Latin Wikipedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Latin Wikipedia | |
---|---|
URL | http://la.wikipedia.org/ |
Commercial? | No |
Type of site | Internet encyclopedia project |
Registration | Optional |
Available language(s) | Latin |
Owner | Wikimedia Foundation |
Created by | Jimmy Wales |
The Latin Wikipedia (Latin: Vicipaedia Latina) is the Latin language edition of Wikipedia. As of May 2008, the Latin Wikipedia has over 20,000 articles. While all primary content is in Latin, in discussions modern languages such as English, German, Spanish or French are allowed and often used, since many users (usores) find this easier.
Although the logo reads "VICIPÆDIA", Vicipaedia, in accordance with modern practice, does not use the ligatures, "Æ", "æ", "Œ" and "œ": they were adopted by the Romans for decorative purposes and to save space.
Professional Latin scholars are generally impressed with the quality of the Latin used in the encyclopedia. While some articles by beginning students contain errors, "the articles that are good are in fact very good," according to Robert Gurval, chairman of the UCLA classics department.[1]
The Latin Wikipedia began dominated by topics from classical history, but beginning in 2006 a group of new contributors greatly expanded the coverage of 20th century topics, such as pop culture and technology. In order to deal with concepts that did not exist in classical Latin times, new vocabulary is coined, and sometimes debates break out concerning proper neologisms.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Gomes, Lee. "Veni, Vidi, Wiki: Latin Isn't Dead On 'Vicipaedia'", Wall Street Journal, September 29, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-29. (English)