The Linguist

14 The Linguist Vol/64 No/3 ciol.org.uk/thelinguist FEATURES Why each language version tells a different story, and the power dynamics behind the platform. By Guilherme Fians F ew would disagree that the airplane is one of the great marvels of modern engineering – and we could confidently call that a consensus. But consult Wikipedia about who invented it and the answer depends on the language you read. On the English-language Wikipedia, the Wright brothers reign supreme in the article titled 'Airplane'. On Wikipedia in French, the article 'Avion' celebrates Clément Ader as the pioneer responsible for inventing the airplane and coining the term 'aviation'. In Portuguese, the 'Avião' page cites the Wright brothers but gives prominence to Alberto Santos Dumont, who made the first self-propelled flight without the assistance of a catapult. According to Wikipedia, it seems, the airplane has multiple inventors, each neatly aligned with linguistic boundaries. What began to me – a digital anthropologist interested in sociolinguistics – as a search for information quickly became a journey around one invention loaded with many origin stories. So, who is right? The short answer: it depends on the language you speak – and the Wikipedia you are reading. Crowd-sourced or chaotic? Labelled "the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit" and available in over 340 languages, Wikipedia is intended to produce a "summary of all human knowledge". But behind this noble mission lies a messy, multilingual reality. After all, the internet – and knowledge production, for that matter – is not as English-centred as algorithms and social media might lead us to believe. By inviting 'anyone' to edit its content, Wikipedia's founders and editors seek to democratise knowledge, which sets this online platform apart from less accessible sources of information like expensive learning materials and news websites behind paywalls. This DIY, user-centred functioning leads to fascinating variations in how historical and scientific facts are narrated. And the multiple language versions of Wikipedia inevitably add curious pieces to this intricate puzzle. This gives us clues about why the airplane has different inventors on different Wikipedias. But what does it tell us about who can produce knowledge online? Ultimately, what is the role of translation in this multilingual platform? What I found in my ethnographic research on multilingual spaces online is that digital media labelled 'global' cannot be understood by exclusively analysing the English versions. 1 This leads to a crucial reminder: an attention to language and translation – or lack thereof – can change how we perceive the internet. Multilingual selective storytelling Many English speakers might assume that the Wikipedia page on the airplane in French is simply a translation of the English one. Not really. While Wikipedia editors may take inspiration from other language versions, each version works semi-independently, and volunteer editors often draft articles from scratch. This is where things get interesting: since Wikipedia content must be supported by reliable sources, editors understandably draw on references in the languages they know best. Sources, in turn, reflect the curricula of countries where the language is spoken, popular historical narratives and even geopolitical sensitivities. Take, for example, the phrase 'attempted to fly' to describe Clément Ader's 1890 flight. While technically accurate, this expression appears diplomatically dismissive. The French version, instead, honours Ader's coining of the word 'aviation' as a semantic achievement in itself, and acknowledges his flying machines as early aviation milestones, whether or not they meet modern definitions of 'controlled flight'. While the English article endorses the Wright brothers with several bibliographical references, the French article supports Ader's pioneering contributions with sources exclusively in French – perhaps the only language in which he is systematically recognised as a key figure in this story. In Portuguese, the references that most prominently celebrate Santos Dumont's near-mythical status are, unsurprisingly, in Portuguese. What does this tell us? First, there might be an element of selective storytelling that privileges a historical narrative in line with readers' expectations. Since most readers and editors of the French- language Wikipedia are based in France, a story that celebrates a French pioneer suits this readership well, and the same could be said about Brazilian readers who feel represented with Santos Dumont rising to glory in the history of aviation. Wikipedia: Editing the narrative

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