The linguistic diversity of the world is under threat: language is a primary repository of culture and history, and once a language is no longer spoken, the rich knowledge it carries is gone forever.

Sound artist John Wynne will discuss his long-term projects documenting and responding to endangered languages in British Columbia and the Kalahari Desert. The presentation includes fieldwork from six critically endangered ‘click languages’ of the Khoe and San communities in Botswana – including !Xóõ, which contains an astounding phonetic inventory of over 200 click combinations. Through archival field recordings and his own composed material—which traverses the boundaries between documentation and abstraction – the talk explores the creative and ethical complexities of working with threatened oral traditions.

John’s work with linguist Tyler Peterson, visual artist Denise Hawrysio, and speakers of Gitxsanimaax in Kispiox  resulted in a large-scale multi-channel installation which has shown at the Museum of Anthropology, ‘Ksan Museum, and Surrey Art Gallery. Alongside an installation at the National Art Gallery of Namibia and the National Museum of Botswana, his Kalahari project includes an award-winning composed documentary commissioned by BBC Radio.

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For more information on John's work, see his website.