Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2017 August 23

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August 23

¢ vs ⌀

On Alibaba I see most of the Chinese sellers misusing ¢, the Cent (currency) symbol, to represent diameter, instead of the proper ⌀ Diameter#Diameter_symbol. Then again maybe ⌀ isn't universal and ¢ is actually the correct symbol in their language. Is this the case?

Also, how easy is it to input ¢ in a Chinese OS with a Chinese keyboard? Maybe they're using ¢ simply because it's easier to type than ⌀. I don't even know how to type ⌀, I just copy and paste it after Googling "diameter symbol". 111.222.52.12 (talk) 03:58, 23 August 2017 (UTC)

Can you give a specific source? I have only ever seen ¢ to mean 1/100th of a dollar and ⌀ to mean null, or a version of zero that can't be mistook for the vowel. There may be some glitch, but for that I'd ask at the computing desk. μηδείς (talk) 04:03, 23 August 2017 (UTC)

Just for your interest (it's obviously irrelevant to the query), but there is an opposing tradition from the days of the IBM 360 computer that ⌀ (or more likely Ø) is used as a version of the letter O that can't be mistaken for zero. The zero then is either plain or has a dot in the middle. I grew up with that way of distinguishing and still find it disconcerting when other people slash their zeroes. --69.159.60.147 (talk) 19:18, 28 August 2017 (UTC)

111.222.52.12 -- are you saying that it's common to specify the physical dimensions of objects on Chinese-language Internet stores or auction sites that way? I'm not sure I've ever seen the diameter symbol in actual use... AnonMoos (talk) 08:37, 23 August 2017 (UTC)

Diameter is indicated using ⌀ in China, same as everywhere else. It's probably because it is easier to type ¢ in whatever input system is used by the trader, and it is being used as an approximation which would be understood in context. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 09:11, 23 August 2017 (UTC)

How to create a new article in another language

Hi Help desk, 1. I would like to create a new page in German, which exists already in English. The https://en.wiki.x.io/wiki/Juliette_Benzoni has not been created in the first place by me. Yet I am adding all the background I know about this author since about two weeks. I would now want all the facts I wrote down ( and all that is necessary to complete a new page) to be available for German readers, where the author was well known. No one has created a page de.wiki.x.io/wikiJuliette_Benzoni so far on Wikipedia until this day. I do not need help for writing in German, but I wanted to know if I am aloud to copy my text and translate it for the new page. 2. The second question is: how do I start opening a new page in German? In one of the help pages I read that I need only to go the English page and exchange the EN to DE ! Is that correct? I like to add that I have never created a new page so far, but I am sure I can do it with all the help pages. Thank you very much in advance for your help. Kindly Laramie1960 (talk) 13:07, 23 August 2017 (UTC) Laramie1960

See Wikipedia:Translate us for protocols for translating en.wikipedia articles to other languages such as de.wikipedia. --Jayron32 13:10, 23 August 2017 (UTC)

Hi Laramie1960, I recommend starting your article as a draft at de:Benutzer:Laramie1960/Juliette_Benzoni, your "personal" space. Policy at de.wikipedia (generally) is to import the version history of a translated article, which has to be done by an administrator, but you needn’t worry about that for now. Once you have finished your translation, you can move it to the article space and request the version import (if you’re unsure as to how, feel free to contact me at my talk page). ✦ _hugarheimur 13:29, 23 August 2017 (UTC)