Talk:Italian Mediterranean buffalo

References

I'd like to expand this article. I'd also like to improve the references, convert bare links to full citations and so on. Would anyone object if I changed the referencing system to list-defined at the same time? I'll probably do so in a day or two if no-one objects. Justlettersandnumbers (talk) 14:44, 16 September 2013 (UTC)

Article title

(moved this here from my talk page)

I can't read the first source. The second clearly uses "Bufala Mediterranea Italiana". The third source links to a PDF that uses "Bufala Mediterranea Italiana". All remaining sources refer only to bufali and not to any specific race or breed. "Mediterranea Italiana" only means "Mediterranean Italian" in Italian. A bufalo is a water buffalo and a bufala is a female water buffalo. Both genders are correct, it is just a question of whether the article is specifically about cows or about the breed in general. I changed the title to match the Italian Wikipedia, assuming that their preference for the masculine was indicative of correct Italian usage. In any case, this is not primary usage for "Mediterranea Italiana". In every case on Google Books where it refers to the buffalo, it is preceded by bufala. Srnec (talk) 11:42, 3 October 2014 (UTC)

Hi! I assumed you were following it.wp when you moved the page to "Bufalo mediterraneo italiano" (though I had to guess because you didn't leave an edit summary). I've no idea why they've decided on that title for their page. I am however in little doubt that the name of this particular buffalo breed is "Mediterranea Italiana", and that that should be the title of our article. In particular, this source and this one specifically say so. While it's true that the breed name is often prefaced by "bufala" or sometimes "Bufala", it's also frequently prefaced by "razza"; we routinely do the same sort of thing in English. The masculine form is used of course, but in the normal way only in the context of meat production (as in bresaola di bufalo in the current version of the article); so it isn't surprising to find it used here. I don't think it's the right title here. Justlettersandnumbers (talk) 19:27, 3 October 2014 (UTC)

Is the buffalo breed most commonly referred to in English simply as "Mediterranea Italiana"? No. It is usually qualified as a buffalo or bufala or breed or razza. It rarely stands on its own. For obvious reasons, if you ask me. Italian usage doesn't look any different, for the same reasons. This isn't a German shepherd or a Pekingese, it's something quite obscure: the formal name of a native Italian breed of buffalo. No matter how well-known mozzarella di bufala is, the name of the breed is obscure. Srnec (talk) 18:18, 4 October 2014 (UTC)