Why not Esperanto?

BECAUSE the accented letters are unnecessary and prevent easy printing. The frequent use of the letter ‘j’ adds to the unsightly appearance.

BECAUSE the accusative ending is unnecessary and is a source of difficulty to all.

BECAUSE the agreement of adjectives and nouns fulfils no useful purpose.

BECAUSE the verbal structure with its six participles is so clumsy that most Esperantists fight shy of the compound tenses.

BECAUSE the obligatory grammatical endings cause monotony, have little vlue and hinder the adoption of many good forms.

BECAUSE Esperanto contains a number of entirely invented words, many mutilated roots and many others lacking internationality.

BECAUSE the vocabulary is artificially limited necessitating round-about expresseions for common ideas.

BECAUSE Esperanto is unable to form the internationally known words, which exist in great numbers in European languages.

BECAUSE the derivative system is invented to a great extent and produces strange compounds of uncouth appearance. It lacks the variety which the adoption of a full system of affixes gives.

BECAUSE even geographical names frequently appear in unrecognisable form.

BECAUSE the ‘untouchable base’ prevents any real progress or amelioration and makes reform impossible.

Zamenhof said:

• Reforms I will deal with the whole language and in each part I will show what form I would give to it if I were to commence the creation of the language now. (1884)

• Supersigns The accented letters are very inconvenient and I would be very happy if they did not exist.

• Accusative I propose doing away with the accusative which in the first place presents grave difficulty to many people and in the second place contradicts the general spirit of our language . . . the abolition of the accusative will present a great simplification in the language.

Compare:

La enloj de la mondo parolas multajn diversajn lingvojn de ciuj specoj. Multaj estas parolataj de nur malgrandaj necivilizitaj triboj, sed aliaj havas grandajn kaj belajn literaturojn kun verkoj de poezio kaj dramo âu teknikaj libroj utilaj por instruado. En la mondo moderna tamen kie homoj vojagas kaj vizitas kongresojn kun idealaj au praktikaj celoj, oni bezonas universalan helpantan lingvon, kiu estos instructa en ciuj lernejoj. [Esperanto]

Li habitantes del munde parla mult diversi lingues de omni species. Mult es parlat de solmen micri íncivilisat tribes ma altris have grand e bell litteraturas con ovres de poesie e drama o tecnic libres util por instruction. In li munde modern támen u homes viagea e visita congresses con idealistic o practic scopes, on besona un universal auxiliari lingue quel va esser instructet in omni scolas. [Occidental-Ile]

The British Interlingue Association
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