National Museum of Language
Encyclopedia
The National Museum of Language, located in College Park, Maryland
, is a cultural institution established in 1997 to"examine the history, impact, and art of language," and remains one of only a handful of institutions designed for this purpose.
The museum may be among the world’s smallest in physical space. At present it consists of three small rooms: (1) an exhibit room; (2) a reception and administrative room; and (3) an activities room. Yet NML is powerful in its message and story on language, running two concurrent exhibits---(1)Writing Language: Passing It On which traces the roots of early alphabet languages, such as Arabic, Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and features the Chinese and Japanese character-based languages." ; and (2) "Emerging American Language in 1812", which explains influences on the development of American English as a separate entity from British English, and includes a display about the contributions of Noah Webster, the 'First American Lexicographer." The NML also displays the world’s only International Flag of Language, the result of a contest sponsored by the Museum in 2008.
The NML also features online presentations to supplement the current exhibit on their website. The museum is entirely run and staffed by volunteers.
College Park, Maryland
College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, USA. The population was 30,413 at the 2010 census. It is best known as the home of the University of Maryland, College Park, and since 1994 the city has also been home to the "Archives II" facility of the U.S...
, is a cultural institution established in 1997 to"examine the history, impact, and art of language," and remains one of only a handful of institutions designed for this purpose.
The museum may be among the world’s smallest in physical space. At present it consists of three small rooms: (1) an exhibit room; (2) a reception and administrative room; and (3) an activities room. Yet NML is powerful in its message and story on language, running two concurrent exhibits---(1)Writing Language: Passing It On which traces the roots of early alphabet languages, such as Arabic, Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and features the Chinese and Japanese character-based languages." ; and (2) "Emerging American Language in 1812", which explains influences on the development of American English as a separate entity from British English, and includes a display about the contributions of Noah Webster, the 'First American Lexicographer." The NML also displays the world’s only International Flag of Language, the result of a contest sponsored by the Museum in 2008.
The NML also features online presentations to supplement the current exhibit on their website. The museum is entirely run and staffed by volunteers.