Description
A collaborative project between academics from University College London's Anthropology and Architecture departments seeks to bring endangered or threatened languages to life as 3D objects. Using cutting edge materials and state of the art architectural software, the project models and then 3D-prints languages -- including Amazonian Tariana and Kurdish -- with the hope of highlighting their complexity, value as intangible heritage and the risks they face. "40% of languages are at risk of disappearing forever" explains Dr Alex Pillen, Associate Professor in the Anthropology of Language, adding that "it's not just about endangered languages that are about to disappear... it's also about linguicide of languages that are spoken by large populations." IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES