An internet project has been launched by the Celtic League to encourage users of the Celtic languages to upload articles to the internet on different subjects.

The project, launched by the Assistant General Secretary (AGS) of the Celtic League, Seanán Ó Coistín, this week not only aims to increase awareness of the different languages, but also to create a resource bank of articles that can by used by learners. Writing to language officers and activists in all six of the Celtic countries, Mr Ó Coistín, who is a native speaker of Irish, said:

"I propose that a Celtic Wikipedia Project be undertaken to significantly increase the number of articles available in the Celtic languages

"I'm contacting the various Celtic language organizations to see if you would be interested in this project. It would be a great publicity boost for the languages, attracting attention both at home and from all over the world. And more importantly, it will promote writing in the Celtic languages and offer a great free resource in the Celtic languages available to use any time."

The League's AGS pointed out that an artificial language, Volapuk, which has an estimated 30 speakers, has over 100,000 articles on Wikipedia.org. He asks, "So how is it that the Celtic languages have so many speakers, but are no where near having the amount of articles Volapuk has?" The AGS proposed in the launch that users of the Celtic languages should learn from Volapuk speakers and writers and increase the number of articles in the Celtic languages on Wikipedia, covering all aspects of diverse subjects.

Mr Ó Coistín set out a plan as to how he thought the Celtic language organisations could work to increase the number articles in their respective languages, highlighting a possible two tier system within a one year time frame. He suggested that people should be encouraged to `pledge' to write articles and that awards and publicity could be given to the most prolific publishers.

Explaining his motivation for launching the project, Mr Ó Coistín said:

"It's shameful that a recent artificial language with a tiny number of speakers, such as Volapuk, can have more articles than some of the oldest languages in Europe with some of the oldest written traditions too.

"The Celtic languages should have a vast resource available online permanently that is of use to many people. The project should also spur more people to become aware of the languages and encourage them to learn them. It would be a great opportunity to highlight the threats and difficulties the languages face."

Note:

Wikipedia is a free online resource that enables writers to upload information on to the internet on different subjects of interest.

Volapuk on Wikipedia

(voir le site)

(Article prepared for Celtic News by Rhisiart Talebot)

J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League

14/09/09

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