First Latin redubs
This week we published our first Latin redubs of the ZDF videos we have been talking about for a long time. We have a further six or so in the pipeline, and a team of five volunteers working on new translations and audio, building on work already done by translators at Vicipaedia. We hope toContinue reading “First Latin redubs”
Is Wikimedia’s ban on new Wikis for Sanskrit and Classical Chinese discriminatory?
Nota bene: I am a big fan of Wikimedia and Wikipedia. I contribute regulary to many of their projects and wish them every success. This issue is easily resolved, but it appears only if some attention from Wikimedia’s Board is applied. Sanskrit and Classical Chinese both have Wikipedias; I cannot read them, and cannot vouchContinue reading “Is Wikimedia’s ban on new Wikis for Sanskrit and Classical Chinese discriminatory?”
Why was Erasmus wasting his time writing Latin?
Over the last few months, debate has raged on a Wikimedia “Request for Commenț” concerning the eligibility of Ancient Languages to create in-language projects. Wikimedia currently do not allow this, blocking any new projects for Latin, Sanskrit and Classical Chinese; and stopping Ancient Greek entirely, excepting Wikisource archives. The policy comes from the Language CommitteeContinue reading “Why was Erasmus wasting his time writing Latin?”
Massively multilingual short stories
This week, I started work on a series of short texts in English, that can be translated and reused in any language. These are really just a test and a benchmark to see if the idea can work, following a discussion on Reddit about another similar project. And so far, so good. The idea isContinue reading “Massively multilingual short stories”
Making Latin Documentary Clips
On our Youtube channel we have posted three short Ancient History documentary clips, that are currently in German. These are available as Creative Commons downloads, so our plan is to translate and dub them into Latin. There are close to 200 clips in the full Creative Commons series by ZDF, which include science and climateContinue reading “Making Latin Documentary Clips”
Teaching tools for Spoken Latin from 1913
The Direct Method, the Natural Method: Latin teachers have been trying to move away from grammar-based teaching for a very long time. Hans Ørberg and contemporaries like the Polis Institute had many antecedents. One of these was the group of teachers inspired by WHD Rouse, who taught spoken Latin and Greek at the Perse SchoolContinue reading “Teaching tools for Spoken Latin from 1913”
All we are saying is Give Greek a chance
For many years now, the Ancient Greek Wikipedia has languished as a Wikimedia project in the “incubator”, where it appears it is doomed to stay forever, according to current Wikimedia policy. Unlike the Latin Vicipaedia, or the Sanskrit Wikipedia, the project did not launch before the Wikimedia Language Committee imposed an absolute ban on whatContinue reading “All we are saying is Give Greek a chance”
Why Latin books are still disappearing
I was fascinated to read Daniel Petterson’s story behind the repopularisation of the out of print novel Ad Alpēs, which he digitised and brought into print in 2017. The author, Herbert Chester Nutting, died in 1934. The book has gained a lot of interest, and is now freely available on Wikisource as a downloadable ebook;Continue reading “Why Latin books are still disappearing”
Making a Latin language world map
It may sound complicated, but in fact it is not. And you can help with the hard part, if you wish. In 2004, Open Street Map launched, with the aim of providing a freely licenced, reusable, volunteer-built world map. Perhaps against the odds, they have succeeded in providing a very detailed map, that now providesContinue reading “Making a Latin language world map”
Classics and minority languages should grab this chance immediately
German TV channel ZDF has published a series of excellent, high quality documentary clips under a Creative Commons by licence, meaning anyone can translate, edit and reuse them. Here is a clip about Roman law, there are many others about the classical world. These are already being used on Wikipedia, but perhaps one of theContinue reading “Classics and minority languages should grab this chance immediately”
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