How to test that your language works well on a wiki

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Wikipedia and other wiki sites in the Wikimedia world support well over 300 languages, and this number is constantly growing.

In practice, however, this support doesn't work equally well for all the languages all the time. The most obvious difference between the languages is how much content does the wiki in each language have: wikis in some languages have more content, and others have less. This is something that, at least in theory, can be addressed by volunteer editors who know those languages and who will write more content.

There are also technical issues that affect some languages more than others. Some of them can also be addressed by volunteers who know the language, but it may be harder to notice them or to find how to fix them. And there are also issues that can only be fixed by experienced software developers, but they will fix them only if people who know these languages identify those issues and report them. This page is a guide for identifying these gaps in language support and finding ways to address them.

General comments:

Whenever this page talks about translating something, it means that a human, such as yourself, writes the translation. It doesn't mean "pushing a button and seeing a machine translation". In some cases, machine translation is provided as an aid for human editors, but the responsibility for translation on Wikimedia projects is upon the humans.

Wikis in one language and wikis in many languages

Most of Wikimedia's wiki sites (also called "projects") are monolingual—they are written in a single language. Each of these wiki projects is monolingual:

Wikipedia: Within each Wikipedia, the articles are written in one language, and the discussions among editors are done in this language, too. Other languages are used only for citations from foreign books, foreign names, etc.
Wiktionary: In each edition of Wiktionary, the definitions are usually written in the main language of that Wiktionary. Many editions of Wiktionary also include words in other languages, but it is usually expected that pages about them shall include translations of those words into the main language.
Wikiquote: In each edition of Wikiquote, the quotes are written in the main language of that edition.
Wikibooks: In each edition of Wikibooks, the books' pages are written in the main language of that edition.
Wikisource: In each edition of Wikisource, the books and the documents are written in the main language of that edition. Some editions of Wikisource allow only books and documents that were originally published in that language outside Wikisource, but some editions allow new translations from other languages. (But see "Multilingual Wikisource".)
Wikinews: In most editions of Wikinews, the news articles are written in the main language of that edition (although some editions may allow articles in other languages; check the local policy).
Wikiversity: In each edition of Wikiversity, the pages are written in the main language of that edition.
Wikivoyage: In each edition of Wikiversity, the pages are written in the main language of that edition.

Other Wikimedia wikis are multilingual—they contain content in many languages. These wiki projects is multilingual:

Multilingual Wikisource: Multilingual Wikisource allows content in any language in which there is no separate edition of Wikisource. When there is a lot of content in a certain language in the Multilingual Wikisource, its editors can request a separate domain for this language.
Wikispecies: Wikispecies is a multilingual repository of biological species. Its content is primarily written in English, but it allows translations to any language.
MediaWiki.org: This is the site for the developers and the users of MediaWiki, the wiki management software that runs all Wikimedia wikis. It is primarily in English, but many of its pages are translatable.
Wikidata: This is a structured linked data repository. Its structured data content is language-neutral, but all the data entities can have labels and descriptions in any language. Most of its documentation pages are initially written in English, but they are often translatable into other languages. Community discussions are mostly written in English, but there are discussions there in other languages, too.
Commons: This is a repository of media files: images, video, audio, charts, documents, and some other types of information. The category tree is mostly in English. File names and descriptions can be written in any language.
Wikifunctions: This is a repository of functions. Similarly to Wikidata, it is language-neutral; names of objects (functions, inputs, outputs, tests, etc.) can be written in any language.
Meta: This is a global Wikimeda community management and documentation site. It is mostly in English, but many pages are translatable, and other languages are allowed when necessary.
Incubator: This is the site for starting new editions of monolingual wikis in various languages.

Is your language supported?

Even though well over 300 languages are supported by Wikimedia projects, there are many more languages in the world. It's possible that your language is not supported yet.

There are many ways in which a language can be supported in the Wikimedia world. This section shows the main ones.

User interface of MediaWiki

All Wikimedia's wiki sites run on wiki site management software called MediaWiki. At the time of writing this page in 2024, the MediaWiki software can be used in more than 400 languages, and new languages are frequently added.

The full list of languages in which MediaWiki can be used appears in the file includes/languages/data/Names.php.

It is already possible to translate MediaWiki into even more languages on translatewiki.net. As of 2016, once a language reaches the threshold of translating 13% of the core MediaWiki messages, it becomes usable as a user interface language. To check if your language is already supported on MediaWiki, go to the translation interface, click the language name next to "Translate to", and search for the name of your language in the panel that will appear. If your language is not yet there, you can request to add it according to the instructions on the page Translatewiki.net languages there.

Content in monolingual wikis

To check whether there's an edition of one of the monolingual sites in your language, see these lists:

If a Wikipedia, a Wiktionary, or another monolingual wiki in your language doesn't yet exist, it can probably be created, although there are some condition for creating it, and doing it will require some work by people who know this language. See these pages:

It is often possible to add words in any language into Wiktionary. For example, in the English Wiktionary, English words are usually defined in English, and every English word can have a list of translations into other languages, and all languages are allowed in this list, even if there is no edition of Wiktionary in it. It is also possible to create whole pages for words in other languages and to add translations of these words into English. (Note that the policy about this in other editions of Wiktionary may be the same as in English or different, so check it before adding information in your language into editions of Wiktionary in languages other than English.)

