Naming practices
editThe official Wikipedia policy for naming conventions in English-language articles is provided here.
This userbox shows preference for endonymic proper nouns. That is, when the user is discussing a person or place that is known by different names in multiple languages, preference is (usually) given to the name taken from the language most closely linked to the given noun. This occurs regardless of the native language of the user, nor of the language in which the user is writing, except when overwhelming convention demands otherwise.
It is the belief of those who hold to endonymic naming practices that, if multiple names in multiple languages exist for a given place-or-person, that the most suitable name for the place-or-person is the one preferred by the place-or-person in question. This standard is employed universally, regardless of any alternate name preferred in English, except in cases where there is overwhelming convention to the contrary.
Examples:
- Médecins Sans Frontières (not "Doctors without Borders")
- Mumbai (not "Bombay")
- Torino (not "Turin")
But:
The endonymic/exonymic debate is most commonly a factor when referring to places and people.