1345 entries later - Gaia Polyglotta Proto Database (Patreon)

While Varjagen was hard at work on the Pergamon-style map of northern Crucea last month, another contributor, Erpe, and I dedicated long hours to completing the languages of Altera spreadsheet, Gaia Polyglotta. Upon its completion, I can now say:

The world map of Altera features 1345  territories, featuring 1000+ unique languages privileged with official status, representing 209 language families (including dozens of isolates and a few sign languages), and which together use 82 writing systems.

This was news to me. Until now, I had only a fuzzy notion of what was on the map of Altera—there was far too much to tally and track. For comparison, in the real world, there are nearly 7000 languages still spoken today. Not more than 1% of those, however, are privileged with official status in the 198 or so countries in the world, representing just a dozen or so language families. Within my lifetime, 50% to 90% of these 7000 languages will go functionally extinct. 

Gaia Polyglotta functions as a clunky database. It is an Excel file that uses numerous sheets for critical index formulas to work in the backend. If you are a bit analytically inclined like myself, you will be sure to appreciate the richness and depth of the data here. It has all the workings of Glottolog or Ethnologue—indeed, the goal is to eventually get it online as an elegant database, and there will be plenty more entries to add for additional scripts or  even potential new states. 

Now you can search up any territory on the Altera world map and look up the main language spoken there; what script is used; the main language's language family (colour coded), plus its phylogenetic classification; as well as key corresponding real world information (ISO code to easily look up the language, vitality/endangered status etc.). 

Please brew yourself a cup of your favourite tisane, download the Excel file, and take your time scrolling through or looking up the languages of Altera. You will be reminded just how much we stand to lose in our present, and just how rich of a world lies beyond you imagination...  And for ease, do download this PDF of the Pantographia sheet within, which allows you to see all the script previews (many of which we created from scratch or which rely on you having a the giant family of Google Noto fonts installed).