Language desk
< December 10	<< Nov \| December \| Jan >>	Current desk >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Language Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

December 11[edit]

Help with Chinese: Finding Western Studies Department[edit]

On http://web.archive.org/web/20040811095009/http://www.sfs.nju.edu.cn/ (Archive of Nanjing University website) I want to find if Yu Xiuying (professor) once had a webpage there.

Thanks WhisperToMe (talk) 03:29, 11 December 2013 (UTC) Found the webpages. Never mind.. Done WhisperToMe (talk) 03:37, 11 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

bis to insert numbered content in an existing numbered list: how to style?[edit]

Recently I've had to insert content when editing someone's numbered list. I vaguely recall using the word bis added to the number (to indicate that the final version will require renumbering due to the additions), but how is it styled? Preceded by a space? And to add more than one item between two sequential entries? -- Deborahjay (talk) 09:43, 11 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

You would have a list like 1, 1 bis, 2, 3, 3 bis, 3 ter, 4... which would, in the final version become 1...7. I've rarely seen anything used beyond ter in such an instance, but apparently, the full list is as follows: bis, ter, quater, quinquies, sexies, septies, octies, novies, decies... [1]. This is actually more of a French usage; in English, I've seen it more often as 1, 1a, 2, 3, 3a, 3b, 4... --Xuxl (talk) 15:38, 11 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Indeed , I doubt that most English speakers would even recognise bis (let alone ter etc) unless they've worked with French sources or certain international standards. --ColinFine (talk) 16:24, 11 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

These are, of course, Latin words, not French words. They are called "numeral adverbs", and the full list is here. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 17:17, 11 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

But they are often used in French house numbers, for example (although as Xuxl says, hardly ever past "ter"). I don't think most French people realize they are Latin! The only time these words are regularly used in English is in prescriptions, and then they are usually abbreviated (bid = bis in die) Adam Bishop (talk) 07:55, 12 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The French also tend to call out the Latin word "bis" where English audiences would use the French word "encore". -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 20:41, 12 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The OP adds: The source text "list" is actually the code-heavy typed transcription of a documentary film's existing English-language subtitles I'm reviewing prior to their translation. My communications with the polyglot subtitling team are exclusively in writing, black on white, and this is my first time working with their arcane format. So I wanted something, hopefully unambiguous, that would catch their collective eye. The suggested addition of lower-case letters I avoided as that's associated with outlining (e.g. the function in MS Word). I'm quite content if my maneuver sends these offsite colleagues running to the dictionary; that's the "same page" I'd like us to be on. -- Deborahjay (talk) 11:54, 12 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]