File talk:Taanketel.jpg

Tan

I was asked to explain why I re-added Category:Tanning. It might show differing meanings of "tanning", according to my Dutch-English dictionary, both "taanketel" (tan kettle) and "tankuip" (tan cup, but larger than a cup, see en:Cooper (profession)) should be translated as "tan-vat". As far as I know, tanning doesn't only mean the tanning of leather (see, for example, en:sun tanning). de:Lohe_(Seefahrt) seems to shows that even languages which use a non-cognate word, use that word for "tanning" sails and fishing nets. Erik Warmelink (talk) 19:32, 7 July 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the explanation. I understand what you mean, but just as there is a separate category for tanning as sun tanning (Category:Sunbathing), I think there should be another one, with a disambiguatd name such as "Tanning (fishing)" or something like that (with a disambiguation note in Category:Tanning as there is for the sunbathing cat). Otherwise, the images will be grouped in the same category even though they have nothing to do with each other, which defies the very purpose of categorizing them. What do you suggest? --Waldir ^talk 21:43, 7 July 2009 (UTC)

But it isn't fishing, tanning a net is almost the same as tanning a skin: Dip it in tannic acid so it will not rot. Or to say it another way, for me tanning is part of leathermaking; perhaps the most important part, but not the only part. Erik Warmelink (talk) 03:32, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

Do you think there should be a separate "Lether tanning" category under Category:Tanning, then? --Waldir ^talk 10:20, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

I don't know, most importantly I don't know when commons starts a separate category. As far as I know a tannery which tans leather, will also tan other stuff. Perhaps some tanneries/tanners hardly tan leather, but as long as there are few images about those, I don't see a pressing need for a subcategory. Erik Warmelink (talk) 19:07, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

That "as far as I know" is rather important. I don't know a lot about tanning or leather making in my region, I know almost nothing about them in the rest of the world. Erik Warmelink (talk) 19:07, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

In that case, I suppose the best is to have this information summarized in the Category:Tanning page, in order to let less knowledgeable people know why those images are related (e.g., English is not my first language, and I just discovered yesterday what tanning meant, and thought it only applied to leather. Your explanation helped broaden my comprehension of the process :)) --Waldir ^talk 06:30, 9 July 2009 (UTC)

English isn't my native language either, and in English 'tan' seems to be have almost all meanings I know from Dutch 'taan' (the noun), 'tanen' (the verb) and 'tanig' (the adjective), but I could not find "the dye which is also a preservative". I now understand why you reverted, but I don't know a better category for the image. Erik Warmelink (talk) 22:18, 9 July 2009 (UTC)