Yesterday’s Washington Post carried an interesting article about the preservation of languages including Native American languages. I can’t read or write any of these languages but often need to translate documents. I can use word lists and ask others for advice. The article “Smithsonian archives preserve lost and dying languages” is informative and exciting.
“The archives had been accumulating for more than 150 years, the findings of scholars, explorers, soldiers and travelers . . .” It includes a “immense hoard of recorded voices, documents and other materials describing more than 250 languages from all over the world.”
The collection is more comprehensive than I thought it was. You may read the article here.
© 2014, Paula Stuart-Warren. All rights reserved.
