The March update was positive, so let’s see how the various African-language Wikipedias have progressed since then. As always, this measures the number of articles, which is an imperfect metric, but it’s interesting to follow the trends. African Language Wikipedias Language 11/2/2011 9/5/2013 26/6/2015 5/3/2016 24/11/2016 Malagasy 3,806 45,361 79,329 81,240 82,799 Afrikaans 17,002 26,752… Continue reading November 2016 African language Wikipedia update
Tag: wikimedia
Wikipedia and systemic bias
A while ago, I noticed a comment on the talk page of one of the Wikipedia editors that I follow. An article he had created was nominated for speedy deletion. Speedy deletion is the kind of thing reserved for articles about my pet cat, my high school teacher, the rock band I’ve started in my… Continue reading Wikipedia and systemic bias
March 2016 African language Wikipedia update
My feeds have been full with Dumi editing up a storm on the Xitstonga Wikipedia recently, as well as helping the Ndebele Wikipedia into the incubator. Ndebele is the only South African official language without a Wikipedia, and it’s great to see this hole being plugged. So, it’s time for another African language Wikipedia update.… Continue reading March 2016 African language Wikipedia update
June 2015 African Language Wikipedia Update
I recommend that anybody new to Wikipedia editing starts, if possible, with one of the smaller Wikipedias. It’s far more fun, contributions will probably be openly welcomed, and there’s less likelihood of experiencing some sort of bureaucratic nightmare. An example fresh in my mind is the OpenCart article, which doesn’t exist. Anyone attempting to create… Continue reading June 2015 African Language Wikipedia Update
Wiki Cape Town, Joe Slovo and a storyteller
There was a Cape Town Wikimedia meetup this week, and I got to meet a couple of new people. Victor, a Wikimedia storyteller from San Francisco, is in Cape Town, mainly to document the inspiring story of a school in Joe Slovo Park that have successfully lobbied FNB Connect for free access to Wikipedia pages.… Continue reading Wiki Cape Town, Joe Slovo and a storyteller
May 2013 African language Wikipedia update
There’s a current proposal to close the Xhosa Wikipedia for lack of activity, so I thought it’d be a good time to see the progress of the African and South African language Wikipedias. Heading the list of African-language Wikipedias by article count, Malagasy is still racing ahead in creating new articles, mainly thanks to articles… Continue reading May 2013 African language Wikipedia update
November African language Wikipedia update: Afrikaans passes Swahili
Time to take another look at the progress of African and African language Wikipedia projects. African Language Wikipedias Language 1/1/2007 11/2/2011 13/4/2012 16/11/2012 Malagasy 3806 36767 38753 Yoruba 517 12174 29894 30158 Afrikaans 6149 17002 22115 24821 Swahili 2980 21244 23481 24519 Amharic 742 6738 11572 11806 Egyptian Arabic 8433
April 2012 African language Wikipedia update
It’s been about five months since I last looked in detail at the South African language Wikipedias, and there’s been significant progress in three of the languages. South African Language Wikipedias Language 1/10/2007 30/5/2010 19/11/2011 13/4/2012 Afrikaans 8374 15260 20042 22115 Northern Sotho** 0 540* 557 566 Tswana 40 103 240 490 Zulu 107 195… Continue reading April 2012 African language Wikipedia update
Northern Sotho Wikipedia now an official project, Afrikaans reaches 20 000 articles
Northern Sotho now has it’s own Wikipedia, becoming the 10th official South African language to do so. The project has been sitting for many years in the Incubator, where projects that aren’t yet ready are hosted and developed. It was a bit of an anomaly, as even though it was more active than many other… Continue reading Northern Sotho Wikipedia now an official project, Afrikaans reaches 20 000 articles
African language Wikipedia update
There’s been some momentum recently in the local Wikimedia world. The process for forming a local chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation was jumpstarted at a workshop at Wits University in August last year, and is now nearing the final stages. The legal documentation is close to being complete, and will be submitted shortly to the… Continue reading African language Wikipedia update