A £25m fundraising campaign has been launched to establish the first museum devoted to the history of the English language. The English Project is scheduled to open in Winchester by 2012.
Woolstaplers Hall, a 19th-century building near the cathedral, is being considered as a possible site.
Christopher Mulvey, emeritus professor of English at the University of Winchester and a trustee of the scheme, said he was optimistic of securing funds from private and public sources.
Interactive exhibits, speaking holograms and a "living language" archive will outline the evolution of English since the 5th century. The language of Chaucer, the role of printing, and modern innovations such as SMS texting will be among the subjects explored through printed material and "sound and visual" experiences, according to the organisers.
"The English language is the greatest object of our heritage," said Mulvey. He added that the attraction would be modelled on the Museum of Portuguese Language in Sao Paolo, Brazil, which opened in 2006.
The British Library has sent a letter of official support to Mulvey. But Giles Velarde, a museum and exhibition designer, criticised the plans.
"All of this brings sharply to mind the late, unlamented Millennium Dome, in which display after display attempted to bring three-dimensional life to abstract concepts, on a vast and ridiculous money-wasting scale," he said.
"The English language is represented in three dimensions by very few treasured objects resting in establishments which would be most unwilling to part with them."
Mulvey said the museum would be nothing like the Dome. "Our artefacts will be varied," he said. "We will have access to huge amounts of material, including, we hope, a first edition of Dr Johnson's dictionary from Winchester College."
He added that "a charismatic linguistic equivalent of Nicholas Serota" would be needed to lead the project.
Woolstaplers Hall, a 19th-century building near the cathedral, is being considered as a possible site.
Christopher Mulvey, emeritus professor of English at the University of Winchester and a trustee of the scheme, said he was optimistic of securing funds from private and public sources.
Interactive exhibits, speaking holograms and a "living language" archive will outline the evolution of English since the 5th century. The language of Chaucer, the role of printing, and modern innovations such as SMS texting will be among the subjects explored through printed material and "sound and visual" experiences, according to the organisers.
"The English language is the greatest object of our heritage," said Mulvey. He added that the attraction would be modelled on the Museum of Portuguese Language in Sao Paolo, Brazil, which opened in 2006.
The British Library has sent a letter of official support to Mulvey. But Giles Velarde, a museum and exhibition designer, criticised the plans.
"All of this brings sharply to mind the late, unlamented Millennium Dome, in which display after display attempted to bring three-dimensional life to abstract concepts, on a vast and ridiculous money-wasting scale," he said.
"The English language is represented in three dimensions by very few treasured objects resting in establishments which would be most unwilling to part with them."
Mulvey said the museum would be nothing like the Dome. "Our artefacts will be varied," he said. "We will have access to huge amounts of material, including, we hope, a first edition of Dr Johnson's dictionary from Winchester College."
He added that "a charismatic linguistic equivalent of Nicholas Serota" would be needed to lead the project.
