Wikipedia is a reflection of real life, sometimes a bit too uncannily. In this presentation, we look at how language, and especially how language is perceived by the people who speak it, is reflected onto that language’s particular Wikipedia.

Just as languages often coexist in unequal relationships with one another, so do their Wikipedias. While vibrant communities of Wikipedians exist in the world’s largest languages in countries where many languages are spoken, the language that is often prejudiced by these relationships, which often are the native languages of these speakers, are left by the wayside. This can become a big problem, as these Wikipedias are often neglected by their own speakers and can be prone to community capture (e.g. the Cebuano Wikipedia and its six million articles, or the Scots Wikipedia and its article controversy).

In this presentation, we look at ways to resolve the conundrum, and how communities and the structures of our movement can help promote and uplift these smaller languages. With the movement being where it is today, it’s important that we start questioning this long-running idea of “Wikipedia is not in the business of promoting languages”. Perhaps Wikipedia SHOULD now be in the business of promoting smaller languages, or at least giving their speakers the tools to do so.