A National Museum of Language?

Earlier this year Don Osborn blogged about his tour of the to new National Museum of Language in Washington, D.C….

I had the opportunity yesterday (April 29) to visit the National Museum of Language (NML) in College Park, Maryland (U.S.) by invitation for a special preview day. The museum opens to the public formally on Saturday, May 3.

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In addition to looking at the exhibits, I also had the chance to talk with several of the principal leaders of the museum, notably Dr. Amelia Murdoch, the president, and Drs. Pat Barr-Harrison and Jill Robbins of the board of directors. They shared some ideas and plans about the museum project. Eventually they and their colleagues hope to be able to move into a facility of their own – either something existing or new, like the image displayed on the NML website.

What is the National Museum of Language? The NML defines itself on their website languagemuseum.org…

If there is to be a genuine effort to educate and inform all those who have an interest or who need to have a better understanding of some aspect of language that effort must be made as authoritatively as possible, with a high level of visibility. The time is past when only the academic community must be involved in the world of language. Various circles are endeavoring to reach out beyond their own immediate constituencies, but their undertakings do not have the impact or the range of audience that will be possible through a national institution.