Wikipedia:WikiProject Belgium/Brussels naming conventions

For naming articles relating to Brussels, please take into account that:

  1. Brussels is an officially bilingual city with French and Dutch sharing an equal place;
  2. Although originally Dutch-speaking, Brussels is now majority French-speaking; making the language issue a sensitive matter (see Frenchification of Brussels for further details).
  3. The naming should follow the most common usage in English (see WP:NC).
  4. In addition to neutrality, readability is important.
  5. These guidelines reflect a consensus in order to reduce disputes.

Consensus approach

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English or Anglicized names

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If the subject has an English name or can easily be anglicized to facilitate reading and keep language neutrality:

  • Use that name as a title (See WP:UE)
  • Use that name throughout the article (see WP:MOS#Foreign terms)
  • In the first line, if the translations are to be mentioned, follow the sequence French–Dutch
  • In the infobox, use the sequence (English–)French–Dutch
  • Ensure the French and Dutch names are redirects to the article.

Common usage

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If the subject has no English name, or cannot be easily anglicized:

  • Find out which name is used the most often in English.
In practice, this will almost always be French. Then:
  • Use the French name in the title
  • Use that name throughout the article
  • In the first line, as well as in the infobox, follow the sequence French–Dutch
  • Ensure the French and Dutch names are redirects to the article.
  • If Dutch is used more often in English, reverse Dutch and French above.

Bilingualism within articles

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For all other things mentioned in the article, such as streets, squares, buildings, statues, railway or subway stations, and so on:

  • Use the double name (be consistent about which format is used in each article) the first time the thing is mentioned unless there is a linkable article (in which case use the title) or an extremely obvious English name.
  • Use the French (or Dutch, if that is more common in English) name thereafter.
  • Example: There is an expensive store at the intersection of Rue de la Concorde/Eendrachtstraat and Avenue Louise. Rue de la Concorde has lots of fancy shops.
  • Example: It is near Leopold Park.

Municipalities

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For the Municipalities of Brussels:

Administration

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Details about the decision can be found at Talk:Brussels-Capital Region/NamingArchive3.


If there is already a consensus, it does not need to be replaced to follow these guidelines.


Please add this template to the talk page of relevant articles: {{Brusselsname}}