Editing Encyclopedia:Manual of Style (section)

==== Spelling and romanization ====
{{Shortcut|MOS:Ñ|MOS:NOTLATIN|MOS:ROMANIZATION|MOS:ROMANISATION|MOS:DIACRITICS}}
{{See also|Wikipedia:Naming conventions (use English-language sources)#Modified letters|Wikipedia:Romanization|:Category:Romanization}}

Names and terms originally written using a non-[[Latin script]]—such as the [[Greek alphabet]], the [[Cyrillic alphabet]], or [[Chinese characters]]—must be [[romanized]] for English-language use. If a particular romanization of the subject's name is [[Wikipedia:Article titles#Use commonly recognizable names|most common]] in English ({{xt|Tchaikovsky}}, {{xt|Chiang Kai-shek}}), that form should be used. Otherwise, the romanization of names should adhere to a particular widely used system for the language in question ({{xt|Aleksandr Tymoczko}}, {{xt|Wang Yanhong}}). 

The use of [[diacritic]]s in non-English words is neither encouraged nor discouraged. Use generally depends on whether they appear in reliable English-language sources, though with some additional constraints imposed by site guidelines. Provide [[Wikipedia:Redirect#Alternative names and languages|redirects]] from alternative forms that include or exclude diacritics.

Proper names in languages written using the [[Latin alphabet]] can include letters with diacritics, [[Typographic ligature|ligatures]], and other characters that are not commonly used in contemporary English. Wikipedia normally retains these special characters, except where there is a well-established English spelling that replaces them with English standard letters. Examples:
* The name of the article on Hungarian mathematician [[Paul Erdős]] is spelt with the [[double acute accent]], and the alternative spellings ''Paul Erdos'' and ''Paul Erdös'' redirect to that article.
* Similarly, the name of the article on the Nordic god {{langr|non|[[Ægir]]}} is so spelt, with redirects from the ligature-free form {{langr|non|[[Aegir]]}} and the Swedish spelling {{langr|sv|[[Ägir]]}}.
* However, the region of Spain named {{lang|es|Aragón}} in Spanish and {{lang|ca|Aragó}} in Catalan is given as [[Aragon]], without the accent, as this is the established English name. Non-English forms with diacritics appear in the article's lead section.
Use of diacritics is determined on a topic-by-topic basis; a [[Wikipedia:Consensus#Levels of consensus|small group of editors]] cannot prohibit or require the use of diacritics within a given class of articles.{{efn|1=See the near-unanimous [[Special:PermanentLink/496631631#RfC: Can a wikiproject require no-diacritics names, based on an organisation's rule or commonness in English press?|RfC]], repeated [[Special:PermanentLink/664830645|deletion]] at [[Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion]] of an anti-diacritics "wikiproject", the policy {{section link|Wikipedia:Consensus#Levels of consensus}}, and the [[Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee]]'s standardized [[Wikipedia:Arbitration/Index/Principles 2#Levels of consensus|''statements of principles'' on such matters]].}}

Spell a name consistently in the title and the text of an article. {{crossref|pw=y|(Relevant policy: [[Wikipedia:Article titles]]; see also [[Wikipedia:Naming conventions (use English-language sources)]].)}} For a non-English name, phrase, or word, adopt the spelling most commonly used in English-language [[Wikipedia:Verifiability#Reliable sources|reliable sources]], including but not limited to those already cited in the article.{{efn|name=GScholar|1=Reputable English-language encyclopedias and dictionaries in the aggregate are often helpful in [[Wikipedia:Naming conventions (geographic names)#Widely accepted name|determining the most widely accepted spelling]] of a place name, loanwords, etc. It may also help ([[Wikipedia:Google test|within limits]]) to compare search results from the [[Google Scholar]] journal index, for topics likely to be covered in peer-reviewed academic papers.}} For punctuation of compounded forms, see relevant guidelines in {{section link||Punctuation}}.

[[Proper and common nouns|Proper name]]s in non-English languages should generally not be italicized, unless another reason applies; such as with [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Titles of works#FOREIGNTITLE|titles of major published works]], e.g., [[Les Liaisons dangereuses|{{xt|{{lang|fr|Les Liaisons dangereuses}}}}]]; or when being compared to other names for the same subject in a [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Text formatting#Words as words|words-as-words]] manner, e.g., {{xt|'''Nuremberg''' ({{langx|de|Nürnberg}})}}. When non-English text should not be italicized, it can still be properly tagged by using the {{tlx|lang}} template with the {{para|italic|unset}} parameter: {{tlx|lang|de|Nürnberg|italic{{=}}unset}}.

Sometimes usage will be influenced by other guidelines, such as {{section link||National varieties of English}}, which may lead to different choices in different articles.