Information about International Auxiliary Language

An international auxiliary language (sometimes abbreviated as IAL or auxlang) or interlanguage is a language meant for communication between people from different nations who do not share a common native language. An auxiliary language is primarily a second language. Thus, while English is in wide international use, it is not generally considered an auxiliary language because of its close association with nations and cultures in which it is spoken natively.

History of auxiliary language

The history of auxiliary language is controversial. Louis Couturat et al. exemplified the controversy in the Preface to their book on International Language and Science:

The question of a so-called world-language, or better expressed, an international auxiliary language, was during the now past Volapük period, and is still in the present Esperanto movement, so much in the hands of Utopians, fanatics and enthusiasts, that it is difficult to form an unbiassed opinion concerning it, although a good idea lies at its basis. (1910, p. v).

For Couturat et al, both Volapukists and Esperantists confounded the linguistic aspect of the question with many side issues, and for this reason discussions about the international auxiliary language has appeared unpractical. However as Pfaundler wrote in the same publication, the language was intimatedly connected to science, and not simply linguistics:

All who are occupied with the reading or writing of scientific literature have assuredly very often felt the want of a common scientific language, and regretted the great loss of time and trouble caused by the multiplicity of languages employed in scientific literature.

Auxiliary

The term "auxiliary" implies that it is intended to be an additional language for the people of the world, rather than to replace their native languages. Often, the phrase is used to refer to planned or constructed languages proposed specifically to ease worldwide international communication, such as Esperanto, Ido, and Interlingua. However, it can also refer to the concept of such a language being determined by international consensus, including even a standardized natural language (e.g., International English), and has also been connected to the project of constructing a universal language. Some auxiliary language aficionados call these languages auxlangs.

Classification

The following classification of auxiliary languages was developed by Pierre Janton in 1993: ^[1]

A priori languages are characterized by largely artificial morphemes (not borrowed from ethnic languages), schematic derivation, simple phonology, grammar and morphology. None of these languages have a large number of speakers.

:Philosophical languages are based on philosophical ideas about thought and language.

:Oligosynthetic languages have no more than a few hundred morphemes. Most of their vocabulary is made of compound words coined from these morphemes.

:Taxonomic languages, for example, Ro resembles the Dewey Decimal Classification System used in libraries.

:Logical languages, for example, Loglan and Lojban, aim to eliminate ambiguity.

These categories are not exhaustive and may also overlap.

A posteriori languages are based on existing ethnic languages. Nearly all the auxiliary languages with fluent speakers are in this category. Most of the a posteriori auxiliary languages borrow their vocabulary primarily or solely from European languages, and base their grammar more or less on European models. (Aficionados sometimes refer to these European-based languages as "euroclones", although this term is not used in the academic literature.) A posteriori languages (or language projects) have been based on all the major linguistic divisions within Europe: Romance, Germanic, Slavic and Celtic. The only ones to achieve any notable success have been based largely on Romance and Latin elements, and of these, only Esperanto and Interlingua have significant bodies of speakers today. Ido has shown something of a resurgence as a result of publicity on the Internet. Occidental has historically enjoyed some popularity, and Lingua Franca Nova has a small following. The ongoing Folkspraak project aims at creating a pan-Germanic IAL, whilst Europaio is based on the northern dialects of proto-Indo-European languages. Interlingua was drawn originally from the International Scientific Vocabulary.

:Mixed languages use some morphemes borrowed from ethnic languages, and some a priori coinages.

::Schematic languages have ethnic morphemes in distorted form (e.g., Volapük) or both artificial and ethnic morphemes (e.g., Perio).

::Partly Schematic Languages have partly schematic and partly naturalistic derivation, for example, Esperanto and Ido. Ethnic morphemes of languages in this group are seldom or never distorted, but compound and derived words are generally not recognizable at sight by people familiar with the source languages. (While Janton classifies Esperanto as partly schematic, it is most often considered schematic.)

:Naturalistic languages resemble existing ethnic languages.

::Languages with some schematic traits, for example, Novial.

::Languages with naturalistic derivation; for example, Occidental and Interlingua, are developed so that not only the root words but their compounds and derivations will often be recognizable immediately by large numbers of people.

:Simplified ethnic languages, for example, Basic English and Special English.

Methods of propagation

Several approaches exist toward the eventual full expansion and consolidation of an international auxiliary language.

1. Laissez-faire. This approach is taken in the belief that one language will eventually and inevitably "win out" as a world auxiliary language (e.g., International English) without any need for specific action.
2. Institutional sponsorship and grass-roots promotion of language programs. This approach has taken various forms, depending on the language and language type, ranging from government promotion of a particular language to one-on-one encouragement to learn the language to instructional or marketing programs.
3. National legislation. This approach seeks to have individual countries (or even localities) progressively endorse a given language as an official language (or to promote the concept of international legislation).
4. International legislation. This approach involves promotion of the future holding of a binding international convention (perhaps to be under the auspices of such international organizations as the United Nations or Inter-Parliamentary Union) to formally agree upon an official international auxiliary language which would then be taught in all schools around the world, beginning at the primary level. This approach seeks to put international opinion and law behind the language and thus to expand or consolidate it as a full official world language. This approach could either give more credibility to a natural language already serving this purpose to a certain degree (e.g., if English were chosen) or to give a greatly enhanced chance for a constructed language to take root. For constructed languages particularly, this approach has been seen by various individuals in the IAL movement as holding the most promise of ensuring that promotion of studies in the language would not be met with skepticism at its practicality by its would-be learners.

