Destinations

Wantok

(Tok Pisin) People who speak the same language as you do and thus in a way “have some claim over you.” It translates as “one talk,” and usually includes people in your family, village, clan, or larger geographic area.

Illustration by Shivani Parasnis

Universally relatable words from languages around the world — with no direct equivalents.

Our Contributors

Shivani Parasnis Illustrator

Shivani Parasnis is a typographer and graphic designer from Mumbai, India, and a recent MFA graphic design graduate from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Baltimore. After making the switch from biotechnology to graphic design in 2018, Parasnis has been constantly exploring new and exciting ways of expressing, designing, and looking at letterforms, illustrations, and print media. Her work is heavily influenced by her physical and emotional environments, and she enjoys melding influences of the East and West in her practice. Her design thinking is grounded in type design, print, vibrancy, and culture.