Text and cartoons by Linda Thompson The Philogelos, typically translated as “the joker” or “the one who loves laughter”, is an ancient Greek collection of approximately 265 jokes. Dating to the 4th or 5th century CE, it typically bears the title of the world’s oldest surviving collection of jokes. After reading Dan Crompton’s translation of […]
The Philogelos: Joke #11 Read More »
Text and cartoons by Linda Thompson The Philogelos, typically translated as “the joker” or “the one who loves laughter”, is an ancient Greek collection of approximately 265 jokes. Dating to the 4th or 5th century CE, it typically bears the title of the world’s oldest surviving collection of jokes. The Philogelos is arranged according to subject. Some
The Philogelos: Cartoons from the World’s Oldest Joke Book Read More »
Guest contributor Jacquelyn Rupp is the author of Soul Studies: Etymology and Story. In this essay, Rupp explores how understanding the words that describe how we feel can help us better understand our own thoughts and feelings. With reasonable certainty, I think feeling rather directionless or adrift at almost-24 is a pretty universal experience. Of all
Drifting: An Etymological Look at the Place Between Stillness and Motion Read More »
Jill Robbins, Ph.D., is the vice president of the National Museum of Language, as well as a language test developer at Second Language Testing, Inc. In this article, Dr. Robbins shares the fascinating story of a Ghanaian community that is helping its youngest members learn English by connecting them with their native language. The original article,
Learning to Read in Safaliba Helps Ghanaian Kids Learn English Read More »
Don Domogauer of College Park, MD, a longtime Museum associate, passed away peacefully on 28 May 2015 of complications related to heart disease. Don served the Museum by offering his computer and technological skills for our activities. I can remember many Speaker Series programs that he recorded for us. To honor Don’s memory, you can donate to the
In Memoriam of Don Domogauer Read More »
Gregory J. Nedved, an award-winning Defense Department historian and Museum trustee, writes this article on the value and meaning of flags. Debra Kieft and the International Flag of Language, which she sewed, on display at the Annual Dinner of the National Museum of Language. In 2008 the National Museum of Language (NML) held a contest to
Why is There a Flag for Languages? Read More »
Former National Museum of Language Vice-President Jack D. Jones, 89, passed away on March 27, 2015. He died of a stroke in Asheville, NC where he had moved to from Bowie, MD, a few years ago. Jack served in the US Army for over two years prior to joining the National Security Agency, where he served as
In Memoriam of Jack D. Jones Read More »
Thank you to everyone who made the March 14 lecture a resounding success! It was pretty much a full house, and we were thrilled to have local reporter Raye Weigel cover the event. Here is an interview with Marc Okrand.
National Museum of Language Presents: What is Klingon? Read More »
