Catalan Wikipedia
Encyclopedia
The Catalan Wikipedia is the Catalan language
edition of Wikipedia
. Founded on 16 March 2001 and reaching 200,000 articles by September 2009, it contains about articles, with active users as of . It was created just a few minutes after the first non-English Wikipedia, the German version
. Despite being created after the German Wikipedia, for about two months it was the only non-English Wikipedia that contained articles. As of mid-2008, the Catalan Wikipedia is by far the largest edition in a regional language
(albeit it is the national language
of Andorra
), a language with relatively few speakers that has a huge presence on the Internet.
announced that he wanted to create Wikipedias in other languages and mentioned that there was interest in creating a Catalan version. The first tests were made on the deutsche.wikipedia.com
, and a few minutes later, the Catalan Wikipedia was created in the catalan.wikipedia.com domain.
The first edit on a non-English Wikipedia was at 21:07 UTC, March 16, 2001, made to the Catalan Main Page. The first contribution in a non-English article dates from March 17 at 01:41 UTC in the article :ca:Àbac.
After some time, the domain changed to ca.wikipedia.com and later to ca.wikipedia.org. About 2003 its community started to use the name "Viquipèdia" when talking about this edition of Wikipedia. Nowadays this word is used in Catalan language to refer the whole Wikipedia
. About 2005 the domain www.viquipedia.net was registered and it redirects to ca.wikipedia.org. In 2007 www.viquipedia.cat
was also registered and redirected.
The first registered user was probably AstroNomer, presumably used only to make some registration tests, but the first registered user to make lasting contributions was Cdani, the same user cited in Jimbo Wales' message.
In 2005 the Catalan Wikipedia community debated on which name(s) of the Catalan language to present in the main page and other policy pages, either català, "Catalan", valencià, "Valencian
", or a combination of both català-valencià and català o valencià. Although there was not a consensus on any of the proposals, users agreed that in articles relevant to the Valencian Community
, the name "Valencian" was to be used; on all other articles "Catalan" is preferred.. The main page avoids making reference to a particular nomenclature, by simply stating aquesta versió, "this version".
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
edition of Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
. Founded on 16 March 2001 and reaching 200,000 articles by September 2009, it contains about articles, with active users as of . It was created just a few minutes after the first non-English Wikipedia, the German version
German Wikipedia
The German Wikipedia is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and mostly publicly editable online encyclopedia.Founded in March 2001, it is the second-oldest and, with over articles, the second-largest edition of Wikipedia, behind the English Wikipedia...
. Despite being created after the German Wikipedia, for about two months it was the only non-English Wikipedia that contained articles. As of mid-2008, the Catalan Wikipedia is by far the largest edition in a regional language
Regional language
A regional language is a language spoken in an area of a nation state, whether it be a small area, a federal state or province, or some wider area....
(albeit it is the national language
National language
A national language is a language which has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a people and perhaps by extension the territory they occupy. The term is used variously. A national language may for instance represent the national identity of a nation or country...
of Andorra
Andorra
Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...
), a language with relatively few speakers that has a huge presence on the Internet.
Creation
On March 16, 2001, Jimmy WalesJimmy Wales
Jimmy Donal "Jimbo" Wales is an American Internet entrepreneur best known as a co-founder and promoter of the online non-profit encyclopedia Wikipedia and the Wikia company....
announced that he wanted to create Wikipedias in other languages and mentioned that there was interest in creating a Catalan version. The first tests were made on the deutsche.wikipedia.com
German Wikipedia
The German Wikipedia is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and mostly publicly editable online encyclopedia.Founded in March 2001, it is the second-oldest and, with over articles, the second-largest edition of Wikipedia, behind the English Wikipedia...
, and a few minutes later, the Catalan Wikipedia was created in the catalan.wikipedia.com domain.
The first edit on a non-English Wikipedia was at 21:07 UTC, March 16, 2001, made to the Catalan Main Page. The first contribution in a non-English article dates from March 17 at 01:41 UTC in the article :ca:Àbac.
