Berlin -- From November 6, 2026 to February 27, 2028, the Museum für Kommunikation Berlin invites visitors to explore, test and reshape their own language in the exhibition "Real Talk! Sprache. Macht. Welt." Languages are spoken, signed, written and felt, and the show follows how new media, mobility and migration keep changing them.
Six rooms ask six questions about language
The show moves through six themed rooms, each built around one guiding question. "Sprachwelten" traces the origins of language, from how the brain processes a word to the "digital campfire." "Vielfalt" notes that people were multilingual more than 4,000 years ago. It runs from ancient coins to lullabies from today's Berlin, played at the audio station "Berlin schläft ein," and also covers invented languages such as Klingon and Elvish.
"Identität" follows youth slang over the last 100 years, code-switching and secret languages. It also covers empowerment in the queer community, with personal language biographies about migration, flight, indigenous languages and sign languages. "Kontakt" shows that 500 years ago, people learning a new language also liked to start with swear words. A interactive station asks how well AI handles translation and lets visitors contribute their favorite untranslatable word.
Power, protest and the future of German
"Macht" looks at language policy under European colonialism, political rhetoric, language barriers and inclusion through Easy Language and Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Visitors can get words of encouragement from a vending machine for courage messages or test their knowledge of bureaucratic German. "Zukunft" presents four outlooks: chatbots shaping how we speak, technology dissolving language barriers, young people reinventing multilingualism, and efforts to preserve endangered languages. A quiz asks: "Sprichst du Zukunftsdeutsch?"
Visitors create portraits, haiku and new words
Visitors make a personal language portrait, write a haiku and share their visions of the future. Lexi, a small blue language creature, guides children and curious adults through the show.
All content is available in German and English. The section texts are also offered in Easy Language, German Sign Language and ten further languages via QR code, including Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Turkish and Arabic.
Tours and workshops start every Sunday at 13:30
Public tours run every Sunday at 13:30. Schools and groups can book tours and 90-minute workshops matched to grade level. Primary schools (grades 3 to 6) can choose from "Schatzkiste für Eure schönsten Wörter," "Mission Sprach-Rätsel" and "Auf Sendung! Euer Podcast als Wort-Forscher:innen." From grade 7, options include "Meine Sprachwelt - Deine Sprachwelt" and an introduction to nonviolent communication. From grade 9, there is "Sprache. Macht. Welt. Wie Worte Wirklichkeit formen."
The museum is at Leipziger Straße 16 in Berlin-Mitte. It is open Tuesday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm, and Saturday, Sunday and public holidays from 10 am to 6 pm. On the third Wednesday of each month it stays open from 9 am to 8 pm. It is closed on December 24, 25 and 31, January 1, Easter Monday and Whit Monday. Anne Stabler and Lianne Oonwalla curated the exhibition, which is supported by Cornelsen, with arte as media partner.