Glottopedia, the free online encyclopedia of linguistics

[Martin Haspelmath]

Hi Peter,

Yes, it's true that the LINGUIST List is doing some things that 
Glottopedia is envisaging, such as maintaining a list of current 
linguists, and providing information about conferences. It is doing this 
very well, but in a different way than Glottopedia -- in a controlled, 
less "democratic" way, and based on grant money (whereas Glottopedia has 
no budget at all).

But the LINGUIST List has no complete list of languages, no complete 
list of past linguists, no list of references published on languages/by 
linguists, and it is not multilingual. Moreover, the LINGUIST List does 
not allow easy links the way Glottopedia does (on the Wikipedia model): 
when you look at a past LINGUIST List message with a conference program, 
you cannot click on the names of speakers and get more information about 
them. All this is easily implementable on Glottopedia.

Of course, the LINGUIST List, or SIL, could decide to expand in the 
future and enter Glottopedia's turf. But it will cost money. Glottopedia 
could do this entirely on the basis of volunteer contributions.

Once Glottopedia contributions become substantial, I expect that 
Wikipedia will increasingly include links to Glottopedia articles, 
though most Glottopedia content will be too specialized for Wikipedia. 
In any event, Glottopedia articles should include links to all Wikipedia 
articles about linguistics topics. There should soon be many times more 
Glottopedia articles than Wikipedia articles on linguistics.

So let's see what happens!

Best wishes,
Martin

Peter Hook wrote:
> Dear Professor Haspelmath,
>
>     >> The answer is simple: <<
>
>  
> I beg to differ: The answer is not simple.
>  
> >> we'd have a resource where I can get a complete list of
> references published on a given (smaller) language, or by a given
> linguist, or a complete list of all BLS conferences with the conference
> program, etc., and it is quite possible that such a resource can be
> achieved by the combined efforts of linguists. <<
>  
> Isn't Linglist doing this already?  
>  
> >> Given its goals, Wikipedia has to limit its scope: In the category of
> biographical articles, for instance, it admits only articles about
> "notable" people. Glottopedia has no such constraints: It can have
> articles about all linguists, including e.g. all those forgotten
> speaker-linguists that have made such an enormous contribution to our
> field but are not even known to most linguists because they don't show
> up at conferences and rarely get their names on publications (often
> they're called "informants"). <<
> This sounds like another service that Linglist - or SIL - provides - 
> or can provide.
>  
>
>     >> Wikipedia and Wiktionary are intended as reference
>     works for lay people, whereas Glottopedia is intended as a reference
>     work for specialists. The two groups of people clearly have different
>     needs. I certainly wouldn't profit from Wikipedia articles written by
>     physicists that discuss recent issues in solid-state physics, so I'm
>     glad that Wikipedia articles are written for people like me. <<
>
>  
> Discussions by and for specialists of recent issues in a field are the 
> usual province of journals and on-line forums. Are you proposing that 
> Glottopedia be a forum for discussion? Isn't that also part of the 
> mission of Linglist?
>
> >> So although Wikipedia's scope is breathtaking and its success is
> phenomenal, there is a need for reference information beyond Wikipedia. <<
>
> I agree with the concessive: Wikipedia is phenomenal.  And 
> breathtaking. It also represents an enormous investment in the 
> democraticization of knowledge. So assuming that Glottopedia does take 
> birth, in order to reduce duplication of effort why not ask 
> contributors to make sure that their contributions to Glottopedia - 
> where appropriate - also get put into Wikipedia or Wiktionary?  And 
> put the other kinds of information that you have specified into Linglist? 
>  
> Sincerely, Peter Hook

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