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Beyond translation: engaging with foreign languages in a digital library

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A Correction to this article was published on 19 May 2023

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Abstract

Digital libraries can enable their patrons to go beyond modern language translations and to engage directly with sources in more languages than any individual could study, much less master. Translations should be viewed not so much as an end but as an entry point into the sources that they represent. In the case of highly studied sources, one or more experts can curate the network of annotations that support such reading. A digital library should, however, automatically create a serviceable first version of such a multi-lingual edition. Such a service is possible but benefits (if it does not require) a new generation of increasingly well-designed machine-readable translations, lexica, grammars, and encyclopedias. This paper reports on exploratory work that uses the Homeric epics to explore this wider topic and on the more general application of the results.

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  1. 1For a list of publications regarding this work please see http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/about/publications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA

    Gregory Crane, Alison Babeu & Lisa M. Cerrato

  2. Department of Classical Studies, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA

    Amelia Parrish & Carolina Penagos

  3. Chair of Digital Humanities, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany

    Faroosh Shamsian

  4. Eldarion, Burlington, MA, USA

    James Tauber & Jake Wegner

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  1. Gregory Crane
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  2. Alison Babeu
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  3. Lisa M. Cerrato
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Correspondence to Gregory Crane.

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Crane, G., Babeu, A., Cerrato, L.M. et al. Beyond translation: engaging with foreign languages in a digital library. Int J Digit Libr 24, 163–176 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00799-023-00349-2

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