INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE ***

Produced by Jonathan Ingram, William Patterson and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

========================================================================

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:

This e-text uses the digraphs "cx", "gx", "hx", "jx", "sx" and "ux" to represent letters unavailable in the latin-1 character set. The problems of transliteration are discussed in full at the end of the file.

========================================================================

INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE

PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

WITH SPECIMENS OF ESPERANTO AND GRAMMAR

BY W. J. CLARK M.A. OXON., PH.D. LEIPZIG LICENCIÉ-ÈS-LETTRES, BACHELIER-EN-DROIT PARIS

LONDON J. M. DENT & COMPANY 1907

PRINTED BY HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD., LONDON AND AYLESBURY.

* * * * *

PREFACE

An artificial language may be more regular, more perfect, and easier to learn than a natural one.--MAX MÜLLER.

The world is spinning fast down the grooves of change. The old disorder changeth. Haply it is yielding place to new. The tongue is a little member. It should no longer be allowed to divide the nations.

Two things stand out in the swift change. Science with all its works is spreading to all lands. The East, led by Japan, is coming into line with the West.

Standardization of life may fittingly be accompanied by standardization of language. The effect may be twofold--Practical and Ideal.

_Practical._ The World has a thousand tongues, Science but one: They'll climb up a thousand rungs When Babel's done.

_Ideal._ Mankind has a thousand tongues, Friendship but one: _Banzai!_ then from heart and lungs For the Rising Sun.

W. J. C.

NOTE.--The following pages have had the advantage of being read in MS. by Mr. H. Bolingbroke Mudie, and I am indebted to him for many corrections and suggestions.

* * * * *

AN INTERNATIONAL AUXILIARY LANGUAGE

NOTE.--To avoid repeating the cumbrous phrase "international auxiliary language," the word _auxiliary_ is usually omitted. It must be clearly understood that when "international" or "universal" language is spoken of, _auxiliary_ is also implied.

PART I

GENERAL CHAP. PAGE

I. Introductory . . . . . . . . . 1 II. The Question of Principle--Economic Advantage of an International Language . . . . . . 4 III. The Question of Practice--An International Language is Possible . . . . . . . . . 8 IV. The Question of Practice (_continued_)--An International Language is Easy . . . . . . . . 16 V. The Question of Practice (_continued_)--The Introduction of an International Language would not cause Dislocation . . . . . . . . . 24 VI. International Action already taken for the Introduction of an Auxiliary Language . . . . . . 26 VII. Can the International Language be Latin? . . . . 33 VIII. Can the International Language be Greek? . . . . 35 IX. Can the International Language be a Modern Language? . . . . . . . . . 36 X. Can the Evolution of an International Language be left to the Process of Natural Selection by Free Competition? . . . . . . . . . 38 XI. Objections to an International Language on Aesthetic Grounds . . . . . . . . . . 40 XII. Will an International Language discourage the Study of Modern Languages, and thus be Detrimental to Culture?--Parallel with the Question of Compulsory Greek . . . . . . . . . . 46 XIII. Objection to an International Language on the Ground that it will soon split up into Dialects . . . 49 XIV. Objection that the Present International Language (Esperanto) is too Dogmatic, and refuses to profit by Criticism . . . . . . . 51 XV. Summary of Objections to an International Language . . 53 XVI. The Wider Cosmopolitanism--The Coming of Asia . . . 57 XVII. Importance of an International Language for the Blind . 61 XVIII. Ideal _v._ Practical . . . . . . . . 63 XIX. Literary _v._ Commercial . . . . . . . 65 XX. Is an International Language a Crank's Hobby? . . . 70 XXI. What an International Language is not . . . . 73 XXII. What an International Language is . . . . . 73

PART II

HISTORICAL

CHAP. PAGE

I. Some Existing International Languages already in Partial Use . . . . . . . . . 74 II. Outline of History of the Idea of a Universal Language--List of Schemes proposed . . . . . . . . 76 III. The Earliest British Attempt . . . . . . 87 IV. History of Volapük--a Warning . . . . . . 92 V. History of Idiom Neutral . . . . . . . 98 VI. The Newest Languages: a Neo-Latin Group--Gropings towards a "Pan-European" Amalgamated Scheme . . . . . . . . . . 103 VII. History