Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2018 September 14

= September 14 =

ISO 639-1 code for Dutch language
The Dutch language page appears to me to indicate that ISO 639-1 language code is an improbable 'hh'. The ISO 639-1 page (and List of ISO 639-1 codes) say the more expected 'nl'. But when I try to edit the page I see this code:


 * iso1         = nl

I don't really understand how Wikipedia infoboxes work (for instance, I find no occurrence of '639-1' when I open 'Edit this page') but something seems wrong and I don't know how to fix it.

Hayttom (talk) 08:28, 14 September 2018 (UTC)
 * Very strange indeed! But what's more, the same 'hh' appears on all language pages, e.g. English language, German language and Korean language. - Lindert (talk) 08:53, 14 September 2018 (UTC)
 * If you "edit this page", you don't find "639-1" but you do find "| iso1         = nl".  Clearly there is a bug in the code that translates that into the correct infobox entry.  This is a problem for WP:VP/T, and I'll post a note there. --76.69.47.228 (talk) 09:10, 14 September 2018 (UTC)
 * The problem is that Infobox language calls ISO639-1 which is an unprotected redirect to the actual ISO 639-1 template. And an IP vandalized the former. –Ammarpad (talk) 09:57, 14 September 2018 (UTC)


 * Somebody has fixed it!  Hayttom (talk) 11:05, 14 September 2018 (UTC)

Cote d'Ivorian family names
Following French language conventions I assume that this chap - Mr. N'GOAN AKA Mathias - would be written in English as Mr. Mathias N'Goan Aka (i.e. first name then family name).

Anyone familiar with family conventions in Ivory Coast/Côte d'Ivoire?

Thanks in advance 4u1e (talk) 10:17, 14 September 2018 (UTC)
 * Not specific to Côte d'Ivoire, but throughout French-speaking Africa, there is a convention on administrative forms that family names are written in capitals and first names in lower-case letters. This is because name order is not standardized. This usage has spilled over to other areas of life. So N'Goan Aka is indeed most likely the person's last name (Mathias being a common first name). --Xuxl (talk) 12:44, 14 September 2018 (UTC)
 * Brilliant - Merci! 4u1e (talk) 21:24, 14 September 2018 (UTC)


 * The same convention is often used in Esperantist publications, intended to be read by people whose customs may conflict. Can't remember for sure whether I've also seen it for Chinese-hybrid names like Jackie CHAN Kong-sang. —Tamfang (talk) 07:31, 18 September 2018 (UTC)