[Foundation-l] RfC: Mission & Vision Statements of the Wikimedia Foundation

[Erik Moeller]

On 11/16/06, Gerard Meijssen <gerard.meijssen at gmail.com> wrote:

> > The idea that humanity can unite under a single language is not
> > appalling at all to me, rather the opposite. Some people believe this
> > "world language" to be Esperanto, others might think it can be Chinese
> > or English, or a new artificial language. But I don't think Wikimedia
> > should adopt a position that implies humanity should continue to
> > actively use hundreds or thousands of languages indefinitely. To me,
> > supporting multilinguality is first and foremost about breaking down
> > barriers to knowledge, but it's not the only strategy to achieve that.

> With all respect, this is the pov of an engineer. The idea of the world
> to unite under one language does horrify me.

That's perfectly fine, and we can have a debate about the relative
merits of our positions. My point, however, is that we should avoid
phrases like "in their own language", because they transport an
inherent POV about what the correct strategy is to disseminate
knowledge. If we can express support for multilinguality in a more
neutral fashion, I'd be supportive of it -- such as "breaking down
language barriers".

-- 
Peace & Love,
Erik

Member, Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees

DISCLAIMER: Unless otherwise stated, all views or opinions expressed
in this message are solely my own and do not represent an official
position of the Wikimedia Foundation or its Board of Trustees.