WeSay — Introduction
“WeSay is an Open Source project aimed at providing computer tools to help communities perform several language development activities on their own.”
WeSay SIL Website
WeSay is a tool designed to help communities with limited technological resources independently create and edit entries for a dictionary in their language. Offering a simple framework to log and edit language data, WeSay accounts for the needs of communities who may have little or no access to the internet or electricity and who do not have prior computer training. Designed as a collaborative tool within the SIL International suite, WeSay would be used by community members while the linguist partner(s) analyzes language and maintains the overall project on FLEx.
This free and open-source software is straightforward, easy to use, and task-oriented, facilitating the sharing of data through email or by external hard discs and flash drives. The WeSay interface is available in 19 languages, but only Latin scripts and IPA are supported for language input. Due to the simplicity of the software, only minimal customizations can be made. WeSay offers prompts to help speakers think of words and associated lexical data to add to the dictionary.
A strength of WeSay is that users can make edits and share their progress offline. The final product can be printed or saved as a PDF using the print function available in the software. The data in WeSay can also be sent to other lexicographical tools, such as Lexique Pro or FLEx, for further language work and linguistic analysis. This tool is only available for systems using Windows or Linux.
As of 2019, WeSay is no longer being developed or updated. WeSay’s developer, SIL International, has developed an online replacement called Language Forge.
Highlights
- Generally simple, intuitive interface
- Editing, saving, and printing can be done offline
- Open source (available on Github)
- Free resource
- Offers prompts for gathering words
- Software only requires 53MB of space to download
From Perlin, R. 2012. “WeSay, A Tool for Collaborating on Dictionaries with Non-Linguists.” Language Documentation & Conservation, (6): 181-186. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/4507.
- Enables remote collaboration between community members and a linguist
- Step-by-step work
- Many actions such as backup and file management are handled remotely
- Fully integrated with FLEx
- Built-in approximate search that allows users to search in the dictionary when they are not certain of an exact spelling
From Albright, E. & Hatton, J. 2007. “WeSay: A Tool for Engaging Native Speakers in Dictionary Building.” Documenting and Revitalizing Austronesian Languages, 189-201. https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/22e42fd4-2df0-4bca-b9a2-ce1367920154/content.
- Useable on low-power, slow hardware
- Configuration software is kept separate to minimize confusion
- Straightforward order of tasks to complete
- Encourages community input
Considerations
- The tool is no longer under active development and new features are not added
- SIL has replaced WeSay with an online tool called Language Forge
- Not compliant with Unicode or non-Latin scripts
- Limited customization options
- Not available for MacOS
- Many of the links on the WeSay website pointing to further information or resources are broken
- Cannot perform advanced actions, including language analysis
From Perlin, R. 2012. “WeSay, A Tool for Collaborating on Dictionaries with Non-Linguists.” Language Documentation & Conservation, (6): 181-186. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/4507.
- Some operations, such as using dependent fields, may be too complicated for users with no computer experience
- Occasional bugs
- Software struggles with saving details when multiple users add overlapping entries
- Requires maintenance and initial setup by linguist(s)
Alternatives to WeSay
Language Forge is an alternative software offered by SIL now that WeSay is no longer being developed. Language Forge can be used by projects with both speakers and linguists to enter data into a FLex database.
Examples of Dictionaries Using WeSay
We are not aware of any publicly available examples of dictionaries created using WeSay.
Because WeSay is free and does not require registration, it is difficult to gather solid data on who is using it and how (Hatton, 2011).
Support Services
WeSay offers video tutorials, a discussion board, and multiple downloadable documents outlining how to complete common operations. An email address (issues@wesay.org) is provided for users to contact developers with questions or concerns.
Developer
WeSay was developed as a collaboration between SIL International, SIL Papua New Guinea, and Payap Language Software Development Group (PALASO).
A full list of developers can be found here, although no developers are listed after 2015.
Development began in 2007, with the newest update of the software (version 1.1.10.0) launched in February 2019.
WeSay is no longer developed and updated.