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Topic: Duplicate films / staff

24th Sep 2020, 4:23 PM
	jaimeeduardo Member since Dec 2012 23850 Points	There are a number of duplicate film entries for Russian/English versions. The English versions are usually duplicates of the existing Russian record, and they shouldn't have been input (unless the system wants bilingual versions to coexist). The English versions illustrate the problems with trying to use English when the actual film title/cast is in another language. Usually the English versions do not link to anything in the real world. The title in any romanized version seldom appears on a video in any language, whether DVD/Blu-ray or online film. So these English versions are essentially deadwood- they link only to the IMDb entry. Also, the idea that there is an 'English' language version of names and titles in Russian is unrealistic. Several systems of romanization for Russian exist. Systems evolve. Individuals choose to use their own unique spellings. Many Russian names have 2 or 3 common forms used in English. It's not unusual for IMDb to use 1 or 2 spellings, Wikipedia another, OCLC yet another. Many of my Russian records illustrate some of the vastly differing spellings found in English and other languages. Only the Russian names and titles are consistent, easy to spell and pronounce in the original script. English forms are the opposite. There are no simple solutions to this. Participants need at least some knowledge of the languages they are inputting. Technology for languages continues to evolve. The romanization solutions of the previous century reflect the limitations of the technology of that time, not the realities of the computer era. In my opinion, data should be input in the language on the item. Notes, references, etc., can provide links, but they should not be required. It's too costly in terms of manpower, as I think the system will realize, especially in the pen name mess emerging in books. The current system is slowly de-diversifying. This seems to be in contrast to the idea of 45 "Worlds."