Competition / THE MUSEUM OF LANGUAGE: LONDON / Archasm

Carl Sandburg has accurately described language as the most indispensable tool in the life of us social animals, men. Men have traversed through ages and grown into the most superior race on Earth because of their advanced linguistic and communication skills. Human language is unique in comparison to other forms of communication, as it allows us to produce a vast range of expressions and emotions from a finite set of elements. The timeline for the development of modern day languages spans thousands of years. Sounds have developed into words, meanings, scripts, grammar, fonts and a formal system of communication called linguistics. 

One organization suggests that there are about 7099 living languages in the world, but which are not evenly distributed around the world geography. Only 23 languages account for more than half the world’s population. Roughly a third of languages are now endangered, often with less than 1,000 speakers remaining. Language is much more than just a means of communication. It is also an inseparable part of our culture. In fact, language allows culture to exist. Language allows us to pass on ideas, knowledge, and even attitudes on to the next generation. Language allows culture to develop by freeing people to move beyond their immediate experiences”. 

Language is intrinsic to the expression of culture. As a means of communicating values, beliefs and customs, it has an important social function and fosters feelings of group identity and solidarity. It is the means by which culture and its traditions and shared values may be conveyed and preserved. Languages are the most important part of a particular cultural heritage. As one culture dies and another grows, the same happens to their languages. Language is a relic that needs preservation as other inventions and objects of importance. It is an intangible resource that can also unlock some of the lost secrets and even civilizations that existed on the face of the earth. Language has largely been neglected as a museological domain worldwide, apart from some certain sections in major museums devoted to individual linguistic contributions. 

The aim of the competition is to design an iconic museum of language in the heart of London that will deconstruct the science of linguistics into various aspects of- speech, script and sense. The proposal must not only become an archive for the past and present world languages but also serve as a learning center that works to develop languages and future communication systems. 

The competition aims at: •Preservation of language through the creation of a dedicated language bank that exhibits different world languages in an interactive manner. •Creation of a dedicated learning platform that will allow a detailed research and innovation in terms of the past, present and future world languages. •Create a poetic response for a language museum through the means of architecture. •Creating an icon that will have enrich and contribute to the culture of the city of London.