The Rosetta Project, part of the Long Now Foundation, is live. So far, the site contains descriptions and analyses of over 1000 languages.
But here's what's especially cool about it.
(1) The collection is being designed to be "near permanent". Much like the golden record that was sent up with Voyager, and in keeping with Long Now's mission to create a "library of the deep future", the Rosetta Project is meant not just for us but for our children's children's children.
(2) It's open source. Anyone can contribute to the archive or review past contributions.
I think the Rosetta Project hits the nail on the head, leveraging the strengths of both conventional libraries -- permanence -- and digital libraries -- flexibility and openness -- to create what could be a truly remarkable resource. And perhaps an unprecedented one, at least for linguistics. I can't think of another project in any discipline that aims for such epic proportions.
And here's my main question: are they hiring?
Posted on February 26, 2002 at 09:17 PM
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