language issue at BarCamp Baltics

[Evgeny Morozov]

ENG (Russian summary at the end /краткий русский перевод в конце):

hi all,

several people have asked about the language of the event, so let me
repeat this: while we believe most of us would speak either English or
Russian, we are not pushing everybody to present or communicate in those
two only. for example, there is nothing wrong if one of five
simultaneous presentations will be in your local language, if you
believe there is a sizeable audience from your country to benefit from
it (thus, out of 400+ people who registered to participate, a good
quarter are probably from Latvia, thus it would make sense to have a
presentation in Latvian, if you are not comfortable with Russian or
English). whatever language you choose to present is totally up to you.

please also remember that with 400+ people coming from (we hope) 20+
countries, it's very hard for us to zero in on what language we are
going to use in the corridors. but, if you speak either Russian or
English, you should be fine. if you speak both, you will be super-fine.
our assumption is that from 400+ participants a sizeable chunk -- well
over 50% -- would speak English (that's a new media event after all, we
are not talking agriculture :-), so if you speak ONLY English, you
should still be fine.

as for the language of our email communications: the language of this
particular Google group is no way reflective of the diversity of
languages we are going to hear in Riga :-) so, while it would be really
good if all of us continue providing a short summary in English if you
write in Russian (and vice versa), we may want to create separate groups
-- one for English-speakers and one for Russian-speakers, since, I
guess, not everybody enjoys getting too many emails in a language you
cаn't comprehend from people you don't really know. i've heard several
semi-private complaints about the dominance of Russian in this
mailing-list, but until somebody replies and takes action, those of us
who are Russian-speakers will presume that everything is fine and
well-understood. so please, instead of quietly unsubscribing from this
group, just send a message instead.

Also, if you think, there is a need for a separate English-language
google group to complement the existing one, please drop me a line. i
believe that this separate English-langauge group can actually help to
unlock some of the communication barriers between the East and the West
;-) so far, we haven't heard much on this group from Estonians and
Lithuanias, for example, which is a pity. if it's a language issue, we
should surely start an English-language group to complement the existing
one.

=============================================
RU краткое (и примерное) содержание. к вопросу о языке Barcamp Baltics:
мы надеемся, что большинство из нас говорит по-английски или по-русски.
однако, не стоит себя ограничивать этими языками. если вы хотите сделать
презентацию на своем родном языке и уверены, что у вас будут слушатели,
то дерзайте (особенно, это касается, участников из Латвии--их будет,
наверное, четверть от общего числа, поэтому не стоит ограничиваться
русским или английским; так как одновременно будет идти несколько
презентаций, каждый найдет себе презентацию, который он понимает).

для тех, кто не говорит по-русски, я предлагаю создать отдельную
гугл-группу на английском языке, чтобы там тоже могло происходить
какое-то общение. а то пока у нас засилье русского языка, что, по
понятным причинам, может не всех устраивать.

[Atvars Aiza]

I think there must be saperated groups! I personaly dont want to receive news in
russian or bi lingual messeges -just seperate!
Best regards
Atvars Aiza ( Latvian/english)

[Robin Gurney]

I would love to see English language messages.

Robin Gurney M IDM
altex marketing oü
www.altex.ee/robin-gurney

Office Tallinn, Estonia: +372 6210029
Estonia Mobile: +372 53999439

Office London, England: +44 207 4600 356
England Mobile: +44 7894 997925

Skype calls are free:)
Skype: callto://altexor

altex blog: www.altex-marketing.com/
Spindo Club: www.spindo.eu/
Outsource your emarketing needs to Estonians: www.angloestonian.com/

[Tom Scott]

For announcements from the organisers, bilingual messages would be
nice. Otherwise, I don't mind; if we have nothing to discuss in
English, that's fine.

It is a bit intimidating to see a wall of Rusian text, but that's part
of the fun of travel!

Cheers,

Tom (from England)
tho...@thomasscott.net

[mursya]

I could help with translating Russian wall into English :)
Would be nice, if someone could organize what to translate :)
or if someone organizes English google group with topics as here, then
would be obvious what to translate :)

Lena

[ICQ] 91910132
mur...@mail.ru
mursya.livejournal.com
skype lena_jet

Almaty, Kazakhstan

[Stac]

Hello!
IMHO one shouldn't translate the discussions, in most cases they are
interesting only for those who understand corresponding language.
But the topics and the resolutions of such discussions must be
translated. IMHO,

Stac

[Aivars Šterns]

Maybe there is no need for russian language ? :) i think most of people can read english, so why don't use english, and if someone needs russian, then someone translates ? :)

On 12/29/07, Aivars Šterns <at...@tups.lv> wrote:

Maybe there is no need for russian language ? :) i think most of people can read english, so why don't use english, and if someone needs russian, then someone translates ? :)

at...@tups.lv
http://tups.lv

--
Ar cieņu Aivars Šterns
tālr: +371 26150528
mailto:at...@tups.lv
http://tups.lv

[Stac]

Good joke! :)

BTW, maybe those "most of people" you mentioned can read English, but
not all of them can correctly write or speak (e.g. me) :)

Stac

> > --
> > Ar cieņu Aivars Šterns
> > tālr: +371 26150528
> > mailto:at...@tups.lv
> >http://tups.lv
>
> --
> Ar cieņu Aivars Šterns
> tālr: +371 26150528

> mailto:at...@tups.lvhttp://tups.lv- Скрыть цитируемый текст -
>
> - Показать цитируемый текст -

[Eugenijus S.]

Stac, you are doing just fine!

--
Eugenijus S.

[mursya]

btw, we will never speak or write correct as native speakers :) it is
just a matter of definitions :)
so, what about doing English google group and translating all
important?

[Liudas]

yes, that would be grate :)

--
lfx a.k.a. Liudas S.

[Robin Bartholdson]

Personally, I think a separate group for the English-speaking portion
of the attendees is a must. It's painful to see the mailbox clogged
with emails that are practically unreadable everyday.

As a potential attendee I'd also like to know how language will be
dealt with when in Riga. Is there even a chance that international
attendees will get a reasonable yield value or will we be missing the
most part due to language barriers?

Kindest regards,
Robin Bartholdson

---
chair man
Ung Media Sverige
Youth Press of Sweden
www.ungmedia.se
+46 733 77 77 62

[Janis Polis]

I believe that this was already answered very explicitly by Evgeny few days ago. In english.

Sincerly,

Janis Polis

----------------------------

In reply to:

[Evgeny Morozov]

Hi all,

so we set up an English-language google group. if you wish to join it,
please go here

http://groups.google.com/group/barcampriga-en/subscribe

we'll try to make sure that all important announcements and news about
the event are posted to both groups in both languages. I also hope that
you would take the chance to start using the eng-language group
proactively :-)

Happy New Year!

Evgeny

[mursya]

I have translated or summarised the most important for our English
google group. the one left is the newsletter :)

[Anna Kirey]

Dear All,

 

It's nice to meet you. Either language is fine for me, maybe English is bit more convenient because I assume most of us can understand it.

I was wondering what kind of help I can be of from Kyrgyzstan. Is there anything that needs to be done asap? Translation? Something else?

--
Cordially,
Anna Kirey, MA, MSc
Chair
LBT Organization 'Labrys'
Blogs: http://kyrgyzlabrys.wordpress.com/
http://genderstan.wordpress.com/