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| − | '''Wiktionary''' (a [[portmanteau]] of ''[[wiki]]'' and ''[[dictionary]]'') is a [[multilingualism|multilingual]], [[World Wide Web|Web]]-based project to create a [[free content]] [[dictionary]], available in over 150 languages. Unlike standard dictionaries, it is written collaboratively by [[volunteer]]s using [[wiki software]], allowing articles to be changed by almost anyone with access to the Web site.
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| − | Like its sister project [[Wikipedia]], Wiktionary is run by the [[Wikimedia Foundation]]. Because Wiktionary is not limited by print space considerations, most of Wiktionary's language editions provide definitions and translations of words from many languages, and some editions offer additional information typically found in [[Thesaurus|thesauruses]] and [[lexicon]]s. Additionally, the English Wiktionary now includes '''Wikisaurus''', a category that serves as a thesaurus, including lists of [[slang]] words. "Wikisaurus" See "[[wikt:Help:Creating a Wikisaurus entry|Creating a Wikisaurus entry]]" for information on the structure of Wikisaurus entries. An example of a well-formatted entry would be "[[wikt:Wikisaurus:insane|Wikisaurus:insane]]".
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| − | ==History and development==
| + | '''Wiktionary''' (a portmanteau of ''wiki'' and ''[[dictionary]]'') is a multilingual, [[World Wide Web|Web]]-based project to create a free content [[dictionary]], available in over 150 languages. Unlike standard dictionaries, it is written collaboratively by [[volunteer]]s using wiki software, allowing articles to be changed by almost anyone with access to the Web site. |
| − | Wiktionary was brought online on [[December 12]], [[2002]] following a proposal by Daniel Alston.{{Fact|date=July 2007}} On [[March 29]], [[2004]] the first non-[[English language|English]] Wiktionaries were initiated in [[French language|French]] and [[Polish language|Polish]]. Wiktionaries in numerous other languages have since been started. Wiktionary was hosted on a temporary [[Uniform Resource Locator|URL]] (wiktionary.wikipedia.org) until [[May 1]], [[2004]] when it switched to the current full URL. Wiktionary's current URL is [http://www.wiktionary.org/ www.wiktionary.org]. As of November [[2006]], Wiktionary features over 1.5 million entries across its 171 language editions. The largest of the language editions is the English Wiktionary, with over 400,000 entries. It was surpassed in early 2006 by the [[French Wiktionary]], only to regain the top position in September 2006. Eight Wiktionary language editions now contain over 100,000 entries each.
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| − | Despite Wiktionary's large number of entries, most of the entries and many of the definitions at the project's largest language editions were created by [[Internet bot|bot]]s that found creative ways to generate entries or (rarely) automatically imported thousands of entries from previously-published dictionaries. Seven of the 18 bots registered at the English Wiktionary, [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Special:Listusers user list] at the English Wiktionary identifies accounts that have been given "bot status". created 163,000 of the entries there."Edit counter"[http://tools.wikimedia.de/~interiot/cgi-bin/count_edits?user=TheDaveBot&dbname=enwiktionary_p TheDaveBot], [http://tools.wikimedia.de/~interiot/cgi-bin/count_edits?user=TheCheatBot&dbname=enwiktionary_p TheCheatBot], [http://tools.wikimedia.de/~interiot/cgi-bin/count_edits?user=Websterbot&dbname=enwiktionary_p Websterbot], [http://tools.wikimedia.de/~interiot/cgi-bin/count_edits?user=PastBot&dbname=enwiktionary_p PastBot], [http://tools.wikimedia.de/~interiot/cgi-bin/count_edits?user] Only 259 entries remain (each containing many definitions) on Wiktionary from the original import by Websterbot from public domain sources; the majority of those imports have been split out to thousands of proper entries manually. Another one of these bots, "ThirdPersBot," was responsible for the addition of a number of [[Grammatical person|third-person]] [[Grammatical conjugation|conjugation]]s that would not receive their own entries in standard dictionaries; for instance, it defined "smoulders" as the "third-person singular simple present form of smoulder." Excluding these 163,000 entries, the English Wiktionary would have about 137,000 entries, including terms unique to languages other than English, making it smaller than most monolingual print dictionaries. The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', for instance, has 615,000 headwords, while ''[[Webster's Dictionary#Webster's Third New International|Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary]] of the English Language, Unabridged'' has 475,000 entries (with many additional embedded headwords). It should be noted, though, that more detailed [[wikt:Wiktionary:Statistics#Detail|statistics]] now exist to more clearly distinguish genuine entries from minor (small) entries.