Content in multilingual wikis

Multilingual Wikisource: A list of all the languages on Multilingual Wikisource appears on the page Wikisource:Languages. If your language is not in the list, see the page Wikisource:Language policy. TODO: Add instructions about actually adding a language.
Wikispecies: TODO: Add instructions for what can be done multilingually on Wikispecies.
MediaWiki.org: MediaWiki.org primarily hosts documentation for MediaWiki and its various features. It's usually written initially in English, and can be translated using the Translate extension to any language that is supported by core MediaWiki for user interface. If a page has the "Translate this page" link at the top, you can click it and translate into your language.
Wikidata: Wikidata's content is language-neutral. Every data entity can have labels, descriptions, and aliases in any language. All the languages in which MediaWiki can be used for user interface are fully supported on Wikidata, and it also supports many additional languages. See the pages Help:Multilingual and Help:Languages for more details.
Commons
Wikifunctions
Meta
Incubator

Getting started: Use the wiki in your language

The best way to find language support issues in your language is to use the wikis in your language: to read and edit content in them.

Reading content has more than one form:

Reading Wikipedia articles.
Searching Wikipedia using the search box.
Reading discussions about a Wikipedia article on its talk page.
Browsing Wikipedia categories.
Reading books on Wikisource.
Reading Wiktionary entries.
Reading item pages on Wikidata.
Looking at photos and videos on Commons and reading their descriptions.

This is just a brief list of examples, and there are more ways to read wikis. Each of the above things may work differently on desktop and laptop computers, on web browsers on mobile phones, and on mobile apps. Trying each of these ways to read wikis can help you find different issues. For example, searching may work well on a desktop browser, but not so well in the mobile app.

Editing content also has many forms:

Creating a new Wikipedia article.
Editing an existing Wikipedia article.
Suggesting the deletion of a Wikipedia article.
Starting a new discussion topic on the talk page of a Wikipedia article, or replying to a topic that someone else started.
Having a discussion about content or community policy on a wiki, for example which pages should or shouldn't be deleted, how should pages be named, which spelling rules to use, which users should receive administrator privileges, how to be respectful in discussions with others, etc.
Uploading photos, videos, or sounds to Commons.
Writing or translating descriptions of images on Commons.
Adding data items ("Q items") to Wikidata.
Adding lexemes (dictionary words) to Wikidata.
Editing information about lexemes or data items on Wikidata.
Proposing new properties on Wikidata.
Adding translations or definitions of words on Wiktionary.
Transcribing books or documents or Wikisource.
Creating or updating wikitext templates, Lua modules, JavaScript gadgets, or CSS pages.
Translating newsletters, banners, or documentation on sites like Meta, mediawiki.org, Wikidata, or Commons.
Translating software user interface on translatewiki.net (which is not a Wikimedia wiki, but is closely related to it).

As with reading, the list of editing scenarios is also incomplete and includes just several notable examples, and editing may work differently on desktop and laptop computers, mobile browsers, and mobile apps.

So you should intentionally try to read and edit wikis in your language. A wiki in your language should be the first place in which you look for knowledge. It is often tempting to search for information that you need in a wiki in another language that you know and that has more content than the wiki in your language, such as English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Indonesian, or Russian. Sometimes, you have no choice but to go there because the wiki in your language doesn't have the information that you need.

However, if you at least start your search in another language that you know, you will get a chance to see how well does that language and to notice issues or missing information, and after you notice it, there will be a better chance that the bugs will be fixed and the missing information will be added.

Problems to notice

User interface localization completeness

Wikis consist of content and user interface. The content is the thing for which most people come to the wikis: Wikipedia articles, Commons images, Wikidata's information tables, Wikisource book chapters, etc. The interface is how the readers and the editors interact with the website: the various menus, links, buttons, forms, etc. Do the text labels in the user interface appear in your language or in another one? If they don't appear in your language, they can most likely be translated into your language.

Important comment: Even if you can understand the labels in another language, it doesn't necessarily mean that other people can understand them. There are likely many who know your language, but don't know the other language in which those labels appear (most often it's English, but in some cases it may be French, Russian, Indonesian, or another fallback language). This means that messages should be translated even if you understand them in another language!

New user interface messages are added in English almost every day, and their translation to most languages is not complete most of the time. However, it's a good idea to translate them frequently and strive to keep them as complete as possible.

Most features on Wikimedia wikis are a part of the core MediaWiki software or one of its extensions. All of these are translated on translatewiki.net.

Some features are implemented as gadgets, user scripts, or tools. Some of them are also translated on translatewiki.net, but others are translated separately. Consult with their developers to find out how to do this. (If you are a developer of a gadget or a tool, it is likely possible to get it translated on translatewiki.net. See the page New project there.)

Other issues

Software is often localized by translating a list of strings out of context, and the translator may choose the wrong translation for an ambiguous source string.
Technical terminology may become inconsistent, if the project is translated by several people without proper coordination or if the translator is imprudent.
Literal word-for-word translations may sound inappropriate, artificial, or too technical in the target language.
Untranslated messages in the original language may be hard coded in the source code, and thus untranslatable.
Some messages may be created automatically at run time and the resulting string may be ungrammatical, functionally incorrect, misleading, or confusing.
Software may use a keyboard shortcut that has no function on the source language's keyboard layout, but is used for typing characters in the layout of the target language.
Fonts and font sizes that are appropriate in the source language may be inappropriate in the target language. For example, characters in languages of South, South-East, and East Asia may become unreadable if the font is too small.
A string in the target language may be longer than the software can handle. This may make the string partly invisible to the user.
Software may lack proper support for reading or writing bidirectional text.
Software may display images with embedded text that cannot be localized.

Feel free to add more issues here!

Non-MediaWiki tools

TODO: Discuss language support in tools that aren't based on the MW platform, such as pageviews, wikistats, Developer portal, Wikipedia.org portal, X tools, etc.