The Long Now Foundation, by promoting the Rosetta Project, proposes to save 1,400 endangered languages through the archiving of translations, literacy projects and instructive materials. But the project’s additional value is in having tried to guarantee the longest possible lifespan to the database due to a small disk that carries the memory of this linguistic diversity through space and time. There are 2.376 documents in the Rosetta Project database, 78.177 individual pages collected, 2.412 voluntary contributions, 1.384 languages included, 404.451 words.
All this wealth of knowledge, produced by experts and volunteers, is housed in an unbreakable sphere that, thanks to the material with which it is made (nickel), should be able to transport this archive through centuries and galaxies. One of the disks is traveling into space on board a European probe for the study of comets. “Rosetta” will continue to spin around the Sun and, in the case of a disaster that cancels all life on earth, has the task of bearing witness to the world’s linguistic heritage. The geographical origins of language and the first chapters of Genesis translated into the eight major languages of the world are recorded on the external part. The other micro-etchings are translated into 1,400 languages. The images have been recorded with lasers.
The goal of the researchers, supported by the celebrated Stanford University, is that of becoming the crossroads for other similar projects, piecing together all possible material on the subject. One of the Rosetta Project’s strong points is having been able to stimulate a large group of contributors, being able take advantage of voluntary and private contributions. The National Science Digital Library recently came on board as a sponsor. The website’s highlights include a section on translation of words into various languages and the section “Did you Know that…”, full of information, interesting facts and observations.
