In the digital era, museums are undergoing a significant transformation. They are shifting from being primarily knowledge-based institutions to becoming experience-centered spaces. In this evolving model, the emotional and interpretive experiences of visitors are increasingly emphasized, with exhibit labels serving as crucial mediators in shaping visitors’ perceptions. These labels do more than describe objects; they act as communicative tools that influence how visitors emotionally engage with the exhibits.

Despite this shift, much of the current academic research on museum texts has focused on translation accuracy, readability, or multimodal features, while the emotional dimension of linguistic expression has received limited attention. To address this research gap, our project titled “Reading the Emotions of the Museum: A Sentiment and Word-Frequency Analysis of Exhibit Labels” employs digital humanities methods to investigate the emotional expression embedded in Traditional Chinese exhibit labels. By examining how museums use language to convey sentiments and shape communication, this study aims to provide insights that may benefit curatorial practices and public engagement strategies.

The case study for this research is the M+ Museum, located in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District. As a globally oriented institution dedicated to visual art, design, architecture, and moving images, M+ embodies the cultural expressions of the 20th and 21st centuries. Its scale, prominence, government backing, and emphasis on Traditional Chinese linguistic expression make it an ideal site for investigating how exhibit labels communicate emotion and meaning. The study centers on two key research questions:

(1) What emotional tones—positive, neutral, or negative—are present in the exhibit labels at M+ Museum?

(2) What do word frequency patterns and lexical choices reveal about the museum’s thematic priorities and communicative disposition？