Naming conventions

From Culture.si

Here is a checklist to use when deliberating how to use the English translation of the organization in the title and throughout the article.

Use the official English name, of course, if one exists

Check the website of the organisation first, the best source of an English name. The following pages usually have the name in English: "About", "Contact", "Press Releases", "History", or any pages where the organisation gives self-referential information.

For example, while testing the Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra, the organisation's name appears in English on the Orchestra and the History page as the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra. Thus, the best solution is to use the name: Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra.

In such a case, it is necessary to instruct on the article's TALK page that the Editors do a redirect from the page Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra. (Please do not do the redirect yourself.)

If more than one English name seems appropriate, search Google

By doing a Google Search and comparing the number of hits under each name, it may be possible to discern the more widely used version of the name. Beware of the URLs, however, sometimes similar mistakes get repeated throughout Slavic speaking countries. Give particular attention to URLs with .co.uk or .com, or sites that are from native English speaking countries.

Wikipedia.org has this to say about how to find the widely accepted name.

Failing that, use the original title as listed in Slovenia Cultural Profiles.

Consider what information is pertinent

Names should retain the most relevant information that will allow someone to find them easily in a search or in a list.

Consider Architects' Bulletin (ab). The correct title needs to include both "Architect's Bulletin" and "(ab)" since the magazine could be known by different readers (users) by one of these names. Consider that the magazine's logo merely consists of "ab", many people might be inclined to search just for "ab".

Organisation names should retain the English spelling as it appears in the name

For example, P74 Center and Gallery uses the American English spelling of center in their name (this is also a more Slovenian spelling), thus in the article title it would be better to use the name of the organisation as they use it, again with a redirect from P74 Centre and Gallery.

Slovene v. Slovenian

Use Slovene except when the organisation's English name is officially written with the word Slovenian. For example, Slovenian Cinematheque.

In some cases, the organisation doesn't have an "official" translation and it is therefore necessary to decide between Slovene and Slovenian. In most cases, Slovene is sufficient. However, when referring in an article to the language, use Slovenian, not Slovene.

Correct: He speaks Slovenian.

Incorrect: He speaks Slovene.

Slovenian name v. English name =

For the use of geographical locations, follow the above steps and if it is still not clear, then use the Slovenian description.

This rule goes mostly for the following geographic locations:

  • Slovensko
  • Ljubljansko
  • Gorenjsko
  • Dolenjsko
  • Primorsko
  • Stajersko

If we look at some examples:

  • Mladinsko Theatre, not Slovene Youth Theatre
  • Museum of Gorenjska, not Museum of Upper Carniola