any time they
have the time or interest - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is also an almost
limitless publication outlet for my colleagues and I, not to mention my
institution.

= How do you see the growth of a multilingual Web?

There was an initial fear that the Web posed a threat to multilingualism on the
Web, since HTML and other programming languages are based on English and since
there are simply more websites in English than any other language. However, my
websites indicate that multilingualism is very much alive and the Web may, in
fact, serve as a vehicle for preserving many endangered languages. I now have
links to dictionaries in 150 languages and grammars of 65 languages. Moreover,
the new attention paid by browser developers to the different languages of the
world will encourage even more websites in different languages.

= How do you see the future?

Ultimately all course materials, including lecture notes, exercises, moot and
credit testing, grading, and interactive exercises far more effective in
conveying concepts that we have not even dreamed of yet. The Web will be an
encyclopedia of the world by the world for the world. There will be no
information or knowledge that anyone needs that will not be available. The major
hindrance to international and interpersonal understanding, personal and
institutional enhancement, will be removed. It would take a wilder imagination
than mine to predict the effect of this development on the nature of humankind.

*Interview of January 17, 2000

= Can you tell us about yourDictionary.com?

A Web of Online Dictionaries (WOD) is now a part of yourDictionary.com (as of
February 15, 2000). The new website is an index of 1200+ dictionaries in more
than 200 languages. Besides the WOD, the new website includes a
word-of-the-day-feature, word games, a language chat room, the old Web of
On-line Grammars (now expanded to include additional language resources), the
Web of Linguistic Fun, multilingual dictionaries; specialized English
dictionaries; thesauri and other vocabulary aids; language identifiers and
guessers, and other features; dictionary indices. YourDictionary.com will
hopefully be the premiere language portal and the largest language resource site
on the Web. It is now actively acquiring dictionaries and grammars of all
languages with a particular focus on endangered languages. It is overseen by a
blue ribbon panel of linguistic experts from all over the world.