Proposals

Proposals for languages to serve as an official international auxiliary language fall into two categories; sentential languages or diagrammatic/pictographic languages.

Sentential languages are written languages like English, or Spanish. While some existing sentential languages have been proposed to serve as an official international auxiliary language, the concept has been most commonly associated with constructed sentential languages such as Esperanto and Interlingua which were designed from the beginning to serve this purpose. Proponents of such languages often use the term planned language instead (but this is somewhat ambiguous since it is also used to refer to a standardized ethnic language or constructed languages in general). Invented auxiliary sentential languages are not widely used; nor has English penetrated universally, as some people imagine. Moreover, advocates of various languages disagree about which sentential language should be used. To overcome these difficulties, it has been proposed that some language (natural or invented) be chosen by consensus of officials elected by the nations of the world, perhaps through the United Nations, in consultation with experts of various disciplines, a top-down approach. The adoption of an official script for the blind has also been proposed, to correspond to the chosen written international language. The sentential language would be implemented in each nation as an additional (second) language, alongside the national languages. A bottom-up strategy tries to spread the language among ordinary users, so that it becomes the de facto standard. However, the idea has not yet spread as widely as intended. Some people see the need for an official political endorsement from the nations of the world, backed by resources for instruction and implementation.

Diagrammatic languages are languages of drawing diagrams and pictures, like the Phonetic Picture-Writing, schematics of electronic circuits, chemical symbols, or the Energy Systems Language of systems ecology. Proposals for a diagrammatic language to be used as an international auxiliary go back as far as Leibniz's Characteristica Universalis. Modern forms of such languages are designed to convey and model the circuit properties of systems that involve energy, money and information flow through different compartments. Unlike sentential languages, diagrammatic languages are widely used as auxiliaries to national sentential languages throughout the world in the scientific and engineering communities. Moreover languages like the Energy Systems Language have also been used in the search for sustainablity through an ambitious attempt to unify science, society and religions of the world by modeling and simulating embodied energy flows as a common basis for value.

Sign language

An international auxiliary sign language has been developed by deaf people who meet regularly at international forums such as sporting events or in political organisations. Previously referred to as Gestuno but now more commonly known simply as 'international sign', the language has continued to develop since the first signs were standardised in 1973, and it is now in widespread use. International sign is distinct in many ways from spoken IALs; many signs are iconic and signers tend to insert these signs into the grammar of their own sign language, with an emphasis on visually intuitive gestures and mime. A simple sign language called Plains Indian Sign Language was used by indigenous peoples of the Americas.

Criticism

Although named as International language, most of these kind of languages are constructed on the basis of Western European languages, or Indo-European languages.

See also

See List of constructed languages for a list of constructed international auxiliary languages.

• Lingua franca
• Language planning
• Universal language
• Characteristica universalis
• Germanic IAL
• Bahá'í Faith and auxiliary language

Sources

Notes

Bibliography

• L. Couturat, O. Jespersen, R. Lorenz, W.Ostwalkd and L.Pfaundler 1910, ''International Language and Science: Considerations on the Introduction of an International Language into Science", Constable and Company Limited, London.
• Sudre, François. "Langue musicale universelle inventée par François Sudre également inventeur de la téléphonie". G. Flaxland, Editeur, 4, place de la Madeleine, Paris (France), 1866.
• Pirro, Jean, und L. A.. "Versuch einer Universalischen Sprache". Guerin und Cie., Bar-Le-Duc (France), 1868.
• Mainzer, Prof. Ludwig, Karlsruhe. "Linguo international di la Delegitaro (Sistemo Ido.), Vollständiges Lehrbuch der Internationalen Sprache (Reform-Esperanto)". Otto Nemmich Verlag, Leipzig (Germany), 1909.
• De Wahl, Edgar. "Radicarium directiv del lingue international (Occidental) in 8 lingues". A.-S. "Ühisell" Trükk. Pikk Uul. 42, Tallinn, 1925.
• Gär, Joseph. "Deutsch-Occidental Wörterbuch nach dem Kürschners "Sechs-Sprachen-Lexicon", mit kurzer Occidental-Grammatik". Kosmoglott, Reval, Estland, 1925/1928.
• Pigal, E. and the Hauptstelle der Occidental-Union in Mauern bei Wien. "OCCIDENTAL, Die Weltsprache, Einführung samt Lehrkursus, Lesestücken, Häufigkeitswörterverzeichnis u. a.", Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart, 1930.
• Gode, Alexander, et al. Interlingua-English: a dictionary of the international language. Storm Publishers, New York, 1951.
• Pham Xuan Thai. "Frater (Lingua sistemfrater). The simplest International Language Ever Constructed". TU-HAI Publishing-House, Saigon (Republic of Vietnam), 1957.

External links

• Proposed Guidelines for the Design of an Optimal International Auxiliary Language - An article written by Richard K. Harrison.
• The Function of an International Auxiliary Language - An article written by linguist Edward Sapir discussing the need for prospects of an international language.
• Making a commitment to a universal auxiliary language.- Statement of the Bahá'í International Community on the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations (1995).
• Conlang Directory - A page of links to over 170 auxlangs.
• Farewell to auxiliary languages, a criticism of the auxiliary language movement
• The Auxilingua Project
• - a wiki for the Auxlang Community.
• OneTongue.com - A project for promoting a world auxiliary language.