[This message has also been posted in LINGUIST]
Continuing with the litany of curious queries (*not* for a research paper
.-)), I wonder if a tool such as the following exists anywhere: An
on-line, interactive (preferably in hypertext) multilingual catalogue or
dictionary of language names in all languages.
At times, particularly when reading linguistic literature in a foreign
language, it is hard to recognize a given language name, or to
adapt/translate the name into yet another language. Given the prominence
of English in the field, speakers of languages other than English are
often confronted with the dilemma whether to simply adopt the English name
or to try to adapt it according to is its likely pronunciation. This is
both unfair and unnecessary in the age of technology.
The tool I’m proposing would consist of something like a matrix or grid of
x columns by x rows of languages in alphabetical order, including the IPA
representation of the standard pronunciation of the language name. An
example follows:
IPA ENGLISH FRANC,AIS PORTUGUE^S
English ‘iNglIS English anglais ingle^s
franc,ais fRo~’sE French franc,ais france^s
portugue^s purtu’GeS Portuguese portugais portugue^s
Language names (first column) would be represented in their respective
standard scripts when existing (if not, only in IPA). Of course, a 5,000 x
5,000 grid (or so) wouldn’t fit entirely in any screen in the world. The
hypertext tool should allow for navigating the database, selecting a set
of target languages (first row) and/or language names for comparison,
listings, quick searches, etc. The database would be ever-expanding;
cells would be filled gradually and columns/rows added as information
would become available.
The database would be useful for questions such as:
-What is the native term and pronunciation for "Estonian"?
-How do you write "Wolof" in Korean?
-What language is "abexim"?
-How have languages similar to my own adapted "Swahili"?
So, that’s my Babelian proposal. The Internet is a good place to start
building the tool. There should be some team of computer-literate
lunatics out there willing to build it. But non-commercially, please.
Celso Alvarez-Caccamo
Departamento de Linguistica Geral e Teoria da Literatura
Universidade da Corunha, Galiza – Spain
Tel: 34-81-100457, ext. 1758
FAX: 34-81-102459
lxalv…@udc.es
