The Search for the Missing Link
As I research World Languages columns, I invariably run across splendid pages that are unrelated to the article I'm working on at the moment. Generally I toss these into a "promising pages" folder and move on. Other pages in the folder come from readers and colleagues who send me tips they've gathered in their own surfing. All these links are waiting in line to be uploaded to the World Languages Links page. But given the clunkiness of the uploading procedure and my paucity of spare time, it doesn't happen as often as it should. Therefore, I'm devoting this article to getting some of the best ones onto readers' desktops before they (the links or the readers) go 404.
Multilingual Collections
Many people like to collect translations of a single word or phrase, usually something that has particular meaning for them. Several of these collections have been posted online. The House Rabbit Society offers "rabbit" in 84 languages; for no apparent reason, Just Cows lists an impressive 287 words for "cow" , complete with the odd sound file. The information is only as reliable as the authors' informants (for example, Just Cows includes an entry in Pig Latin), but both are excellent places for a first encounter with languages you've never heard of. Intriguing names can then be plugged into your favourite search engine for a quick linguistics lesson. (Following a visit to one of these pages, I spent a pleasant half-hour investigating Sorbian.)
A serious linguistics site in this genre is the truly impressive Numbers in Australian Languages, documenting numbers in just about every Australian language. The work that must have gone into assembling and uploading these data in one place is mind-boggling.
Michael Reck's equally astounding 1st International Collection of Tongue Twisters boasts 1340 entries in 59 languages. Most are complete sentences, making Reck's site a gold mine of authentic grammar models. Wolof speakers, repeat after me: "Tuki fuki buki gudi, tuki fuki buki becheck."
Clearinghouse sites
Clearinghouse sites group links and information on languages the world over. They're a great place to start enquiries, find statistics, or contact ethnic and linguistic organisations. Among the best are Mercator, available in English, French, and Welsh, and Japan's International Clearinghouse for Endangered Languages.
First-time visitors to Ethnologue will be stunned to find facts-in-brief on just about every language on the planet. The Romani file alone contains data on 16 different Rom traditions.
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