[WikiEN-l] Multilingual?

Fri Nov 14 06:26:42 UTC 2003

One of the first things on the Main Page: "Wikipedia is a multilingual
project".

I'm becoming a bit concerned about arguments in a few areas that cut across
this - to the effect that the English version should stick to received
usages, so as not to conflict with a supposed 'Anglo' culture.  For example,
Adam Carr, on order in Japanese names, says 'this' (presumably his horizon
is the English language version)  is _not_ a multilingual project.  I've
just come across another such issue, namely whether games of the chess
family should be called 'chess variants'.

Because the lowest common denominator of English-speaking users is to know
nothing about other cultures, this argument in effect can always be used to
lower standards of cultural sensitivity. The worry is that we then get a
tabloid version, not something compatible with scholarly practice.

Therefore I say this is an intrusion of journalistic thinking, into an
encyclopedia; where it is inappropriate.

Charles

http://www.speakingasaparent.com/