Boris Lohnzweiger wrote:
Wouter Steenbeek wrote: Besides, I think the Wikipedia phaenomenon is a tool to make languages emancipate and being used aside.
I'd rather say "could be, in the best case". But I think that potential is often highly overrated. I guess here at wikipedia-l we're all language enthusiasts to some degree (ofterwise we'd probably not be subscribers). What has happened a lot in the past was this: one of those "language geeks" in Europe, Northern America or wherever stumbled across some native language of Asia, Africa, Oceania, the Arctic, Native America or so on the Internet and noticed that there isn't a Wikipedia for that language. So he or she requested one. With the best of intentions, of course. Sometimes they'd even think that the mere existence of a Wikipedia might improve the status of a language not officially recognised / marginalized / threatened. IMHO, that's _quite_ naive, a WP could never be more than one small piece of a puzzle. We can really do a lot here but I think believing we can change the world's language landscape is on the verge of hubris.
If a Wikipedia, as a secondary or tertiary effect, proves to benefit a certain language or community - fine. But in my opinion new editions should never be created for those secondary or tertiary aims but only for the primary one: the spread of knowledge. However, like most of the time, I can understand Wouter's intentions, too.
Boris
Hoi, You write that the subscribers at this list are all language entheuasiasts. Well, I think you are wrong there. The discussion of languages is not what this mailing list is about. This mailing list is about the issues re Wikipedia that are bigger than just the single instance of a Wikipedia. With the amount of noise of oscure languages and spellings you might think that it is about languages. It is however not. Many people on the list are bored to death with the ongoing disussions of German Platt or Dutch Platt or whatever name you care to give it.
If you want a Wikipedia for a language, get the necessary forum. Work on it. And if you consider 1.000 articles enough to move away and start a new project .. There are languages that I think are awfull. When I heard that Nauruans walked away disgusted with what we brought to the table I was apalled. The idea of people who do not speak a language want to have a Wikipedia so that they can dabble in it is not what I like to see, I do not think it enhances Wikipedia's reputation.
Basically, we spend too much time on subjects that make this list irrelevant for many. This endless generation of noise makes the ratio such that people turn off. As a consequence the list serves its purpose less well.
Please, work on content and not on this endless stream of semi-interesting infighting. This list would be more relevant if things like single user login, the need for localisation of templates, the use of sound to illustrate the names of people and places, the problems of editing right to left language Wikipedias etc were discussed. There are loads of things more relevant than how Overijssels is written. Then again, do you seriously think a Limburgian from Kerkrade can read the articles from a Limburgian from Maastricht or Venlo? Does that qualify for yaw (yet another wiki) ??
I have said it before and I say it again. If you want to preserve a language than you need a dictionary first. You need to know what it sounds like. And you have to preserve the material that exists in this language.When you have done a respectable amount of work on these things than an encyclopedia may make sense. From a cultural point of view, the subjects described best in that language are the ones you should concentrate on. That is what this language is good at. When you want to make a language a living language, you help the Open Office people to localise the OOo software. That means that people will have the tools to use their language in this day and age. From my point of view, you have this toy, you like it very much but what you do is ineffective. It is ineffective when it is about the language, it is effective in that it keeps you occupied.
Sorry Boris nothing personal this has been building up for some time. To quote the Dutch saying "Barbertje moest hangen".
Thanks, GerardM