Thread by @ph_kraemer

There a few museums about language(s), but language-themed garends are rare. Here is a project from #Luxembourg that picks up this nice idea.
However, the symbolism in the design also creates some unfortunate implications (as far as I can tell from the description):
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https://twitter.com/adrechsel/status/1503404507652255745

1) 'Languages are separable and countable'. This notion is deeply rooted in everyday linguistic thought. The garden has exactly 25 steles for 25 languages, each one monolithic representations. They don't touch, overlap, intersect. A rather sterile view on multilingualism.

2) 'Multilingualism is official multilingualism'. The garden represents the 24 official EU languages plus Luxembourgish. The numerous other languages used by and significant for thousands of people in Europe are not part of the main pattern in the design.

3) 'Languages and plants are similar'. Another age-old notion in linguistic thought: language trees, as living organisms, parallels in linguistic and biological diversity etc. There are important links (e.g. language and indigenous knowledge), but also some sinister histories.

4) 'Language is primarily written'. One of the main representations chosen for the design are letters from different alphabets. Spoken (or signed) language is probably more tricky to visualize in such a context. Luckily the interpreter booth adds an important oral dimension.

Of course, these thoughts are based on very general information in the brochure about the philosophy behind the design. Much depends on e.g. what the steles actually show or tell. Maybe it's a good thing this is temporary: room for improvement in a following, permanent project.

Also, a thoroughly designed and planned garden differs a lot from the reality of actual language use, as you can tell from countless errors and incongruences in my thread. Then again, considering the idea of "gardenpath sentences"...