[Wikipedia-l] About creating a new language on Wikipedia

[Berto 'd Sera]

Hoi,

This is actually a "must". No foreign "expert" can create words in any
language. In that case you're much better off by importing them as they are.
We are not very keen to release wikies for the use of students in foreign
languages. All wikies are for natives first, foreigners are welcome, but
designing a UI is none of their business.

I'll love to see a Maya wiki :)

Berto 'd Sera
Personagi dl'ann 2006 per l'arvista american-a Time (tanme tuti vojaotri)
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1569514,00.html
 

-----Original Message-----
From: wikipedia-l-bounces at lists.wikimedia.org
[mailto:wikipedia-l-bounces at lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Rodolfo M Vega
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 1:14 PM
To: wikipedia-l at lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: Re: [Wikipedia-l] About creating a new language on Wikipedia

The "language invention" must be done by the native speakers of that 
language. This is what native speakers of Amerindian languages are 
fighting for, and are part of United Nations agreements and conventions 
on language rights for native peoples. I am working with Maya, Mapuche 
and Aymara, from the Americas, in this issue. Soon, they will ask to 
have Wikipedia in their own language, including the interface, done by 
themselves, and not by an "expert gringo". Is this possible based on 
your "rules"?
Rodolfo'

Delirium wrote:
> Berto 'd Sera wrote:
>   
>> The only requests I am receiving are about totally clearing from english
>> other UIs. You might be surprised, but the highest pressure comes from
young
>> (15-20 y.o.) bilingual users, who are native or almost native in english,
>> too. It has nothing to do with liking english or not, it's about using a
>> language for what it's meant to do: to deliver a clear message.
>>
>> The choice of words really depends on what's current in your language. In
>> our case even if the dominant culture has long become industrial and it
>> would take you ages to find a horse anywhere, there still are lots of
>> metaphores originating from the farmers' life. Sometimes their roots are
>> incredibly old.
>>   
>>     
>
> This seems somewhat different than advertised.  Localizing an interface 
> to a language means making it be *in that language*.  Coining new terms 
> to use in the interface, even if based on other words in the language, 
> does not make the interface in that language.  Rather, it makes it in a 
> new language (or dialect, at least), invented at Wikipedia.
>
> "Purified" languages, in which loanwords are purged and replaced with 
> neologisms based on "native" roots, are often created, and sometimes 
> they succeed and sometimes they fail.  See [[en:Katharevousa]] for an 
> example of a purified Greek that eventually more or less failed.  
> Regardless of the merits of such a project, I don't think it appropriate 
> for *us* to engage in such language-invention.
>
> -Mark
>
>
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>   

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