How do linguists go about translating a forgotten language? How does that work when there’s no one left to help?

Question

How do linguists go about translating a forgotten language? How does that work when there’s no one left to help?

In: 4

Answer 1

Ever heard of the ‘Rosetta Stone?’ For years, scholars had pondered the meaning of Egyptian Hieroglyphics but couldn’t figure out what they meant. Then one day they found a stone with Greek and Egyptian writings on it. They used the Greek to translate the Egyptian. If there’s no Rosetta Stone, there’s no way to translate.