Omniglot

From HandWiki
Omniglot
Type of site
Encyclopedia
Key peopleSimon Ager[1]
Websiteomniglot.com
CommercialNo
Launched1998
Current statusActive
File:Omniglot Frontpage.png
Front page of Omniglot as of July 2021

Omniglot (/ˈɒmnɪˌɡlɒt/) is an online encyclopedia focused on languages and writing systems.[2]

Etymology

The name "Omniglot" comes from the Latin prefix omnis (meaning "all") and the Greek root γλωσσα (glossa, meaning "tongue").

History

The website was launched by British linguist Simon Ager in 1998, originally intended to be a web design and translation service. As Ager collected and added more information about languages and various writing systems, the project evolved into an encyclopedia.[3]

It provides reference materials for about a hundred written scripts used in different languages,[4][5] and materials for learning languages.[6][7]

It also has reference materials in numerous languages.[8]

Its material was the source for a compendium of characters used for development of artificial intelligence, the Omniglot Challenge.[9] [10] The Omniglot compendium has been used widely since it was first released.[11][12][13]

As of February 2020, the number of languages detailed on the site is over 1,300.[14]

See also

  • List of online encyclopedias

References

  1. Melanie Moore (13 June 2016). "Interview with the Omniglot". Mango Languages. http://blog.mangolanguages.com/an-interview-with-the-omniglot. 
  2. "Omniglot : the guide to languages, alphabets and other writing systems". Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/lcwa00095724/. 
  3. "Omniglot - a potted history". https://www.omniglot.com/about2.htm. 
  4. Brookes, Tim (2013-06-29). "First Person: Save a Language, Save a Culture" (in en). https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/6/130628-endangered-languages-scripts-bangladesh-indigenous-cultures-world/. 
  5. Sheehan, Jennifer (2020-09-04). "Celtic Cultural Alliance art class offers chance to learn and create using ancient Irish alphabet, Ogham". Morning call (Allentown PA). https://www.mcall.com/entertainment/mc-ent-ogham-art-classic-by-celtic-classic-20200904-lln27zbetff4bgrtvxje7mlalu-story.html. 
  6. Steinkopf-Frank, Hannah (2020-12-21). "How to Learn French: A U.S. News Guide". US News and World Report. https://www.usnews.com/education/learn-french-guide. 
  7. "B. Board: One fowl could be a goose, and two are called geese; Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.". Twin Cities Pioneer Press. 2016-09-25. https://www.twincities.com/2016/09/25/b-board-one-fowl-could-be-a-goose-and-two-are-called-geese-yet-the-plural-of-moose-should-never-be-meese/. 
  8. Sarkodie, Alex (2020-03-04). "The Origins Of The Akan-Speaking People Of Ghana". https://www.modernghana.com/news/993390/the-origins-of-the-akan-speaking-people-of-ghana.html. 
  9. Lake (2015-12-11). "Human-level concept learning through probabilistic program induction". Science. http://amygdala.psychdept.arizona.edu/labspace/JclubLabMeetings/Lijuan-Science-2015-Lake-1332-8.pdf. 
  10. Markoff, John (2015-12-10). "A Learning Advance in Artificial Intelligence Rivals Human Abilities (Published 2015)" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/science/an-advance-in-artificial-intelligence-rivals-human-vision-abilities.html. 
  11. Press, Gil (2019-12-16). "Would You Trust A Self-Driving Car? 70% Of Americans Say ‘No,’ 72% Of Chinese Say ‘Yes’" (in en). Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/gilpress/2019/12/16/would-you-trust-an-autonomous-vehicle-70-of-americans-say-no-72-of-chinese-say-yes/. 
  12. Lake (2019-06-03). "The Omniglot challenge: a 3-year progress report". Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1902.03477. 
  13. Lewis, Phillip J.; Heck, Stephen (2018-07-01) (in English). Survey of Few-Shot Learning Techniques.. https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1572926. 
  14. "About Omniglot". https://www.omniglot.com/about.htm#langs.