Mundolingua

The Mundolingua in Paris's 6th arrondissement is a museum devoted to language, linguistic diversity, and linguistics. The concept was launched in 2010 by Mark Oremland, who had studied linguistics at Paris Descartes University and wanted to make the subject accessible to a wide audience. After several years of gathering materials and developing the concept, the museum officially opened on October 11, 2013.

The exhibition spans two levels and makes use of interactive elements such as touchscreens, listening stations, and physical objects. On the ground floor, the "Language" and "Learning" sections explore what sets human communication apart from animal signals, as well as how we acquire our native language. One highlight is a large head representing the vocal apparatus, which visualizes pronunciation and the place of articulation when you press certain buttons. In a reconstructed language lab, you can listen to recordings of various languages.

The basement level is divided into three sections. The first shows the development and spread of language families using 3D trees on the ceiling and a globe. Here you'll also find a life-size cast of the Rosetta Stone as well as a large model of the Braille writing system. The next area takes a playful look at codes, dialects, and invented languages, with an Enigma machine and a giant Scrabble board, among other things. The final section traces the history of linguistics from antiquity to Chomsky and introduces new technologies such as machine translation and speech recognition, accompanied by historical devices like fax machines and typewriters.