Re: Archiving language information (was Re: Saving endangered langs (was Re: Extrapolating languages))

Quoting Paul Bennett <paul-bennett@...>:


> Additional PS: Didn't I read in some science magazine about a project to
> mark Nuclear Waste sites with big stone monoliths, deeply carved with
> warnings in six popular languages (ISTR English, Russian, Spanish, Hindi,
> Chinese and Arabic)?

I do not know if it was the same project, but I once (2-3 years ago?) read
about a project for marking such sites with culture-independent "danger"
signs. They did have a few ingenous designs - which might even work, who am I
to tell? - but what really struck me was the implicit assumption that getting
the warning across was the important thing. I could not fail to think of
egyptologists who've entered ancient tombs in perfect knowledge of the curses
and warnings against intrusion upon them; why would future generations
necessarily take any more heed of _our_ warnings?

                                                    Andreas