[Foundation-l] UNIQUE AND WORKABLE CRITERION

[Philippe Beaudette]

Ray Saintonge wrote:

> Crazy Lover wrote:
>>    Languages
>>
>>   * what kind of languages can have wikis?
>>
>>   any that has a standarized writing system and enough writers and
>>  readers to form a viable community and audience. whether a particular
>>  language qualifies depends on discussion.
>>
>>   i thinks, it is a simple and workable criterion to start a unitary and 
>> congruent policy.
>>
>>   once again, what do you think?
>>
>
> Standardized writing systems can present a problem when you consider the
> first nations languages of the west coast of North America.  Many of the
> writing system were devised by anthropologists from around 1900, and
> were never intended to serve the speakers of the language.
>
> Ec


Affirmed.  I think particularly of some native languages that have a decent 
number of speakers, but very few who write.  In my home state of Oklahoma 
there are some tribes in exactly that position.  Yet, I think it's dangerous 
to ignore the potential role of a wikipedia or wiktionary in educating those 
speakers and turning them into writers.  For instance, I can see an elder in 
the Yuchi Tribe, for instance, who might assign the class to write 
wiktionary definitions in Yuchi as part of a language assignment.  That 
serves two goals: it grows community for a Wiki, and also helps to save a 
dying language.

Philippe