Wikitongues

?? Wiki Loves Mother Tongue Campaign 2025: A Triumph for Linguistic Diversity! We’re thrilled to share the results of this year’s campaign, led by Wikicongues: ? 5,570+ articles created or improved ? 92 participants across 20+ Wikimedia projects ? 34,600+ edits and 17,200+ Wikidata revisions to document 7,000+ global languages This collaboration highlights the power of open knowledge in preserving endangered languages. A heartfelt thank you to all editors. #Wikimedia #LanguageRevival #OpenData #Wikidata

We Learn by Doing As a 2024 Wikitongues fellow, I had the privilege of doing a docu series of Ow? and éta, two iconic festivals of the Ekpeye people. During 'ow?' as we call it, each performance tells a story of a past event or figure represented, with the dancer’s movements embodying the essence of the character represented by the mask, whether it’s a bird, a mammal, a person, or a mythical creature. Before this time, I have watched and enjoyed ow? for the thrill of it, but never really understood the story behind the masks and why they danced in a certain way. But, I learnt by doing. Working on this project, I gained a deeper understanding of what each mask represents. One of the masks that I found quite fascinating was the O?u Anakáni, because of it's significance in the Ekpeye community and African society at large. Owu Anakáni is crafted to embody the essence of old age, symbolizing the final stage of womanhood. This is shown in the details of the costume, from the way the mask is worn at the back of the head, the faded clothing, and its deliberate movements, reflecting the wisdom and fragility that come with old age. During the performance, the masquerade moves slowly, imitating the unsteady gait of an elderly woman. At times, it staggers as though about to fall, a reminder of the vulnerabilities of old age. However, the masquerade is never left unsupported, as shown in the photo, an escort walks alongside, holding and steadying her when needed. This act of assistance highlights the communal care and respect for elders within the Ekpeye culture, serving as a visual metaphor for the importance of supporting elders. The performance is both a tribute to the resilience of aged women and a celebration of the intergenerational bond that sustains the community. Read more about the Ekpeye mask culture and it's role in preserving communal values: https://lnkd.in/eSjjqJCP Documentary video will be out soon! Watch éta here: https://lnkd.in/dUztHRzX See our visual repository at Wikimedia Commons : https://lnkd.in/d8Py6eFr Curious to know if other cultures have a similar mask, please share if you do or know any. #ekpeyemasks #culturedocumentary

??We Need Your Input!????? Help us shape a new language-focused Wikimedia conference dedicated to strengthening linguistic diversity in open knowledge!?? Wikitongues & the Wikimedia Language Diversity Hub are organising this event in collaboration with the Dagbani Wikimedians User Group, and your voice matters. What topics should we cover? What challenges should we address? Tell us! ?? Help fill the survey here: https://lnkd.in/ewKgVrQh Your insights will help create a conference that truly meets the needs of language communities. Kindly share your thoughts & spread the word!???

We've been a bit silent for the past couple of weeks because the Wikitongues team was in Taiwan for RightsCon! ??? Our Programs Director spoke on a panel at RightsCon Tunis in 2019 - and we've loved the event ever since - but this year was a whole new experience and a major milestone for us. For the first time ever, we hosted a booth—thanks to the support of the RightsCon team for small nonprofits! It was an amazing way to connect with a new audience and share our work in a different space. We were also honored to help host the Indigenous Activist Meetup, which reaffirmed just how deeply language revitalization and digital rights are intertwined. The conversations we had reinforced the critical need to ensure linguistic diversity is part of the broader fight for digital justice. While our focus is on linguistic diversity and language reclamation, we also took the opportunity to learn from the broader conversations happening at the conference. From growing fears over funding for human rights initiatives to the evolving role of AI in regulation and the increasing risks of data breaches, the discussions were fascinating to listen to. These issues may not directly impact our work every day, but they shape the digital rights landscape that all of us are navigating. To protect the privacy and safety of activists, RightsCon was a no-photo conference this year, so we don’t have many pictures to share from the event. But stay tuned—we’ll be posting more about our time in Taiwan in the coming weeks!

Exciting news! The Keliko language test Wikipedia is now live in the Wikimedia Foundation Incubator! This is a big step towards preserving and promoting the Keliko language online. If you speak Keliko or are passionate about language preservation, now is the perfect time to contribute—whether by adding articles, improving existing ones, or helping with translations. Join us in building this important resource for current and future generations! Check it out and get involved here: https://lnkd.in/dBeD3ku6 #LanguagePreservation #Wikipedia #KelikoLanguage #OpenKnowledge

?? Join the Wiki Loves Mother Tongue Campaign! ???? From February 21 to March 21, Wikitongues will be hosting an exciting campaign to celebrate linguistic diversity! ???? Join our edit-a-thon and contribute to Wikipedia, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikiquote by creating articles related to languages in any language of your choice! ??? ?? Prizes await the top 3 contributors! ? How to participate? - Sign up on the Events page. - Attend our Office Hour on February 21 for the launch. Let’s preserve and promote languages together! ?? [https://lnkd.in/dfRWTdSa] Read more about the Campaign on our Diff. Blog post - https://lnkd.in/dKz9VXcH #WikiLovesMotherTongue #Wikitongues #LanguageDiversity #Wikipedia

We’re thrilled to introduce our 2025 Language Revitalization Accelerator fellows! ?? First up: Meet Sani from Kano State, Nigeria. After losing his hearing at age 8, he has dedicated his life to advocating for the Deaf community. Now, he's working on a Hausa Sign Language dictionary—the first to feature video support for every sign! Hausa Sign Language (HSL; Hausa: Maganar hannu or Harshen bebaye na ?asar Hausa) is an Indigenous sign language of the Deaf community in northern Nigeria. There are no statistics on the number of users, but the most recent Ethnologue data (2022) estimates 20,000 speakers. #languagerevitalization?#signlanguage?#languagediversity #hausasignlanguage?#hausa?#deafawareness

Next up, let's meet Isaac! ???? Originally from South Sudan and currently living at the Bidibidi Refugee Settlement in Uganda, Isaac is a dedicated humanitarian, community leader, and language advocate, committed to aiding refugee and conflict-affected populations. His mother tongue, K??l??k?? t?, is a Central Sudanic language spoken by approximately 40,000 people. But without digital resources, languages like Keliko face the risk of disappearing. Throughout his fellowship year, Isaac is addressing this issue by developing a Wikipedia version in his language, aiming to writing 200 new articles in K??l??k?? t?. But not only that, he's ensuring that he builds a community: through workshops, he's planning to train at least 30 people in content creation and editing, ensuring that Keliko heritage is maintained and shared with future generations. #indigenouslanguages #languagediversity #culturalpreservation #knowledgeforall #southsudan #keliko

We’re thrilled to introduce our 2025 Language Revitalization Accelerator fellows! ?? First up: Meet Sani from Kano State, Nigeria. After losing his hearing at age 8, he has dedicated his life to advocating for the Deaf community. Now, he's working on a Hausa Sign Language dictionary—the first to feature video support for every sign! Hausa Sign Language (HSL; Hausa: Maganar hannu or Harshen bebaye na ?asar Hausa) is an Indigenous sign language of the Deaf community in northern Nigeria. There are no statistics on the number of users, but the most recent Ethnologue data (2022) estimates 20,000 speakers. #languagerevitalization?#signlanguage?#languagediversity #hausasignlanguage?#hausa?#deafawareness