Wikimedia Brasil also have a project of indigenous language, the nheengatu project.
http://br.wikimedia.org/wiki/Nheengattu _____________________ MateusNobre MetalBrasil on Wikimedia projects (+55) 85 88393509 30440865 > Date: Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:50:20 -0300 > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Subject: [Foundation-l] EFE: Indigenous languages entering Wikipedia > > Hi everyone! > > Yesterday, news agency EFE published a note about the work done mainly by > Wikimedia Argentina about the development of projects in Native American > languages like aymara, guarani and mapudungun. The news have been replied > in the largest newspapers and websites of Latin America and Spain. > > The work to develop Wikimedia projects in Native American languages have > been taken as a priority for the chapters members of Iberocoop (Wikimedia > Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Venezuela) and we expect this year 2012 to > work in the development of those communities of users and editors. But we > expect also the support of the Language Committee and the Wikimedia > Foundation for this work. > > http://www.que.es/201202171651-lenguas-indigenas-abren-paso-wikipedia-efe.html > > Here is a fast translation to English of the article (sorry for my English > btw): > > Indigenous languages like Guaraní and Mapuche are making their way into > Wikipedia with the help offered by the editors of the colorful encyclopedia > to teachers and students of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), the > largest in Argentina. > These presentations for teachers and students of Guaraní and Mapuche in the > Language Center of the UBA wants to "promote the development of content in > versions that are underrepresented on the Internet," said Patricio Lorente, > president of Wikimedia Argentina, local official of the encyclopedia. > The training courses were held at the headquarters of the university in > late 2011 and are planned to be repeated this year to expand the initiative. > The editors of this South American country contacted with users of > neighboring Bolivia promote the incorporation of content in Aymara, one of > the main indigenous languages of that country, but is also spoken in > parts of Argentina, Peru and Chile. > According to Unesco, language preservation is a challenge considering the > danger of extinction that half of the 6,000 languages in the world are > facing. > "We are concerned about the preservation of culture. That is why we teach > to those who speak these languages about Wikipedia editing rules," said > the head of the subsidiary in Argentina, with an indigenous population of > about 600,000 people, according to official estimates. > Currently, the encyclopedia has about 1,500 items in Guaraní and another > 1,700 in Aymara, while the Mapuche or Mapudungun, as is known, is still in > "experimental phase", he said. > However, in other Indian languages such as Quechua, used in Argentina and > six other South American countries, the experience is more extensive, with > some 16,000 articles entered. > "With the Mapudungun there are some additional problems because until > recently it had no writing. And, according to the communities, they have > different ways of writing by region. So we are seeing the possibility of > applying a technical solution so everyone can view the articles in their > own dialect," said Lorente. > The main Mapuche community is in Chile, where some 600,000 members > concentrated mainly in the region of La Araucania, and also extends to the > Argentine Patagonia, with a hundred thousand members. > For its part, the Guarani is one of the two official languages of > Paraguay, alongside Spanish, but also has strong presence in northern > Argentina, especially in the province of Corrientes, which is valid for the > authorities. > In general, articles entered in "Vikipeta", the Guarani version of the > encyclopedia, are small in size and are mostly associated with > geo-referenced with data on Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil, among others. > The editors of the site believe that the poverty facing these peoples > should not be an obstacle to greater difussion of their languages, > especially when those are the only languages some of them know. > "They have a very strong linguistic identity and vocation for the > preservation of the language. And Wikipedia is an encyclopedia in permanent > construction that seeks to incorporate more and more content like this," he > said Lorente. > For that, the local site editors also prepared a manual for editing in > Wikipedia to be delivered to recipients of the training. > > > > Osmar Valdebenito Gaete > > Presidente de Wikimedia Chile > > http://www.wikimediachile.cl > _______________________________________________ > foundation-l mailing list > [email protected] > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l _______________________________________________ foundation-l mailing list [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
