Rosetta Project
The Rosetta Project is an international collective work of linguists and native speakers of different languages , working to a contemporary version of the historic Rosetta Stone to develop in the form of a small metal disc.
Concept
The aim of the project is an overview and a permanent archive of all documented human languages. Some of these languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers worldwide, with others, there is the danger that they will by the growing dominance of other languages - will die out - especially English and Spanish. The intention is to create a unique platform for research and education in the field of historical-comparative linguistics, as well as a functional tool that can help in the future to rediscover lost languages and revitalize.
The project builds this great archive on the fact that voluntary volunteers contribute texts and proofreading. In the same way the first Oxford English Dictionary has been created. The archive will be publicly available on three different media:
- On small, very finely etched wafers consisting of a nickel alloy,
- In a monumental reference work in one volume,
- In the ever-growing online archive.
The Rosetta Project is led by the Long Now Foundation.
Rosetta Disk
The so-called Rosetta Disk is a disk made of a nickel alloy for long-term archiving of written or drawn information. The discs have a diameter of 5.08 cm ( corresponding to 2 inches). They are still (similar to a microfilm ) be readable in about 2000 years with optical aids. The inscription on the discs begins with the readable without additional aids (but shrinking ) words, " This is an archive of over 1,000 human languages assembled in the year 02002 CE Magnify 1,000 times to find over 15,000 pages of language documentation. " In eight different major languages . On the back of the disc 15000 pages of text are etched with letters in microscopic size. The individual pages are 100 - fold magnification as such clearly recognizable. The text on these pages is readable with 500 - fold magnification. The disc contains information on more than 2500 languages.
On the disc there are also information about pronunciation and sentence formation of different languages . Furthermore, contain a so-called Swadesh list with a list of key terms in many languages. The disc is located in a ball, the upper half is made of optical glass. With this motion, the plate can be treated with 6- fold magnification. The lower half of the sphere is made of high quality stainless steel. A ring made of stainless steel connecting the two halves, and closes the disk securely.
Background
It is anticipated that over the next century 50-90% of the world's languages will disappear, many with little or no significant documentation. A large part especially the research that has been operated on languages with few speakers, is hidden in private research collections or inadequate preserved in poorly funded archives.
As part of the effort to secure this legacy of linguistic diversity, creates the Long Now Foundation online an overview and a permanent, accessible without complicated tools archive of 1000 the supposedly about 7,000 languages in the world.
Publication
A first " version 1.0" of the disc was made in autumn 2002. Mass production is planned to begin in principle but not yet implemented. The online version, however, is growing steadily. It has also been promoted one of the discs with the launch of Rosetta from Kourou (French Guiana ) into orbit on March 2, 2004. The spacecraft is currently in transit to the comet 67P/Tschurjumow-Gerasimenko. In November 2014, the on-board lander Philae will land on the comet.
The probable fate of a preserved in the Smithsonian Institution copy of a hypothetical disappearance of humanity is shown in episode 3 of season 2 of the docu-fiction series Life After People ( " The Cradle of Civilization ", USA 2010).