5 ms·
100k, 10 million? Please give us a guess. How many are in known languages, how many unknown languages?
by rnk 3y ago
100k, 10 million? Please give us a guess. How many are in known languages, how many unknown languages?
- downvotetruth 3y agoFor cuneiform see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36446876 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36446876 on https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36446289 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36446289
- thaumasiotes 3y agoThe ones in known languages are more than enough to absorb hundreds of millions of dollars. People seem to have the impression that ancient writing is rare. It isn't. Two things are rare: - Paper that can survive for thousands of years without rotting. This is why classical documents are rare. - The desire to get some more ancient tablets translated. This is why translations of cuneiform tablets are rare. There is far more source material available than anyone is willing to pay for.
- jhbadger 3y agoAlso, the fact that most ancient writing is boring. Yes, like Irving Finkel, you might come across a new version of the Flood legend, or the rules to an ancient form of Backgammon, but 99% of the stuff is just receipts and tax reports, maybe useful to translate as part of a student's dissertation, but of no more interest than that.