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| − | The English Wiktionary, however does not rely on bots to the extent that somewhat smaller editions do. The [[French language|French]] and [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] Wiktionaries, for example, imported large sections of the [[Free Vietnamese Dictionary Project]] (FVDP), which provides free content bilingual dictionaries to and from Vietnamese. Hồ Ngọc Đức, [http://www.informatik.uni-leipzig.de/~duc/Dict/ Free Vietnamese Dictionary Project]. [[wikt:Wiktionary:Nguồn gốc/FVDP|Details]] at the Vietnamese Wiktionary. These imported entries make up virtually all of the Vietnamese edition's offering. Like the English edition, the French Wiktionary has imported the approximately 20,000 entries in the [[Han unification|Unihan]] database of [[CJK|Chinese, Japanese, and Korean]] characters. The French Wiktionary grew rapidly in 2006 thanks in large part to bots copying many entries from old, freely-licensed dictionaries, such as the eighth edition of the ''[[Dictionnaire de l'Académie française]]'' ([[1935]], around 35,000 words), and using bots to add words from other Wiktionary editions with French translations. The [[Russian language|Russian]] edition grew by nearly 80,000 entries as "LXbot" added boilerplate entries (with headings, but without definitions) for words in English and [[German language|German]]. [http://tools.wikimedia.de/~interiot/cgi-bin/count_edits?user]
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| − | Most of Wiktionary currently uses a textual logo designed by Brion Vibber, a [[MediaWiki]] developer. "Wiktionary logo""[[wikt:Wiktionary talk:Wiktionary Logo|Wiktionary talk:Wiktionary Logo]]", English Wiktionary, Wikimedia Foundation. Despite frequent discussion of modifying or replacing the logo, a four-phase contest held at the Wikimedia Meta-Wiki from [[September 2006|September]] to [[October 2006]]"[[m:Wiktionary/logo|Wiktionary/logo]]", Meta-Wiki, [[Wikimedia Foundation]]. did not see as much participation from the Wiktionary community as some community members had hoped. As of [[June 2007]], only the French, Vietnamese, [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Arabic language|Arabic]], and Simple English editions have switched to the contest-chosen logo; the remaining editions use either the textual logo or, in the case of the Galician Wiktionary, [[:Image:Wiktionary-logo-gl.png|a logo that depicts a dictionary]] bearing the [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]]n coat of arms.
| + | Like its sister project [[Wikipedia]], Wiktionary is run by the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation Wikimedia Foundation]. Because Wiktionary is not limited by print space considerations, most of Wiktionary's language editions provide definitions and [[translations]] of words from many languages, and some editions offer additional information typically found in thesauruses and lexicons. Additionally, the English Wiktionary now includes ''Wikisaurus'', a category that serves as a thesaurus, including lists of [[slang]] words. "Wikisaurus" |
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| − | ==Critical reception==
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| − | Critical reception of Wiktionary has been mixed. Jill Lepore wrote in the article "Noah’s Ark" for ''The New Yorker,'' (November 6, 2006) The full article is not available on-line. [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/11/06/061106fa_fact_lepore]
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| − | There’s no show of hands at ''Wiktionary''. There’s not even an editorial staff. "Be your own lexicographer!" might be ''Wiktionary’s'' motto. Who needs experts? Why pay good money for a dictionary written by lexicographers when we can cobble one together ourselves? ''Wiktionary'' isn’t so much republican or democratic as Maoist. And it’s only as good as the copyright-expired books from which it pilfers.
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| − | If you look up the word "Webster" in the ''Wiktionary'', you will be redirected to this handy tip:
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| − | Noah Webster’s New International Dictionary of the English Language, 1911 (published by Merriam-Webster, Springfield, MA) is a public domain dictionary, as is a 1913 edition, that can be used to empower ''Wiktionary'' with more definitions.
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| − | Pfui. But, hey, at least they got his first name right.</blockquote>
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| − | Keir Graff’s review for ''Booklist'' was more neutral:
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| − | Is there a place for Wiktionary? Undoubtedly. The industry and enthusiasm of its many creators are proof that there’s a market. And it’s wonderful to have another strong source to use when searching the odd terms that pop up in today’s fast-changing world and the online environment. But as with so many Web sources (including this column), it’s best used by sophisticated users in conjunction with more reputable sources.
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| − | References in other publications are fleeting and part of larger discussions of Wikipedia, not progressing beyond a definition, although David Brooks in ''The Telegraph'' described it as ''wild and woolly''. David Brooks, "Online, interactive encyclopedia not just for geeks anymore, because everyone seems to need it now, more than ever!" ''The Telegraph'' ''Wooly'' is defined as "confused" and "unrestrained." One of the impediments to independent coverage of Wiktionary is the continuing confusion that it is merely an extension of Wikipedia. In this citation, the author refers to Wiktionary as part of the Wikipedia site: [http://www.netls.org/NewContent/NewsAndPictures/NEWSLETTERS/NEWS2006/142final.pdf]
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| − | In 2005, ''[[PC Magazine]]'' rated Wiktionary as one of the Internet's "Top 101 Web Sites, "PC Mag" [http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1786207,00.asp] although little information was given about the site.
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| − | ==Wiktionary statistics==
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| − | '''Ten largest Wiktionary language editions''' [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiktionary List of Wiktionary editions], ranked by article count.
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| − | ==See also==
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| − | * [[OmegaWiki]], a translating multilingual dictionary based on an extension of [[MediaWiki]].
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| − | ==External links==
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| − | * [http://www.wiktionary.org/ Wiktionary front page]
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| − | ** [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Main_Page English Wiktionary]
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| − | * [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Multilingual_statistics Wiktionary's Multilingual Statistics]
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| − | * [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/List_of_Wiktionaries Wikimedia's page on Wiktionary] (including list of all existing Wiktionaries)
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| − | * [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Wiktionary Pages about Wiktionary in Meta].
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| − | * [http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/reference/wiktionarywidget.html The Wiktionary Widget] for the [[Mac OS X]] [[Dashboard (software)|Dashboard]] which pulls up Wiktionary articles.
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| | [[Category: General Reference]] | | [[Category: General Reference]] |
