Multilingual London may get language museum

HOLYHEAD: Language enthusiasts want to open a dedicated museum in London -- the world's most multilingual city, where more than 350 languages are spoken -- to coincide with the 2012 Olympics.   

Linguist David Crystal said the interactive museum would draw on high-tech gadgets and serious scholarship to boost people's interest in languages -- both foreign and their own -- and would be the first of its kind in Britain.   

A team including Crystal and Museum of London Director Jack Loman were waiting to see if the London Olympics board will approve the idea, Crystal said.   

"The world needs houses of language for the same reason that it needs expositions of all kinds. to satisfy our insatiable curiosity about who we are, and where we have come from," Crystal said.   

The British Council and the government's National Centre for Languages, have both given their backing to the museum. It will feature machines that show what happens to the brain during speaking and will be able to predict how your voice will change over time.   

Barcelona will open a similar project next year to coincide with the International Year of Languages, designated by the United Nations to draw on the importance of multilingualism.