Language of the Month

Language of the Month August 2026 – Tongan

The Tongan language, or lea faka-Tonga, is an Austronesian language of the Polynesian branch spoken primarily in the Kingdom of Tonga, alongside its co-official language, English. It should not be confused with Tonga, a Bantu language spoken in parts of southern Africa. Instead, Tongan belongs to the great family of Pacific languages that includes Hawaiian,…

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In the News

NML Co-Sponsors Youth Poet Laureate Scholarship

Prince George’s County 2023 Youth Poet Laureate, Precious Foreman, is the winner of the 2026 Lucille Clifton Literary Scholarship, co-sponsored by the National Museum of Language. The award was presented in the Sojourner Truth Lecture Hall of the Oxon Hill Branch Library on April 22. Prince George’s County Inaugural Poet Laureate, Sistah Joy Alford, presented…

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Language of the Month

Language of the Month October 2025 – Tut

This month, we are exploring a language known as Tut or Tutnese. It is a unique linguistic system that emerged from enslaved African Americans 250 years ago in the United States. Originally developed as an oral and written code, Tut served as both a means of communication and a secret method of teaching reading and…

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Blog, Philogelos Jokes

Joke Contest

Can you finish the incomplete ancient Greek joke? Here’s a challenge for you – in developing the Philogelos exhibit, we found one joke that is incomplete. Read the comic strip below to learn about the beginning of the joke. (Click on the arrow beside the picture to move to the next panel.) Then, tell us…

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Blog, Interviews

Interview with Dr. Pat Barr-Harrison Scholarship Awardee

On January 1, 2024, Dr. Patricia Barr-Harrison, a Museum co-founder, passed away.  The National Museum of Language started a scholarship fund to honor Dr. Barr-Harrison’s work in promoting language learning.  In May 2025, Cindy Moussangui became the first winner of that award. It was presented in Dr. Barr-Harrison’s honor at Laurel High School, MD (Laurel…

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Fanni is Radnóti's wife
Located near the Tang capital city of Chang’an, site of the modern city of Xi’an in Shaanxi province, in central China.
Soldiers of that time commonly wore a white head cloth, similar to what is still worn by some peasants in China today.  The implication is that the conscripts were so young that they didn’t know how to wrap their head cloths, and needed help from elders.
Before China’s unification under the Qin dynasty in 221 B.C. there were several competing smaller kingdoms.  Han and Qin were two of these kingdoms. Han was located east of famous mountain passes that separated that area from the power base of the Qin dynasty, with its capital in Chang’an. The Qin dynasty itself only lasted about 15 years after unification due to its draconian rule, but soldiers under Qin rule retained a reputation as strong fighters.
The area of Guanxi, meaning “west of the passes”, refers to the area around the capital city of Chang’an.
This is an alternative name for a province in western China, now known as Qinghai, which literally means “blue sea”.  Kokonor Lake, located in Qinghai, is the largest saline lake in China.  
Before China’s unification under the Qin dynasty in 221 B.C. there were several competing smaller kingdoms.  Han and Qin were two of these kingdoms. Han was located east of famous mountain passes that separated that area from the power base of the Qin dynasty, with its capital in Chang’an. The Qin dynasty itself only lasted about 15 years after unification due to its draconian rule, but soldiers under Qin rule retained a reputation as strong fighters.
Oulart Hollow was the site of a famous victory of the Irish rebels over British troops, which took place on May 27, 1798. The rebels killed nearly all the British attackers in this battle. (Source: Maxwell, W. H. History of the Irish Rebellion in 1798. H. H. Bohn, London 1854, pp 92-93, at archive.org)
The phrase "United Men" is elaborated upon in the Notes section below.

Ghetto

An Italian word meaning “foundry.” It originally referred to a part of the city of Venice where the Jews of that city were forced to live; the area was called “the ghetto” because there was a foundry nearby. The term eventually came to refer to any part of a city in which a minority group is forced to live as a result of social, legal, or economic pressure. Because of the restrictions placed upon them, ghetto residents are often impoverished.

"You’re five nine, I am do-uble two"

A reference to the year 1959 and the year 2020.

"The Currency"

Meaning US dollars - this is drawing attention to the fact that Cuba is effectively dollarized.

"Sixty years with the dom-ino stuck"

This sentence is a reference to the Cold War notion that countries would turn Communist one after the other - like dominos. Cuba was the first domino, but it got stuck - no one else followed through into communism.

رحلنا

رحلنا, or "rahalna," means "we have left."

Habibi

Habibi means "my love."

Ra7eel

Ra7eel, or "raheel," means "departure."

3awda

3awda, or "awda," means "returning."

أهلاً

أهلاً, or "ahalan," means "welcome."

a5 ya baba

a5 ya baba, pronounced "akh ya baba," means "Oh my father."

golpe

Treece translates "golpe" as "beating", which is correct, however misses the secondary meaning of the word: "coup".

Carlos

The “Carlos” referred to in the poem is most likely Carlos Bolsonaro, a politician from Rio de Janeiro and the second son of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s current president. His and his father’s involvement in Marielle’s murder has been questioned and investigated.