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Tell us about Welsh Wikipedia

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This page belongs to the project Tell us about your Wikipedia.

Welsh language Wikipedia

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Questionnaire

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Contributors

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  • Wikimedia Statistics can be difficult to interpret. What is your impression, how many steady contributors do you have?
    • Probably about 10 regulars.
  • Are your contributors mostly native speakers?
    • About half and half between fluent speakers, and learners of various degrees.
  • Where do your contributors live (regions/country)?
    • Mostly in Wales.
  • How common is it that your contributors meet in real life?
    • Not sure. There have been suggestions for a meet-up at the last two National Eisteddfods, but nothing has really happened.

Other Wikipedias

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  • Do you have special contacts with another Wikipedias (maybe in related languages)?
    • Not really. We have an informal mutual understanding with some of the other Celtic language wikipedias to use the local Celtic language name instead of English or French - e.g. we use 'Roazhon' instead of 'Rennes'.
  • Do you translate a lot from other Wikipedias? Which ones?
    • Mostly adapting templates from en:; but sometimes articles, especially about countries, regions and current events, are also translated - again mainly from en: but also from fr: and some of the other language wikipedias.

Organization and support

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  • Is there a Wikimedia chapter in your country? How does your language relate to it?
    • There's no chapter specifically for Wales, but there's Wikimedia UK. Don't know how we relate to it.
  • Are there work groups in other organizations about Wikipedia?
    • Don't know. Not sure if this is relevant, but the National Library of Wales ran a pilot project in August 2008, where they released some images for its collections for use on Wicipedia and Wikipedia.

Your Wikipedia and the linguistic community

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  • Is there a language institution for your language, like an Academy, or a club of people interested in your language? Do you have contact with them?
    • Canolfan Bedwyr, part of University of Wales, Bangor works on standardization of language and new terminology, but we have no contact with them.
    • Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg (Welsh Language Board) are a Welsh Assembly Government agency which promotes the use of the language, but we have no contact with them.
  • Who (else) supports you?
    • Not sure
  • How looks your public outreach for your edition? Do you have flyers, give lectures, trainings etc.?
    • No, not yet.
      • (14.9.2011 Update) In 2010 there was a dedicated do called Diwrnod y Pethau Bychain (Day of small things), where Welsh speakers were encouraged to do something on-line (start a blog, help translated Facebook, upload a YouTube video and of course edit a create a Wicipedia article). This day had a lot of coverage in the media (radio and weekly papers/magazines). Also, at this year's National Eisteddfod in August, as part of Hacio'r Iaith's sort of BarCamp session on Aberystwyth Uni's stall, I gave a demo of how to edit an article and some ideas on how individauls with varying skills can contribute.
  • Do you get feedback from readers?
    • Occasionally.
  • What other encyclopedias exist in your language?
    • Gwyddoniadur Cymru yr Academi Gymreig, and others, but we have no modern general encyclopedia that compares with Larousse or the Encyclopædia Brittanica.

Content

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  • Does your edition concentrate on certain topics, like your region and language, or Latin Wikipedia on Roman history and Christianity?
    • Yes, we have many articles relating to Wales and, to a lesser extent, the other Celtic nations, but apart from that we have a wide range of articles with no real speciality.
  • Did your edition enjoy text donations, for example from older encyclopedias?
    • No. There is no suitable source (such as older editions of the Encyclopædia Brittanica used by en:).

Language

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  • Is there a generally accepted norm about your language (spelling, dictionary, pronunciation)?
    • Generally yes, but there are two main dialects which can vary the spelling and pronunciation of some words, and the grammar of some sentences. Dictionaries list all variations.
  • How do you deal with different spellings, dialects etc. (like B.E. lift and A.E. elevator)?
    • Tend to stick with what was written first.