conferences | speakers | series

How to sustain your language online

home

How to sustain your language online
Wikimania 2019

Perhaps the greatest misconception about linguistic diversity is that the Internet has contributed to its decline by further amplifying English, Spanish, and other mass media languages. However, the Internet has expanded language preservation and reclamation by expanding media access and creation, making it possible to use minoritized languages on a daily basis and promote them in a global context without external support. However, despite the rise in Internet language activism, online equality remains elusive. In fact, no more than 2% of all languages have full digital support. This session will propose a comprehensive framework for online language equality, providing an actionable framework for ‘digitizing’ your language. It will have two parts: # A presentation outlining three case studies of minoritized language communities leveraging the Internet to advance langua [[Category:2019:Languages submissions]] ge preservation and reclamation: 1) the Tunica language (USA), which is being revived by its community after initially going dormant in 1948, 2) the Aragonese language (Spain), which has tripled in size over the past three decades, and 3) the Cornish language (United Kingdom), which has grown significantly with the introduction of online language spaces. # A guided, open discussion about language diversity online, which will encourage attendees to think about what they want to see for their native or ancestral languages online. The objective will be to draw universal lessons about linguistic diversity from the case studies presented in part 1. During this portion, attendees will be encouraged to think about how inclusion in Wikimedia projects can feature in the ‘full suite’ of digital support for language communities.[[File:Daniel Bogre Udell presenting about Wikitongues at Wikimania 2018 01.jpg|alt=Presenting in Cape Town|thumb|This talk will build on Daniel Bögre Udell’s [[wm2018:Program/Every_Language_in_the_World:_Introducing_Wikitongues|Wikimania 2018 presentation in Cape Town]], where he introduced the work of Wikitongues.]]

Speakers: Daniel Bögre Udell