This presentation reviews the projects of initial language and culture mapping Taiwan, Orchid Island, and the Batanes. The projects serve as models in developing GIS Web-based digital cultural atlases accessible interactively to the local community and for scholarly exchange. These islands spanning the Bashi Channel (international boundary) retain one language with several distinct dialects. The research emphasizes (1) mapping cultures and languages, (2) local crafts, (3) stories, and (4) recent heritage findings. Questions on goals, issues, and problems will be discussed.

Another example of research is on the situation of the Melayu culture in Sri Lanka. It’s a community representing a minority in Sri Lanka speaking a Malayo-Polynesian language derivative that is unique and increasingly endangered. The study looks at post-Tsunami (2004) life of this community, especially in the southeast coastal Hambantota District. Culture and language mapping strategies are applied from the Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative (ECAI).