For many geographical names there are articles in the Latin version of
Wikipedia. For example, for the Black Sea:
https://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontus_Euxinus
for Poland: https://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonia , for Canada:
https://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada , etc.
So if one wishes to add a name in Latin, i.e. name:la in the editor, it
is possible just to look it up in the Latin version of Wikipedia.
The Latin language was widely used in the cartography and in science in
general over the past centuries. For example Isaac Newton's book
"Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica", one of the most important
works in the history of science, was published in 1687 in Latin.
And it is still used in science nowadays. The legacy of the Rēs pūblica
Rōmāna & Imperium Rōmānum, including its language, is so enormous that
it can never get extinct. At the same time the Latin does not have a
standing army any more.
So it is indeed kind of neutral. What is beneficial and safer for
mappers in some parts. Besides the name in Latin is often recognizable
for people who speak English, French, German, etc. Even for people from
the Cyrillic, Chinese, Korean, etc. background it is often also
understandable, since the Latin alphabet is studied at the elementary
school.
Please, note that the titles of some Wikipedia articles change from time
to time. The titles of wikidata items change much less frequently. By
adding the wikidata tag we add also the Wikipedia articles indirectly,
since the links to articles in all available language versions are
present on the wikidata page. Besides, a wikidata item is a part of the
database, so it is also machine-readable, while a Wikipedia article is
just an HTML page intended for reading by humans.
Best regards,
Oleksiy
Suggestion 2b: use the name in a neutral language, i.e. planned or
extinct: Lingvo Internacia Esperanto (EO), Interlingua (IA), Ido (IO),
Latin (LA), I don't know Latin, so I would need help.
Suggestion 2b: use the name in a neutral language ... or extinct: ...
Latin (LA), I don't know Latin, so I would need help.
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