#Wikidata - #Search results for தமிழ்

On the #Tamil #Wikipedia Wikidata provides additional search results. It worked for some but not for others. Yesterday the default search engine changed on Wikidata and the enhanced search now works for other scripts as well.

Please try to search for தமிழ் and you should get the same results as I do at the bottom of the screen.
Thanks,
     GerardM

#Tamil does #Wikidata

In an embarrassment of riches; the Tamil Wikipedia is the third Wikipedia complementing its search with the Wikidata search functionality.

There is only one snag; I try to understand if it works properly and I don't. I search for "தமிழ்" it is the autonym for the Tamil language. I should be able to find it and I do not get the expected results ... I do when I search for "Tamil"..

To make it even more complicated, I do not find "தமிழ்" either on Wikidata itself. Not even when I change the language to Tamil.

I am really happy, and I trust that it will be all-right eventually. The one question I have is where is the problem.
Thanks,
      GerardM

#Wikidata - Date of death IV

Wikidata has currently only 175,586 people who are dead. We know about them because their "date of death" has been registered.  Obviously, this number is pathetic. The records held by the grim reaper needs to find their way into Wikidata as it did to the many Wikipedias.

When you consider that we know about 1,314,659 people, we find that our current death rate is 13,3%. As more than half the Wikidata items have no statements at all, it seems obvious that the number of people is likely to grow faster than the number of deaths.

A friend pointed out that when you analyse many Wikipedia articles, the text is just words based on what can be entered in Wikidata. The example he gave was Mr Gamani Corea, he was a Sri Lankan economist, civil servant and diplomat and died on November 3th. The Reasonator visualisation supports his argument.

At this time there is no article for Mr Corea in Tamil and Sinhala, the languages of Sri Lanka. Following his recent death it seems obvious that people will look up Mr Corea in their Wikipedia. When labels or Tamil and Sinhala are available, it is possible to do more than provide a not found screen. We could do a more reasonable job and provide something based on the Reasonator visualisation in stead.
Thanks,
       GerardM

What is in a name

This #translatewiki.net user localises for the Sinhala language. As you can see, his name is something that will be hard to recognise even for native speakers of the Sinhala language. One character is completely lacking and, that character is probably to be used together with the third language.

When our friend from Sri Lanka localises one of several projects he is interested in, it will be obvious that we do not and cannot verify any work done in Singhalese. A computer needs to have a functional font for Sinhala or alternatively web fonts need to be provided..

What we hope for is people who know their language well will be joining the Language support teams we are setting up and become an ambassador for their language. We really need knowledgeable support for Sinhala because these pesky boxes are not going away when I have a Sinhala font selected.

What gives, why does the font not work. What other issues need to be addressed?
Thanks,
       GerardM

The unsung #Wikipedia heroes

Every Wikipedia has its heroes; the story of P.M.Puniyameen is one that is inspiring. Mr Puniyameen is a retired academic, a prolific writer and an independent journalist.

Mr Puniyameen found his way into the Tamil Wikipedia in November 2010 and in five months he wrote 2000+ articles. On April 20th he set himself a goal of writing 200 articles in a day. Helped by his wife, his daughter and two colleagues he exceeded his goal and wrote a staggering 300 articles. As many of these articles are about cricket, they are certain to get loads of readers in sports mad countries like Sri Lanka and India. 

It must be clear that this feat was very much a team effort. The effort was announced in advance and met with the blessing of the community. Several of them monitored the effort and picked up on the new articles to check, proof, recategorise and maintain.

Article writing sprints are really worthwhile, when they are done well they generate vitality into a project and they underline how Wikipedia is a community effort. For me Mr Puniyameen is a hero; he proved himself to be a catalyst for and the writer of many new articles that are well received by the Tamil community.
Thanks,
         GerardM

Sharing a #Tamil #Wikipedia URL

When someone pastes to you the URL for the Tamil Wikipedia Village pump, it will likely look like one of these:

• http://ta.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%AE%B5%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%80%E0%AE%9F%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%AF%E0%AE%BE:%E0%AE%86%E0%AE%B2%E0%AE%AE%E0%AE%B0%E0%AE%A4%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%9F%E0%AE%BF
• http://ta.wikipedia.org/wiki/விக்கிப்பீடியா:ஆலமரத்தடி
• http://tawp.in/r/262

The first option is copy pasting the URL directly. The second option is achieved by appending the name of the article after http://ta.wikipedia.org/wiki/ . The third option is courtesy of some clever JavaScript and a domain specially acquired for the purpose.

In a modern browser, the URL shows like the second option, it is sad that it reverts to gobbledygook when it is copy pasted. There must be a reason that once was valid, the question is if this reason is still valid.
Thanks,
      GerardM

Narayam II may even support the Latin #script

Typing with 10 fingers is a skill that makes using a computer so much easier. It is utterly frustrating when you have to use an AZERTY keyboard at Fosdem in Brussels. The keys are not where they should be and your ability is downgraded to the hunt and peck entry method.

Typing AZERTY is relatively straightforward; a small number of keys are positioned differently but all the keys are there. It is different for languages like Lingala where a word like Mbɔ́tɛ has characters you will not find on the US International keyboard. Seriously more difficult.

The InScript keyboard

At this time the Narayam extension is focusing on the languages and scripts of the Indic languages. When you consider that there are over 500 languages in India, you will appreciate that there is a lot of ground to cover. The last news is that Oriya and Sinhala are supported as well.

At this stage, Narayam expects the US International keyboard so the AZERTY keyboards are still safe for now from foreigners overlaying it with a keyboard layout they are comfortable with,
Thanks,
      GerardM

Wikipedia in Sri Lanka

I am happy with another guest blogging on my blog. Mangala, Shehan and the rest of the team at Calcey Technology write about the relevance of Wikipedia in Sri Lanka.

Wikipedia is ranked within the top 10 websites visited by Sri Lankan web users. (No.7 according to the Alexa web ranking) It is therefore one of the most heavily used websites by Sri Lankans and it is a common sight to see many Sri Lankans routinely use Wikipedia as a first point reference. Sri Lanka has one of the highest literacy rates in South Asia. The penetration of ICT and computer usage especially among the rural Sri Lanka has been remarkable in the recent years. The rate of computer literacy and access to online global knowledge resources, especially among the rural youth who are more comfortable with Sinhalese, would doubtless be given a tremendous  boost thanks to the highly laudable effort by Wikipedia to develop a Sinhala User Interface.

Furthermore, the Sri Lankan government has recently commenced a One-Laptop-Per-Child (OLPC) in rural schools. The aim of the program is to increase the computer literacy and provide access to global online knowledge resources. The laptop computers have been designed to be powered by two power sources; hydro power and solar power. In addition to the operating system in English, the children can operate the computers in Sinhala.  The Wikipedia Sinhala interface could thus complement the Government’s OLPC program by providing the underprivileged kids in Sri Lanka access to Wikipedia’s immense knowledge resource, uninhibited by language barriers.

The Sinhala language is one of the oldest languages in the world with origins dating back to the 2^nd century and is used by 19 million people in Sri Lanka. Yet, due to globalization  it is increasingly under threat of devitalization, and some even forecast that it might face extinction in future if the usage declines.  In this context, the efforts by Wikipedia to vitalize the use of Sinhala in the world’s top online enclyclopedia would be heartily applauded by all Sri Lankans as a critical step towards enhancing its usage and preservation. All of us at Calcey Technologies are very excited and honored to be part of this.