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[Jordan Lachler]

Group in Spain unveils Wikipedia-style site for fine-tuning Spanish language
around the world

DANIEL WOOLLS
Associated Press Writer

MADRID, Spain — A new Wikipedia-style online tool designed to help the
world's nearly 400 million Spanish speakers consult on proper use of their
language launched officially on Thursday.

Spoken in more than 20 countries, Spanish poses a daunting and fluid
challenge to academics trying to track variations in grammar and vocabulary;
there can be many ways to say a simple word such as car or pen.

The Web site, called Wikilengua, in testing since August, works like the
online encyclopedia Wikipedia, where Internet users can modify the entries
they consult.

But Wikilengua contributors must register in order to edit entries, and
supervisors check contributions and filter out those they deem inaccurate or
inappropriate.

Thursday's official unveiling was at Casa de America, a cultural center that
aims to symbolize and enhance Spain's strong ties with Latin America — and
their common use of the world's third-most-spoken language, after Chinese
and English.

"The first cyberspace forum that is open and dedicated to bringing together
honestly all knowledge about the Spanish language was born today," said Alex
Grijelmo, president of the Spanish national news agency Efe, part of the
foundation that created the Web site.

"Wikilengua aims to serve as a place for reflection on language, the grand
instrument of human intelligence," Grijelmo said at the presentation.

The site gets about 1,000 visits a day, and the number is rising steadily,
said Javier Bezos, coordinator of the Web site.

It is the brainchild of Fundeu BBVA, a foundation created by Efe and BBVA,
Spain's No. 2 bank, to monitor and offer advice on correct use of Spanish,
especially in the news media.

The plan is to enlist the expertise of the Spanish Royal Academy, the
official watchdog of the language, and 20-odd affiliated academies in Latin
America, the United States and the Philippines.
"What we are doing with Wikilengua is open an immense network of highways
granting access to the ... work of the academies," said Victor Garcia de la
Concha, director of the Spanish Royal Academy. "Now we (have) a space for
exchanging opinions, studies and suggestions."
———

On the Net:

http://www.wikilengua.com
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