A Museum of the Italian Language: A Nationalistic Enterprise? (con M. Wellington Gahtan)

In this paper we examine some of the problematics associated with the creation of a museum of the Italian language in Florence, Italy. Such a museum raises the issue of nationalism both within the Italian peninsula and more broadly in terms of the dialogue of the Italian language with its European neighbors. Historically the Florentine dialect forms the basis for modern Italian, though its hegemony over other regional dialects has always been questioned. The linguistic issue is also a political issue potentially turning any museum display into a political statement—either by implying hierarchies between the Italian regions or between European languages, or by embracing too static a view of a language which is continually changing and growing with interregional and international migrations. Our intent in constructing this museum is emphatically not nationalistic, therefore we are eager to dilute, diffuse or re-channel any nationalistic potential.