WikiLatih Wiktionary documentation at the Yayasan Riset Visual MataWaktu by Lentero (Seamless Creative), CC BY-SA 4.0

Wikimedia Indonesia teamed up with the Goethe-Institut to organize *WikiLatih *Wiktionary, an in-person workshop introducing participants to basic Wiktionary editing. The session was part of the Digital Discourses 2025 event series and took place on October 18, 2025, at the Yayasan Riset Visual MataWaktu in South Jakarta. With a focus on expanding entries for Indonesia’s local languages, the workshop highlighted how digital platforms like Wiktionary can play an important role in keeping local languages alive online.

The Urgency of Local Languages on the Internet

Local languages are vital as expressions of identity, cultural heritage, and traditional knowledge. According to the Global Endangered Languages Report (2023) from Derivation.co, Indonesia has the highest number of endangered local languages in the world. This highlights the urgent need for ongoing preservation efforts, including through digital platforms. Without such efforts, many local languages could disappear in the coming decades. Having local languages represented online not only helps document them but also creates opportunities for wider use and development. Contributing entries, recordings, and other supporting content is a crucial step toward keeping these languages alive and relevant in today’s digital world.

Documenting Balik and Orang Rimba Languages in Wiktionary

WikiLatih Wiktionary presentation session by Lentero (Seamless Creative), CC BY-SA 4.0

In this training, participants were guided to add entries in their own local languages to Wiktionary. After contributing entries in their respective languages, they were then introduced to adding entries and audio for the Balik [lbx] and Orang Rimba [kvb] languages. The entry and audio data came from the WikiKatha project, run by Wikimedia Indonesia in collaboration with Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance of Nusantara).

The Balik and Orang Rimba languages were chosen as the main focus because both are classified as endangered. Balik, spoken by the indigenous Balik people in East Kalimantan, is estimated to have only about 50 active speakers. Meanwhile, the Orang Rimba language, spoken by the Orang Rimba people in Jambi, has around 1,775 speakers. One of the main factors threatening the survival of these two languages is the shrinking of the natural environment that has long been the ancestral home of these indigenous communities. Therefore, preserving the Balik and Orang Rimba languages through digital documentation is an important step in preventing their extinction.

A Follow-Up Session to Support the Isam Language

Documentation of WikiLatih Wiktionary activities at the Jakarta Library by Lentero (Seamless Creative), CC BY-SA 4.0

The *WikiLatih *Wiktionary activities didn’t stop there. A follow-up session took place on November 21, 2025, at the Jakarta Library, welcoming a new group of participants. The session followed a format similar to the previous training but was conducted in a shorter timeframe.

In this follow-up session, the focus was on the Isam [pgu] language, also known as Pagu, spoken by the Isam people in North Maluku. According to a report by the LIPI team, most speakers are over 40 years old, while younger speakers are very few, generally around 20 years old. This underscores the importance of digital documentation as a crucial step to support the sustainability and preservation of the Isam language.

Preserving Local Languages through Contributions to Wiktionary

These two WikiLatih Wiktionary series resulted in a total of 176 new entries and expanded 289 existing entries in Wiktionary. Continuous efforts to add and enrich entries ensure that local languages are not only kept in use and studied, but also have the opportunity to be passed on to future generations. Every contribution, no matter how small, plays an important role in safeguarding language and cultural heritage. Through Wiktionary, anyone can contribute to keeping local languages alive, well documented, and freely accessible to everyone.

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