Wikipedia:Naming conventions (thorn)

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[proposed] convention: it is not a good idea to use the thorn character (Þ/þ) in Wikipedia page names, except for redirect pages.

1 Rationale
2 What to do
- 2.1 Articles regarding the Þ/þ character
- 2.2 Article titles containing words that in their original version would contain Þ or þ
3 Exceptions
4 See also

[edit] Rationale

The basic "naming conventions" principle refers to recognisability, as formulated per naming conventions policy:

Generally, article naming should give priority to what the majority of English speakers would most easily recognize, with a reasonable minimum of ambiguity, while at the same time making linking to those articles easy and second nature.

Þ/þ fails this recognisability criterion for many native English speakers (not to mention a large body of EAL visitors of wikipedia).

In article text this is less a problem while there the character can be linked to Þ or þ, which both redirect to the Thorn (letter) article.

[edit] What to do

[edit] Articles regarding the Þ/þ character

For articles regarding the Þ/þ character, replace the character by "thorn" or "thorn (letter)" in the article title. Examples:

Thorn (letter)
Wikipedia:Naming conventions (thorn) (this guideline)

Provide redirects:

At least Þ and þ for the first example above;
At least Wikipedia:Naming conventions (þ) for the second example above.

[edit] Article titles containing words that in their original version would contain Þ or þ

For articles where Þ or þ is used as part of a word:

try to find the most common transliteration of the word, not using Þ or þ

Example: Thor for the Norse/Germanic deity.
If that fails, replace "Þ" by "Th" and "þ" by "th".

Example: Both "thane" and "thegn" are common renderings of the Old English þegn - the Wikipedia article is at thegn (þ→th - e→e - g→g - n→n).