The Portuguese Language Museum opened its doors to the public on March 21, 2006. In its sixth year of operation, more than 2.5 million people have visited the area, making from this site one of the most visited museums in Brazil and South America.
Antônio Carlos Sartini, the Museum director, disclosed the plans for the celebration of its 6th anniversary to the
press and reminded all the fans of the Museum that the main reason for the successful
life of the museum is the dedication of a highly skilled team of language specialists and a close relationship with the Department of Culture
in São Paulo.
But what is there to be seen in a language museum?
According to Mr Sartini, the Portuguese Language Museum is NOT a museum of the Portuguese grammar, neither it is a museum starring the spelling of the words in this language. Sartini defends his thoughts on theme: grammar and spelling should be taught in the schools, not in a museum. The museum goes much further than that: it features historical issues, sociological, anthropological, it touches the cultural identity related to our language etc.
"The great contribution that the museum brings to us is the issue of our self-esteem, the question of recognizing the rich culture, the traditions of our people reflected in our language and in our diversity"
The Museum site: Estação da Luz
There were two main reasons for choosing the Estação da Luz, in São Paulo to
house the Museum: the building, a stunning historic nineteenth century, and the city of Sao Paulo, a city that has the largest population of
Portuguese speakers in the world.
The Portuguese Language Museum has an area corresponding to 4333.62 m2 and the exhibition is split in 03 floors:
First Floor:
The east wing of the first floor contains a room dedicated to temporary exhibitions. The west wing, where the administration and the education sector of the
museum is located, has a classroom for 50 people and a digital space that can serve
up to 20 people.
Second Floor:a)
Large Gallery: a screen measuring 106 metres in extension with simultaneous projections of
films that show the Portuguese language in daily life and the history of its
users;b)
Crosswords: stations dedicated to the influences of languages and
peoples who have contributed to shape the Portuguese spoken in Brazil and other stations dedicated to the Portuguese spoken in other Lusophone countries;
c) Time Line: An interactive resource where visitors can learn more about the history of the Portuguese;d) Alley of Words: An etymological (the origin of the words) interactive game that allows visitors to play with the creation of words, knowing its origins and meanings;
e) History of the Estação da Luz: Panels that show some of the history of the headquarters building of the station and the restoration work performed before the implementation of the Portuguese Language Museum.f) Map of dialects: From a large map of Brazil, the visitor can choose a location and enjoy (seeing and hearing) the different sounds and accents and "dialects" that the Portuguese language has acquired in Brazil.
Third-Floor:a) Auditorium: Screening of a 10-minute film about the origins of Portuguese spoken in Brazil;
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b) The Language Quarter: A type of "language planetarium", composed by images and audio. An anthology of literature created in the Portuguese Language, curated by José Miguel and Arthur Wisnik Nestrovski.4)-Lifts: The
elevators in the building play also an important role in the exhibition, they allow a
full view of the 16 metres tall sculpture "Tree of Words", created by
Rafic Farah. In this sculpture visitors will find words of several languages that
have contributed to the formation of the Portuguese language and the Portuguese spoken in Brazil, the sculpture also features Portuguese words and the representation of objects and animals. Moreover,
inside the elevator, visitors can hear a kind of mantra, composed by
Arnaldo Antunes, repeating non stop the words "language" and "word" in
several languages.
To know more about the museum, visit their website here.
To Learn Portuguese Language, click here.
To Learn Portuguese Language, click here.
