[Foundation-l] "Historical" languages and constructed languages

[Gerard Meijssen]

Hoi,
As long as there is no alternative, the current policy stands.
Thanks,
    GerardM

On Jan 25, 2008 4:28 PM, Jesse Martin (Pathoschild) <pathoschild at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Hoi,
> GerardM is mistaken. There is majority subcommittee agreement that
> this requirement (as an exception) is vague and unacceptable, and
> should be replaced.
>
> He is also misusing it as an exception, as I explained below in an
> email I sent to a different thread (which GerardM conveniently
> ignored).
>
> ------------
> The exception for constructed languages that GerardM mentions is not
> an exception at all.
>
> ...
>
> That phrase has been in the policy since the very beginning, before
> there was a requirement for native speakers. You can see this in the
> very first draft written on 11 November 2006, at <
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meta:Language_proposal_policy?oldid=466496
> >. (This draft predates my joining the subcommittee, so no
> subcommittee discussion shaped it.)
>
> That original draft reads as such: "The proposal has a sufficient
> number of speakers to form a viable community and audience. If the
> proposal is for an artificial language such as Esperanto, it must have
> a reasonable degree of recognition as determined by discussion."
>
> It was then intended not as an exception, but as an _additional
> requirement_. The requirement for native speakers was introduced
> nearly a year later on 17 October 2007 (see <
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meta:Language_proposal_policy?diff=711692
> >). The _extra requirement_ for constructed languages did not then
> exempt them from the new requirement; it was simply left behind by
> accident, and only noticed recently and misinterpreted.
>
> As such, the current policy prohibits constructed languages *and* has
> a special requirement for them (which is contradictory, but that's
> because it's just an omission), it does *not* exempt them from needing
> native speakers.
>
> This is the current matter of discussion: should we have an exception
> for constructed languages after all? If we exempt them from needing
> native languages, do we apply a special requirement for them or not?
> ------------
>
> --
> Yours cordially,
> Jesse Martin (Pathoschild)
>
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