Project grants/Pronunciations of words for Wiktionary

Basic information

Project Title (If applicable)

Microphone to record pronunciations of words for Wiktionary

Proposed by

Martin Michlmayr (Wikimedia user MartinMichlmayr)

Are you currently a member of Wikimedia UK?

No (I read the requirements; it seems this is not enforced but I can join if it's a problem)

Project description

Briefly describe the issue or problem that motivates this application. What needs are you meeting?

Wiktionary is a dictionary that contains many words in different languages. While Wiktionary explains the meaning of words, it's also important to know how they are correctly pronounced. When an audio file for a word is available on Wikimedia Commons, the pronunciation can be linked on Wiktionary. This greatly helps users of Wiktionary.

Sharing these pronunciations on Wikimedia Commons freely also offers many other use cases. For example, pronunciations can be used in Anki vocabulary decks. (Anki is a spaced repetition system that allows people to memorise certain things.)

The proposed budget is:

Description	Cost
Rode NT-mini USB	£85
Pop filter	~£20
Boom arm (stand)	~£20
Refreshments for volunteers	£40
Total	£165

I am currently based in the Philippines. I'm applying to Wikimedia UK as it directly fits into the mission and there are no grants from Wikimedia Foundation for this request. I used to be a UK resident.

Describe project activities. What will you use the funding to do?

Together with a Kenyan friend, I recorded several thousand pronunciations of Swahili words. I would like to complete this project and record several more thousand words, ideally covering the whole Swahili dictionary.

So far I used a pretty standard microphone. While the quality is okay(ish), I think a better microphone would lead to much better quality. It would also reduce the amount of work since we had to throw away a lot of recordings due to noise issues.

Hopefully, I can also use this microphone to record pronunciations for other languages in the future. I have the process of recording pronunciations figured out fairly well (recording, splitting files, uploading, etc).

Proof of work so far: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Audio_recordings_by_Waithera_Were

Describe your plan for evaluating this project. How will you measure success? What types of things will you measure (e.g. content, participants)?

In terms of content, the project will be a success if we upload several thousand Swahili pronunciations.

A stretch goal is to upload pronunciations for other languages. I'd like to tackle Cebuano and Tagalog (two languages spoken in the Philippines), but that may not be possible.

Another stretch goal is to record Swahili sample sentences for the Swahili primer on Wikibooks: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Swahili

Identify key people involved in this project. How will or could the wider Wikimedian community be involved?

The work will primarily be done by me and initially with my Kenyan friend. I hope to recruit other volunteers who can help with other languages.

If applicable, identify partnering organisations for this project (not essential)

N/A

If you feel that there is more information that could be for example resources needed, how successes can be measured, and how it fits in with the aims of Wikimedia and Wikimedia UK. Please note that these answers don't have to be definite now, and can be expanded on in conversation with the programme team.

What targets have you set? What will you measure?

The target is to cover the whole dictionary (including words currently missing from Wiktionary). I am working on generating a word list based on various resources.

What contribution will the project make to our strategic goals?

This project directly contributes to open access to knowledge. Specifically, Swahili is a popular language (150+ million speakers) for which very few resources are available. (And the resources which are available are not open knowledge)

Who will be recording/measuring the project metrics, and writing up a project report?

Martin Michlmayr

What staff support is being requested?

None

How can you get other volunteers involved? What roles could they have?

I intend to recruit other volunteers who can do recordings of words in their native languages

What meeting or other space is needed?

None

Are other resources needed (such as computers, books, camera equipment, food, contacts, infrastructure)? How will they be sourced?

If this grant is approved, I will buy a microphone, pop filter and microphone stand (boom arm). I have all other equipment (computer) and tools (script to upload to Wikimedia).

We could add £40 to buy pizza and drinks for volunteers. After all, it's hard to speak with a dry mouth ;). But this isn't strictly necessary. (Added to budget: feel free to remove)

If any partner organisations have been identified, have they been contacted and are they committed?

N/A

Does this project require more extensive funding? What would any WMUK funds be used for?

No

Are external funds needed that we can apply for? If so where will they be sought?

No

Are there any resources that you can contribute? Such as equipment.

N/A

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