Talk:Mermaid

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Mermaid has been listed as one of the Philosophy and religion good articles under the good article criteria. If you can improve it further, please do so. If it no longer meets these criteria, you can reassess it.

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Date	Process	Result
November 19, 2012	Good article nominee	Listed

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Mermaids are real[edit]

I know that mermaid are real because I saw one at the beach and I never told anyone about it I’ve seen mermaids on YouTube kids. This is why I think mermaids are real. 76.133.107.206 (talk) 02:09, 21 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Interesting. But you should take into account that optical illusions, false memories and mental illnesses are also real and much better documented. JonValkenberg (talk) 10:02, 14 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

That's great, but you're not a published scholarly source, so we can't cite your observations in this article. Also, the article describes mermaids as figures in folklore. It doesn't take any position on whether they exist. P Aculeius (talk) 02:36, 21 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

cap,cap,cap 2600:1700:DA0:8C00:8C7A:67FC:F1E5:D432 (talk) 21:40, 22 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

modern German?[edit]

In the article it says "mod. German "meerweib"". I believe this is are rare and obsolete word. The usual modern word for mermaid is Meerjungfrau. --JonValkenberg (talk) 10:09, 14 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Possibly archaic, but it's in Cassell's (though not in Wiktionary or the German Wikipedia article), defined as "mermaid or siren". Cassell's also lists the diminutive Meerweibchen. Books of or about folklore often use older or archaic terms. It might be a good idea to make sure both (or all three) terms are included, since readers might encounter any of them. P Aculeius (talk) 03:00, 23 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Mermaid[edit]

Mermaids are real 104.152.239.51 (talk) 21:56, 4 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe, but note that this is an article about a creature from folklore, and as such it takes no position with regard to truth. You're free to believe or disbelieve in them, but the purpose of this article isn't to prove or disprove their existence. And note, as it says at the top, the purpose of this talk page is to discuss improvements to the article, not a forum for discussion of the subject. So it's not really a place to debate whether or not mermaids exist. P Aculeius (talk) 00:35, 5 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Er, no. Article should be clear that mermaids do not exist in actual reality. Unless, of course, there is reliable evidence to the contrary, that somehow I missed. 2A00:23C8:7B0C:9A01:7CE5:FD55:FD59:E88 (talk) 23:58, 7 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

No, articles on folklore report what is said in folklore—they should neither verify nor refute what people wish to believe. Wikipedia doesn't take sides on the existence of mermaids any more than God, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or luck. That's not the purpose of the encyclopedia. P Aculeius (talk) 22:11, 22 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 7 April 2024[edit]

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Request change:

"Although traditions about and sightings of mermen are less common than those of mermaids, they are generally assumed to co-exist with their female counterparts."

to

"Although traditions about and alleged sightings of mermen are less common than those of mermaids, they are in folklore assumed to co-exist with their female counterparts."

(existing text is written as if sightings and existence are actual fact) 2A00:23C8:7B0C:9A01:7CE5:FD55:FD59:E88 (talk) 23:53, 7 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Done. I used "reported" rather than "alleged", however. —ADavidB 00:23, 8 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]