A Global Picture of Endangered Languages
An infographic on the hotspots and structures of endangered languages around the world
National University of Singapore (NUS)
Partner:
National University of Singapore (NUS)Project type:
Infographic
Scope:
Data visualisationDesign
Languages are disappearing across the world. How will this affect communities, cultures, societies, and even humanity? Kontinentalist assisted a team of academics at the National University of Singapore to visualise their findings on global language endangerment.
About the project
A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore investigate language endangerment around the world, and assess them according to varying levels of risks. They needed to communicate their findings in a succinct data visualisation.
The challenge
The infographic needed to carry several layers of data, namely the distribution of endangered languages, concentration of hotspots, and the level of risk of each community of languages. In addition, this had to fit within an A4-sized visual, as it was to be inserted into a journal article for publication.
Our creative solution
The thematic map was crafted with a focus on the global language landscape, where we charted language data points on the map. We took a minimal approach to the graphics, using relatively muted colours to be consistent with the neutral tone of the journal article. The language indexes at the bottom half inform the map further, providing a stacked bar chart breakdown of the communities by degree of endangerment.
Our partners
The National University of Singapore is a national research university in Singapore, and is the oldest autonomous university in the country. It aspires to be a vital community of academics, researchers, staff, students and alumni working together in a spirit of innovation and enterprise for a better world.
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