Romanian Wikipedia
Encyclopedia
Romanian Wikipedia is the Romanian language
edition of Wikipedia
, the free encyclopedia
. Started in July 2003, this edition has about 150,000 articles (as of 4 October 2010) and is the 19th largest Wikipedia edition. In December 2004, users on the Romanian Wikipedia started to talk about founding a local chapter of Wikimedia, Asociaţia Wikimedia România.
, in order to attract new contributors. His efforts were soon remarked by the Romanian media, who invited him on several occasions to introduce the project to the public. By the end of 2003, the Romanian Wikipedia had exceeded 3000 articles, ranking 16th among all Wikipedias. The 10,000th article was written on December 13, 2004, and the 50,000th on January 5, 2007.
In April 2004, the Romanian Wikipedia supported the launch of the Aromanian Wikipedia (see Aromanian language
).
In its early days, the Romanian Wikipedia encountered problems concerning its division and the creation of a separate Moldovan Wikipedia (see Moldovan language
). A Moldovan language version of Wikipedia exists as it was created automatically together with a larger number of other Wikipedias, because the language had been assigned a separate ISO 639
code (mo/mol—which were deprecated in November 2008 by the ISO authorities). At its beginnings it worked as a portal redirecting to the Romanian Wikipedia, but it eventually began allowing content (although only intended for Cyrillic Moldovan/Romanian as it was used before 1989 in the Moldavian SSR), starting big editing wars and endless discussion. Starting from 2006 it is frozen and editing is no longer permitted. This question is still raised from time to time, although users on Wikipedia voted on its closure.
The Romanian Wikipedia reached the 100,000 article milestone on 11 January 2008. There are more than 45,000 registered users, of which 20 are administrators.
(A-breve), further adapting this Wikipedia to the local readership.
Articles can contain small spelling variations, mostly regarding the use of the letters â and î, both used for the close central unrounded vowel
/ɨ/ (cf. Romanian alphabet
). According to the 1993 spelling rules promoted by the Romanian Academy
, /ɨ/ is transcribed as either î, when used as the first or last letter of words, or â, when it occurs in the middle of the word (with some exceptions). Still, between 1953 and 1993, the Romanian language only used î - after 1964 an exception was made for derivations of the words Romania ("România"), român ("Romanian") and related words. The Academy rules are mandatory in government organisations and in state schools in Romania
. Moldova
adopted the Latin alphabet for the Romanian language before the spelling reform in 1993, and it didn't switch to the new spelling up until 2001, using the letter î before exclusively (exceptions were made for România and the other related words, spelled with â). In practice, either usage is acceptable in both countries, and indeed there are publishing houses and printed magazines that use either or both of the two rules. Vojvodina
uses the new Romanian spelling. Other spelling differences include sunt/sînt or niciun/nici un. The Romanian Wikipedia community adopted a language policy stating that both pre-1993 and post-1993 spelling norms are permitted, and editing an article just to switch it from one norm to the other is not acceptable; switching is allowed if the article is significantly expanded or rewritten.
Concerning the addressing policy, Romanian Wikipedia uses the polite forms of the personal pronouns and verbs. A policy on this was discussed in early 2006, and consensus was reached for the use of dumneavoastră (polite "you") instead of tu (familiar "you") on its pages.
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
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,...
, the free encyclopedia
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
. Started in July 2003, this edition has about 150,000 articles (as of 4 October 2010) and is the 19th largest Wikipedia edition. In December 2004, users on the Romanian Wikipedia started to talk about founding a local chapter of Wikimedia, Asociaţia Wikimedia România.
History
The first articles in the Romanian Wikipedia were written in July 2003, with the first version of the main page being drafted on July 12. The user interface, initially in English, started being translated into Romanian by Bogdan Stăncescu (registered with the username Gutza) as soon as he was given sysop rights. The same user subsequently contacted several Romanian universities that were available on the internet, as well as the Romanian AcademyRomanian Academy
The Romanian Academy is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 acting members who are elected for life....
