Author: Yi-Chia Cheng
Title: Down the Rabbit Hole: Visualizing Linguistic Distance and Relationships with Alice in Wonderland
Publication: Boston, November 2019
Institution: Northeastern University, Department of Art + Design
Study Program: Information Design + Visualization
Level of Design:
The design of this thesis stands out for its attention to detail and creativity. She uses visually appealing elements like color-coded charts and phonetic mappings, which help make complex linguistic ideas feel approachable.
Degree of Innovation:
I find the topic very innovative, as Cheng goes beyond traditional ways of visualizing language relationships, such as family trees, and creates new visual methods. Using Alice in Wonderland as a shared text across different languages adds a unique touch and gives a clear reference point for the comparisons.
Independence:
Cheng clearly worked independently, especially with the custom visual tools and color-coded notation system they developed for the analysis. This creative approach goes beyond the standard methods and shows Cheng’s ability to think critically and come up with their own solutions.
Outline and Structure:
The structure of the thesis is clear and flows well. It starts with an introduction and research background, then moves into a case study that breaks down the language comparisons. Each section logically builds on the previous one, making it easy to follow. However, I think some of the visuals could use a bit more explanation to make them clearer for readers who aren’t familiar with linguistics.
Degree of Communication:
Overall, she communicates their ideas well. I like that they use Alice in Wonderland to make the research more accessible and relatable.
Scope of the Work:
The scope feels ambitious, covering both phonetic and syntactic comparisons across ten languages. This is impressive, but focusing on fewer languages might have allowed for a deeper analysis of each. Still, Cheng does a thorough job within the chosen scope.
Orthography and Accuracy:
The writing seems polished, with no obvious spelling or grammar errors, and Cheng uses technical terms accurately. I did feel that a bit more explanation of certain terms could make the thesis easier for non-expert readers.
Literature:
Cheng includes a solid range of literature, drawing on sources in linguistics and language visualization. I noticed a good mix of both older foundational works and more recent sources. However, adding some more recent studies on visual communication might have given additional depth.
Source: https://repository.library.northeastern.edu/files/neu:m0455c25q/fulltext.pdf
