language is survival
installation • creative coding • interaction • experiencecollaborators: Vibes With The Tribes [research] • madi ritenburgh [research] • lucy van eerde [research] • madie graham [research] • ben schaefer [research]
clients: Detroit Historical Society
challenge
the Anishinaabemowin language is slowly dying, and with it many essential elements of the Anishinaabe culture. Anishinaabemowin is primarily a spoken language and not a written one, therefore Anishinaabemowin language speakers are becoming increasingly rare.
concept
research, interviews with Anishinaabe folks, and brainstorming brought us to the idea of shapeshifting as a metaphor for the switching between cultures and transitioning between languages. shapeshifting also reinforces the idea that identity is a gradient, not a solid line.
deliverable
Language is Survival is an interactive pathway for exploring and translating the Anishinaabemowin language through classic and contemporary Native stories. through this process, we are encouraged to learn and speak the Anishinaabemowin language into the world.
motion tracking interface
it was important that the interface represented the fluidity of shapeshifting. i aimed to create a more natural and seamless experience by reprogramming an Xbox Kinect to track the motion of a user’s hand. your hand controls the dot cursor, which translates a given keyword as it hovers over it. a new poem that shares this keyword is then pulled from a database and displayed. words with multiple meanings are connected by poems with these words in various contexts. all translations of the word are shown on each translation screen.
