Interesting Links for 05-03-2023

[andrewducker]

1. You don't have to read Finnegan's Wake, but if you do then this will help

(tags:JamesJoyce advice reading )

2. There is more Akkadian available than you'd think

(tags:archeology history writing viaDanielDWilliam )

Comments

[anna_wing]

It would be nice if some Chinese or Middle-eastern zillionaire would be willing to pay to have the entire British Museum collection of Akkadian tablets (and other museums' holdings as well) scanned and digitalised and turned into more easily readable text for wider general access and translation. Would it be possible then to use machine translation for at least first-cut translations, using the existing body of already-translated works?

[mountainkiss]

I have been saying for thirty-five years that the only way to read Finnegan's Wake is to read the whole thing aloud. Treat it as intended for auditory rather than written consumption.

[danieldwilliam]

Just afer reading the Akkadian writing thread I read this

https://acoup.blog/2023/03/03/fireside-friday-march-3-2023/

on the process of reading and understanding writing on monuments and so on.

And was also watching a programme on paleotology in Wymoming where they were CT scanning the fossils.

I am now wondering if the most efficient way forward might not be just to CT scan all of the tablets on a conveyor belt and get an ML process to do the first pass translation and categorisation.

[anef]

My feeling at the moment is that life is too short either to learn Akkadian or to read James Joyce and follow all the references. Call me shallow!