Tell us about Welsh Wikipedia
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Welsh language Wikipedia
[edit]Questionnaire
[edit]Contributors
[edit]- 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
[edit]- 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
[edit]- 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
[edit]- 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.
- No, not yet.
- 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
[edit]- 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
[edit]- 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.