ICC




"Project Phonethica Installation "Rondo""
2006
ENDO Takumi + TOKUI Nao
Phonethica System leaps the barrier between languages around the world, searching out a word that is phonetically similar to the keyword and displays it together with its background information. Triggered by such an accidental coincidence, people can encounter a variety of new information associated with each word.

For example, "Heiwa", the Japanese word for peace, is phonetically similar to "heimwee" in Dutch, which means "homesick or nostalgia", or "haywire" in English, which means "out of control".
Focusing on the prediction that 50% to 90% of a total of 5,000 or 6,000 languages existing throughout the world as of 2005 will become extinct within this century, the creators of this work, ENDO and TOKUI, attempt to look into the diversity of the world by using the phonetic features of different languages.

ENDO Takumi: Born in 1971. Composer/Artist
TOKUI Nao: Born in 1976. PhD in Engineering/Artist

Supported by:
Berlin Artist Program of the DAAD, Office of Urban Culture in the Cite Internationale Universities of Paris, Sanseido Publishing Co., Ltd., Martin RICHES, KOCHI Kazuyasu (Kochi Architect's Studio), MATSUYAMA Shinya, KUZE Shozo (MATHRAX), Karl Willis, NAGANO Norihisa, and International Media Research Foundation (In no particular order)

This work was developed under the support of FY2005 IPA Exploratory Software Project (Project Manager: KITANO Hiroaki) provided by Information-Technology Promotion Agency (IPA).