After some time, the domain changed to ca.wikipedia.com and later to ca.wikipedia.org. About 2003 its community started to use the name "Viquipèdia" when talking about this edition of Wikipedia. Nowadays this word is used in Catalan language to refer the whole Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
. About 2005 the domain www.viquipedia.net was registered and it redirects to ca.wikipedia.org. In 2007 www.viquipedia.cat
.cat
.cat is a sponsored top-level domain intended to be used to highlight the Catalan language and culture. Its policy has been developed by ICANN and Fundació puntCAT...
was also registered and redirected.
The first registered user was probably AstroNomer, presumably used only to make some registration tests, but the first registered user to make lasting contributions was Cdani, the same user cited in Jimbo Wales' message.
In 2005 the Catalan Wikipedia community debated on which name(s) of the Catalan language to present in the main page and other policy pages, either català, "Catalan", valencià, "Valencian
Valencian
Valencian is the traditional and official name of the Catalan language in the Valencian Community. There are dialectical differences from standard Catalan, and under the Valencian Statute of Autonomy, the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua has been established as its regulator...
", or a combination of both català-valencià and català o valencià. Although there was not a consensus on any of the proposals, users agreed that in articles relevant to the Valencian Community
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain located in central and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Valencia...
, the name "Valencian" was to be used; on all other articles "Catalan" is preferred.. The main page avoids making reference to a particular nomenclature, by simply stating aquesta versió, "this version".
Milestones and historical main pages
| Milestone | Date | Article |
|---|---|---|
| 1 article | March 17, 2001 | Àbac (Abacus Abacus The abacus, also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool used primarily in parts of Asia for performing arithmetic processes. Today, abaci are often constructed as a bamboo frame with beads sliding on wires, but originally they were beans or stones moved in grooves in sand or on tablets of... ) |
| 10,000 articles | November 16, 2004 | Unknown |
| 20,000 articles | November 19, 2005 | Diputat (Member of Parliament Member of Parliament A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,... ) |
| 30,000 articles | May 6, 2006 | Lunitari (Lunitari) |
| 40,000 articles | September 20, 2006 | Enginyeria d'aliments (Food engineering Food engineering Food engineering is a multidisciplinary field of applied physical sciences which combines science, microbiology, and engineering education for food and related industries. Food engineering includes, but is not limited to, the application of agricultural engineering, mechanical engineering and... ) |
| 50,000 articles | January 4, 2007 | Puerto Real (Puerto Real Puerto Real Puerto Real is a seaport in southern Spain, in the province of Cádiz and the autonomous region of Andalusia. , it had a population 40,667.... ) |
| 75,000 articles | August 31, 2007 | Eutidem (filòsof) (Euthydemos Euthydemos Euthydemos and Euthydemus are two English transcriptions of the same name in Greek. There are two characters of this name in Socratic literature. In Book I of The Memorabilia, Xenophon relates Critias' passion for the young Euthydemos and how Socrates mocked him for it: "Socrates had observed... ) |
| 100,000 articles | January 18, 2008 | Arrel cúbica (Cubic root) |
| 125,000 articles | August 12, 2008 | Llúdria gegant (Giant Otter Giant Otter The giant otter is a South American carnivorous mammal. It is the longest member of the Mustelidae, or weasel family, a globally successful group of predators. Unusually for a mustelid, the giant otter is a social species, with family groups typically supporting three to eight members... ) |
| 150,000 articles | December 28, 2008 | Guerra dels Ossos (Bone Wars Bone Wars The Bone Wars, also known as the "Great Dinosaur Rush", refers to a period of intense fossil speculation and discovery during the Gilded Age of American history, marked by a heated rivalry between Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh... ) |
| 175,000 articles | May 7, 2009 | Spilocuscus (Spilocuscus Spilocuscus Spilocuscus is a genus of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae.It contains the following species:*Admiralty Island Cuscus, Spilocuscus kraemeri*Common Spotted Cuscus, Spilocuscus maculatus*Waigeou Cuscus, Spilocuscus papuensis... ) |
| 200,000 articles | September 21, 2009 | Carnaval de Solsona (Solsona Carnival) |
| 250,000 articles | June 29, 2010 | Mare de Déu del Claustre (Mare de Déu del Claustre) |
| 300,000 articles | December 21, 2010 | Pastítsio (Pastitsio Pastitsio Pastitsio , sometimes spelt Pastichio, is a Greek and Mediterranean baked pasta dish including ground beef and béchamel sauce in its best-known form... ) |