, in order to attract new contributors. His efforts were soon remarked by the Romanian media, who invited him on several occasions to introduce the project to the public. By the end of 2003, the Romanian Wikipedia had exceeded 3000 articles, ranking 16th among all Wikipedias. The 10,000th article was written on December 13, 2004, and the 50,000th on January 5, 2007.
In April 2004, the Romanian Wikipedia supported the launch of the Aromanian Wikipedia (see Aromanian language
Aromanian language
Aromanian , also known as Macedo-Romanian, Arumanian or Vlach is an Eastern Romance language spoken in Southeastern Europe...
).
In its early days, the Romanian Wikipedia encountered problems concerning its division and the creation of a separate Moldovan Wikipedia (see Moldovan language
Moldovan language
Moldovan is one of the names of the Romanian language as spoken in the Republic of Moldova, where it is official. The spoken language of Moldova is closer to the dialects of Romanian spoken in northeastern Romania, and the two countries share the same literary standard...
). A Moldovan language version of Wikipedia exists as it was created automatically together with a larger number of other Wikipedias, because the language had been assigned a separate ISO 639
ISO 639
ISO 639 is a set of standards by the International Organization for Standardization that is concerned with representation of names for language and language groups....
code (mo/mol—which were deprecated in November 2008 by the ISO authorities). At its beginnings it worked as a portal redirecting to the Romanian Wikipedia, but it eventually began allowing content (although only intended for Cyrillic Moldovan/Romanian as it was used before 1989 in the Moldavian SSR), starting big editing wars and endless discussion. Starting from 2006 it is frozen and editing is no longer permitted. This question is still raised from time to time, although users on Wikipedia voted on its closure.
The Romanian Wikipedia reached the 100,000 article milestone on 11 January 2008. There are more than 45,000 registered users, of which 20 are administrators.
Peculiarities
The logo of the Romanian Wikipedia was slightly different from the logos of other Wikipedias. The letter И in the logo was replaced with the Romanian letter ĂA
A is the first letter and a vowel in the basic modern Latin alphabet. It is similar to the Ancient Greek letter Alpha, from which it derives.- Origins :...
(A-breve), further adapting this Wikipedia to the local readership.
Articles can contain small spelling variations, mostly regarding the use of the letters â and î, both used for the close central unrounded vowel
Close central unrounded vowel
The close central unrounded vowel, or high central unrounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound used in some languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is . The IPA symbol is the letter i with a horizontal bar...
/ɨ/ (cf. Romanian alphabet
Romanian alphabet
The Romanian alphabet is a modification of the Latin alphabet and consists of 31 letters:The letters Q , W , and Y were officially introduced in the Romanian alphabet in 1982, although they had been used earlier...
). According to the 1993 spelling rules promoted by the Romanian Academy
Romanian Academy
The Romanian Academy is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 acting members who are elected for life....
, /ɨ/ is transcribed as either î, when used as the first or last letter of words, or â, when it occurs in the middle of the word (with some exceptions). Still, between 1953 and 1993, the Romanian language only used î - after 1964 an exception was made for derivations of the words Romania ("România"), român ("Romanian") and related words. The Academy rules are mandatory in government organisations and in state schools in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
adopted the Latin alphabet for the Romanian language before the spelling reform in 1993, and it didn't switch to the new spelling up until 2001, using the letter î before exclusively (exceptions were made for România and the other related words, spelled with â). In practice, either usage is acceptable in both countries, and indeed there are publishing houses and printed magazines that use either or both of the two rules. Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
uses the new Romanian spelling. Other spelling differences include sunt/sînt or niciun/nici un. The Romanian Wikipedia community adopted a language policy stating that both pre-1993 and post-1993 spelling norms are permitted, and editing an article just to switch it from one norm to the other is not acceptable; switching is allowed if the article is significantly expanded or rewritten.
Concerning the addressing policy, Romanian Wikipedia uses the polite forms of the personal pronouns and verbs. A policy on this was discussed in early 2006, and consensus was reached for the use of dumneavoastră (polite "you") instead of tu (familiar "you") on its pages.