system messages on am.wp have been translated for a while now. I know you don't see a lot of value in project-level localizations, but please don't pretend the translations haven't been around in several African languages, including Amharic, Swahili. and I believe Zulu.
On 10/02/2008, Gerard Meijssen gerard.meijssen@gmail.com wrote:
Hoi, The Wikimedia Foundation does not spend anything on the support of languages per se. What it supports is projects in many languages. It is people that invest in their language and culture.
In the last two Wikimanias it has been said that we, the Wikimedia Foundation, want to promote Wikipedia particularly in Africa. It is only in 2008 that the first three exclusively African languages have the most relevant messages in MediaWiki localised. If the WMF has invested in African languages, there has not been much that can be observed that has a practical value. We are not talking about minority languages when we are talking about Swahili, Amharic, Igbo, Yoruba.....
The WMF is not investing in languages; it supports projects. These projects can be in whatever language. The WMF supports what comes along and has sufficient relevance. It is the board that decides what languages the WMF supports and as a consequence is given this relevance, the most the language committee does is recommend to allow for a particular project.
So in conclusion, it is *people *that invest in languages. It is the Wikimedia Foundation that provides them with a platform to make this happen.
Thanks, GerardM
On Feb 10, 2008 12:45 PM, Jesse Martin (Pathoschild) pathoschild@gmail.com wrote:
All these comments are very informative, but we're straying from the topic. The question is not whether we should deliberately exclude minority languages or cultures, but whether we should consider the preservation of cultures and languages part of the Foundation mission. If we don't consider something a goal, that does not mean we work *against* it. For example, our goal is not to promote human rights or prevent child soldiery, even though our work benefits those causes.
Should the Foundation be willing to allocate donated funds and resources to that purpose? What is the mission of the Wikimedia Foundation itself (not of the individual users, who have their own causes and motives)?
-- Yours cordially, Jesse Martin (Pathoschild)
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