The World Language Museum of Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) has held a new exhibition, starting from October 7. The new exhibition explains the development of the human language development from 0 to 100 Years Old. The exhibition is permanently displayed in the first exhibition area, on the first floor of the museum.

Introduction to the exhibition's preface

This exhibition categorizes human language into five stages: preschool (ages 0-6), school-age (ages 7-12), adolescence (ages 13-17), adulthood (ages 18-64), and old age (above 65).

Introduction to the 0-6 years old stage

In the preschool-year stage: Children's vocabulary gradually expands to two hundred words, enabling them to express their needs, grasp basic grammar, and understand and retell simple stories.

In the school-year stage: Children can use advanced vocabulary, construct sentences with eight to ten words or longer, understand long requests containing a lot of information, use sentences to connect their viewpoints, make predictions, draw conclusions, and even create complex stories with character and event details.

In the adolescence-year stage: Their vocabulary grows rapidly. they can understand figurative language, make predictions based on information, use structurally complex sentences to convey their  ideas, and adapt their language style to suit different environments .

In the adulthood-year stage: Vocabulary and grammatical knowledge remain relatively stable during this period, with an average speaking rate of approximately 245 words per minute. Certain cognitive and linguistic functions, such as fluency and memory, may decline with age.

In the old-year stage: During this stage, fluency in language, vocabulary size, and grammatical complexity may all decline. Additionally, there may be issues with sentence repetition.

This exhibition is guided and supported by the National Languages Commission and the Shanghai Language Commission Office.The Museum of World Languages of SISU opened in December 2019, marking the UN's International Year of Indigenous Languages and SISU's 70th anniversary. As China's first and one of the world's few language museums, it focuses on "World Language Diversity," promoting global language knowledge and cultural exchange under its "Words, Worlds" principle, showcasing linguistic diversity and envisioning a shared human future.