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

[Ray Saintonge]

Rodolfo M Vega wrote:

>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"?
>
Why should there be a problem?

When the language is a pre-literate one there is still the need to 
develop a symbolic representation, such as an alphabet.  One thing that 
appears to have happened with the languages of the west coast of North 
America is that alphabets were devised by late 19th century 
anthropologists on phonetic rather than phonemic grounds.  This was fine 
with the anthropologists who wanted to understand accurate 
pronunciations, but it would involve distinctions that the native people 
would not make themselves.

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