Sylheti Wikipedia
Type of site | Internet encyclopedia |
|---|---|
| Available in | Sylheti |
| Owner | Wikimedia Foundation |
| Created by | Sylheti Wikimedia Community |
| URL | syl |
| Commercial | No |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | 25 February 2025 |
| Current status | Active |
Content license | Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike 4.0 |
The Sylheti Wikipedia (Sylheti: ꠍꠤꠟꠐꠤ ꠘꠣꠉꠞꠤ) is the Sylheti language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. Operated by the Wikimedia Foundation, it was officially launched on 25 February 2025.[1][2] The edition is written in the Sylheti Nagri script, an indigenous script historically used in the Sylhet region.[1]
History
Background
The Sylheti language is spoken by an estimated 11 million people in Bangladesh's Sylhet Division, India's Barak Valley and Hojai district in Assam, as well as among diaspora communities, particularly in the United Kingdom.[1][3] The language has its own script, Sylheti Nagri, which scholars trace to around the 14th century.[3] The script was used historically to document religious poetry and folk songs, and printing presses for Sylheti Nagri operated in Kolkata and Sylhet from the 1870s onward.[4]
Incubation period (2014–2025)
The proposal for a Sylheti-language Wikipedia was first submitted to Meta-Wiki on 12 June 2014.[5] On 5 July 2014, a test version was established on the Wikimedia Incubator, the platform where new language editions are developed before receiving official approval.[5]
During its decade-long incubation, the project faced several challenges, including a limited number of active contributors and the need for technological support for typing in the Sylheti Nagri script.[1] The community of volunteers, comprising university students from the Sylhet region and members of the Sylheti diaspora, gradually worked on creating articles and developing content for the encyclopedia.[1]
On 14 June 2019, the Wikimedia Foundation's Language Committee reviewed the Incubator version and deemed it eligible to become a full Wikipedia project.[5] After several more years of content development, the Wikimedia Foundation's Board of Trustees granted final approval on 14 February 2025.[5]
Official launch (2025)
The Sylheti Wikipedia was formally launched on 25 February 2025, transitioning from the Incubator to its own dedicated domain at syl
Community and contributors
The Sylheti Wikipedia is maintained by a group of volunteers known as the Sylhet Wikimedia Community. The community formed around 2018 to promote Wikimedia projects in the Sylhet region, with members now dispersed across Sylhet, Dhaka, London, and New York.[1]
One of the project's notable contributors is Shaikh Shihab Ahmed, an undergraduate student at King's College London who has been active in promoting the Sylheti language and its script. Born and raised in Oman to Sylheti parents, Ahmed noticed a disconnect between the Bangla script he was taught and the Sylheti language spoken at home.[1] In an interview with The Business Standard, he described the launch as "a significant milestone in the preservation and promotion of the Sylheti language and culture."[1]
Ahmed and other contributors create content related to the Sylheti language and script on social media platforms to raise awareness. The project has drawn contributors from both Bangladesh and the Sylheti diaspora, including community organizations such as the Greater Sylot Society.[1]
Language and script
The Sylheti Wikipedia uses the Sylheti Nagri script for its articles. According to academic research, the script evolved as a distinct writing system for the Sylheti language, with fewer characters than the standard Bengali script to reflect the different phonemes found in Sylheti.[6]
The script is considered endangered but has seen a revival in recent decades, mostly by academics and linguists.[4] The British Library's Endangered Archives Programme has documented Sylheti Nagri manuscripts, noting that the script became "a vehicle of popular culture in Sylhet, Cachar, Karimganj, Tripura, Mymensingh and Dhaka."[7]
Significance
The creation of the Sylheti Wikipedia has been described as an important development for the language's digital preservation. The Business Standard characterized it as "an effort to preserve the heritage of the 'Sylheti' language," noting that Sylheti speakers face concerns about their linguistic identity being erased.[1]
The use of the Sylheti Nagri script is particularly significant, as the script has not received official recognition in Bangladesh since 1971.[1] The Wikipedia edition serves not only as an encyclopedia but also as a platform for documenting and revitalizing the script.
The launch has also drawn attention to the broader debate about Sylheti's status as a language rather than a dialect. In August 2025, political leaders in Assam's Barak Valley protested remarks labeling Sylheti a "Bangladeshi language," noting that over 70 lakh (7 million) Sylheti speakers reside in India across Assam, Tripura, and Meghalaya.[3] Scholars have noted that Sylheti predates the modern borders of Bangladesh and India by centuries, with roots tracing to the 6th century AD.[3]
For the Sylheti diaspora, particularly in the United Kingdom where an estimated 400,000 Sylheti speakers reside, the project provides a link to ancestral language and culture.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "An effort to preserve the heritage of 'Sylheti' language". The Business Standard. Dhaka. 21 March 2025. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
- ^ a b "[Newprojects] New wiki: sylwiki". Wikimedia Lists. Wikimedia Foundation. 25 February 2025. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
- ^ a b c d Nath, Prosenjit (8 August 2025). "Amit Malviya's 'Bangladeshi' Remark For Sylheti Erases Centuries Of Indian History". ABP Live. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
- ^ a b Chanda, Anuradha, ed. (2013). Script Identity Region: A Study in Sylhet Nāgri. Kolkata: Dey's Publishing. ISBN 9788129518767.
- ^ a b c d "সিলেটি ভাষায় উইকিপিডিয়ার যাত্রা শুরু". Sylhet View 24. Sylhet. 27 February 2025. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
- ^ Sādika, Mohāmmada (2008). Sileṭi nāgarī: phakiri dhārāra phasala. Dhaka: Bāṃlādeśa Eśiẏāṭika Sosāiṭi.
- ^ "Archiving texts in the Sylhet Nagri script (EAP071)". Endangered Archives Programme. British Library. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
External links
- Official website (in Sylheti Nagri)
- Sylhet Wikimedia Community on Meta-Wiki