International Flag of Language

The NML premiered the International Flag of Language (IFL), the world’s first flag dedicated to language alone, at its annual dinner on Saturday, June 27, 2009. Associate Debra Kieft, who hand-sewed the 4’ by 5’ flag, brought it with her from North Carolina.
The flag is the result of a contest for school children and young adults sponsored by the Museum to design the winning entry. The contest, the Museum’s contribution to commemorate UNESCO’s International Year of Languages, ran from September to November of 2008 and received entries from all over the world. In the end, a panel of judges, experts in languages and vexillology, picked the winning entries and determined the final design. First place winners (a tie) were Mr. Peter Klumpenhower, Grants, New Mexico, and Tedi Dessin, Middletown, Delaware, who both offered tree designs similar to the final result. Both received cash awards and plaques. Runners-up were Elena Erbez, Spain; Karly Soulas, West Chester, Pennsylvania; and Jay Lago, Dade City, Florida. All five individuals received a membership in the Museum.

The judges liked the idea of a tree to represent languages. The three shades of green leaves represent living languages, dead languages, and future languages respectively on a brown two-tone tree trunk. The stylish curves flowing away from the tree represent the spread of knowledge gained from languages. Debra’s flag is currently displayed at the Museum. “Although the flag belongs to the Museum now, it also belongs to the world,” Greg Nedved explained.

For a high resolution pdf file of the flag, click this link: IFL

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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."