The Breton Wikipedia is the edition of the free online encyclopedia presented in the Breton language. Launched in June 2004, it is part of the family of Wikimedia projects that provide content in many languages and dialects. As a language edition of Wikipedia, it combines collaboratively written articles with the MediaWiki software platform and the policies of the Wikimedia community.

Scope and characteristics

Articles on Breton Wikipedia cover a wide range of subjects: geography, biographies, culture, history, science, and local Breton topics. The interface and article content use Breton orthography and terminology where possible, and the community works to adapt templates and help pages to the language. Contributors include native speakers, learners, and interested editors from outside Brittany who add and revise content to improve accessibility and accuracy.

History and milestones

The project began in mid‑2004 and reached several article‑count milestones in the following years. It passed 20,000 articles in 2008 and 30,000 in 2009. By July 2014 the project recorded 50,000 articles, and as of August 2021 the edition contained roughly 69,790 articles. These milestones reflect steady growth driven by individual contributions and community organization.

Community, governance and technical aspects

Breton Wikipedia is governed by the same editorial principles used across Wikimedia projects: neutral point of view, verifiability, and free licensing of content. The site is maintained by volunteer editors who monitor new contributions, enforce policies, and manage technical maintenance with the aid of global Wikimedia resources. Like other editions, it uses the MediaWiki software and relies on Wikimedia servers to serve content worldwide.

Importance and use

As a minority‑language encyclopedia, Breton Wikipedia plays a role in language maintenance, education, and cultural dissemination. It offers a reference in Breton for school projects, cultural institutions, and the general public interested in regional topics. The presence of a Breton edition helps legitimize and normalize the written use of the language on the internet.

Notable distinctions

Within the family of Celtic‑language Wikipedias, Breton Wikipedia is one of the larger editions, second in size to the Welsh Wikipedia. The project links to broader Breton language resources (see the entry for the Breton language) and participates in cross‑language initiatives that improve coverage and quality across Wikimedia projects.

  • Established: June 2004.
  • Notable milestones: 20,000 (2008), 30,000 (2009), 50,000 (2014), ~69,790 (Aug 2021).
  • Role: reference resource, language support, cultural documentation.

Readers interested in contributing can find general editing guidance on the main Wikimedia help pages and in local project documentation maintained by the Breton Wikipedia community. For further background on the Breton language and related projects, consult linked resources and the broader Wikimedia network.