of the linguistic community as well as the speakers themselves. In certain cases the reports actually contain factual errors and should be fact-checked against other linguistic literature.
To cite Ethnologue, use the {{Ethnologue18}} (or later) template as follows:
*{{e18|code=xxx}}
replacing xxx with the ISO 639-3 code. If Ethnologue's name for the language is different from Wikipedia's, write:
*{{e18|code=xxx|label=XYZ}}
where XYZ is Ethnologue's name. Otherwise Wikipedia's name gets inserted by default.
Omniglot provides information about writing systems, not languages per se, and so is not appropriate for languages without a written tradition.
Categories
editIf there are reliable sources about when the language was first attested, consider adding the page to the relevant Category:Languages by time subcategory. If the language is extinct and there are reliable sources about when the language went extinct, consider adding the page to the relevant Category:Extinct languages by time.