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INTERNATIONAL MEMORANDUM
REVUETTE DE BRITISH INTERLINGUE ASSOCIATION
No. 17 Oct.-Dec. 1953
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ONE WORLD, ONE AUXILIARY
In many ways it is a very regretable thing that those engaged in propaganda for the idea of an international language should find themselves so frequently fighting each other.
All are possessed by the realisation of the enormous benefit that a world auxiliary would bring - in the diffusion of knowledge, in simplifying international contacts for economic, cultural and philanthropical purposes, in trade and in the interests of mutual understanding between nations.
If we have several competing systems the Babel is increased and energies which united might pave the way to speedy victory are only dissipated by strife.
People might well say: “Let these language-planners settle their own differences first, before asking us to join them. When we know which will win, we will begin to study it.” This is reasonable enough - yet we do know whidh will win.
Many years ago a certain Dr. Liptay said this: “The international language does not need to be invented. It exists. One only needs to collect all its words and set them in order.”
Interlingue [Occidental] is based fairly and squarely on this principle. The international language already exists and has existed for centuries. It exists in the common elements of European speech, found in its greatest purity and abundance in the Anglo-Romance group but which is nevertheless spread in varying degrees through the whole of the European languages and beyond. All we have to do is dig out this material and rationalise it.
However often this is done by different workers the result will always be somethng very close to Interlingue [Occidental]. The details will vary but the main structure is unshakeable. Mundolingue of Julius Lott (1899) and Novial in its latest form (1939) are very similar to Interlingue [Occidental].
The history of Novial is instructive - starting as a compromise between logicality and naturalness, it finally moved rapidly in the direction of Interlingue [Occidental] so as to become practically identical with it.
Other naturalistic projects again are and must be mere dialects of the one true international language. Artificial projects with artificial inflexions and derivatory systems may flourish for a while but their doom is certain. The international language exists already. It can be extracted by scientific enquiry. It is the language the world will one day speak. Interlingue is the language of to-morrow. Start learning it to-day.
MANN O FEMINA?
Li national lingues have diversi remedies por indicar li masculin e feminin géneres o sexus. Quelcvez ili usa un diferent parol, quelcvez ili usa un afixe.
In li sud-romanic lingues it trova se un vastmen usat metode in quel, con un poc exceptiones, -o significa li masculin e -a li feminin. Ti facte es profundmen inradicat in li mentes de omnes qui parla o un poc conosse italian, hispan o portugalesi.
Ma éxter ti lingues ti sistema ne es inconosset, precipue in relation al feminin finale -a.
In li ruman un grand numere de feminin substantives fini per -a; li maxim frequent indication de femin adjectives es per -ă.
In sved on sovente forma li feminin per li sufixes -inna, -ska, -issa o -essa, o simplicmen per -a, per exemple, katt, katta; hund (cane), hunda.
In altri lingues on trova tre mult nómines feminin con un final -a, quam por exemple li anglesi: Ada, Amelia, Anna, Augusta, Barbara, Cecilia, Clara, etc.
On ne trova tamen un tant difuset usantie del masculin -o.
Pos un consideraton de ti factes it es surprisant que li autores de Espo/Ido selectet tot arbitrarimen -o, -a ne por indicar sexu ma por signalar li substantives e li adjectives. Ti finales es sin alcun justification.
In consequentie noi have tant desagreabil formes quam la patro, la patrino e mult altres u noi sembla esser confrontat per homes de dubitosi sexu. Mem li feminin nómines personal have un masculin -o! — Ado, Agneso, Alico, Amalio, etc. Ti strangi nómines ha un poc genat mult Esperantistes e Kalocsay proposit un -a por nomines feminin, ma nequi acceptat ti proposition.
In Interlingue [Occidental] noi retrovenit a plu san consilies e li finales -o, -a indica customarimen masculines e feminines. Por evitar alcun desguste de Wahl usat li neutral articul definit li quel es trovat in ancian francesi sin egarde a génere, sexu o númere.
In un poc casus tamen u it es necessi conservar un dur final c o g noi usa un de ti vocales - mosaica, bosco, ma tis es tant ínusual que noi nequande have in un Interlingue [Occidental] textu nequal sentiment de géneres grammatical.
Li lucid usantie de Interlingue [Occidental] ha clarmen monstrat li rect via. Pro to tant plu grand es nor surprise quande noi lee un textu in li lingue de IALA. Noi vide un pululation de -o e -a talmen que noi expecta un plen sistema de géneres grammatical. Ma IALA have un sol articul definit le e noi sovente íncontra infelici formes quam, le bestia, le femina, le puera u noi have li masculin le junt a substantives feminin secun forme. To es un retrogression ad esperantismes.
Li finales -o, -a in Interlingue [Occidental] sempre have valore o por eufonie o por indicar sexu.
Ti finales in IALA támen have in li maxim mult casus null valore. Por exemple in li parol instrumento li finales ne servi a null scope. Li -o trova se in italian, hispan e portugalesi ma li form instrument, talmen scrit, es trovat in anglesi, francesi, ruman, german, nederlandesi, norvegian, dan, sved, polonesi, russ e sloven.
Li romanic lingues deve luder li maxim important rol in interlinguistica ma IALA have un mult tro strett vision.
Noi ne deve obliviar li altri lingues in quel li latin heritage ancor es trovat. It sembla tamen que IALA acceptat ti grand númere de géneric finales solmen in li ultim moment ante li publication del dictionarium, nam in un specimen págine circulat in 1950 li majorité de ti substantives plu tard finient per -o, tande finit per -e.
Wilfrid E. Reeve
JOHN PEEL, THE COMPLEAT ANGLER
Esperanto, we are told, has a very great power of expression by reason of its system of affixes, yet for even a simple thing as “to fish” it seems to be in difficulties.
Most dictionaries give Fiŝkapti, but is a man only fishing when he has caught something? The direct form fiŝi has been criticised as illogical. A recent writer uses the verb fiŝĉasi.
Here we have a delightful insight into life in Esperantujo. We can visualise the angler going forth with rod and line, with hunting horn in his hand and a pack of hounds at his heels. Is it really fair to the fish?
CRONICA
PROPAGANDA: Durant li passat pluri mensus du long anuncies ha aparit in “Federal News” e anuncies ha esset in sertet in li “Linguist”. Quelc nov interessates ha esset ganiat.
PRINCIPIES DE INTERLINGUE: Ti nov brochurette con un printat covriment ha esset publicat del Association. In su 12 págines it indica li basic principies de Interlingue [Occidental], su simiplic grammatica, su metode de parol-selection e su natural derivation. It es un bon introduction al essentie de nor lingue, quel vu deve haver. Exemplares, 4d. per posta 6d.
CORESPONDENTIE: Tis qui desira coresponder con coidealistes in altri landes, ples scrir a Sr. Serge M. Lepage….
THE BRITISH INTERLINGUE ASSOCIATION
61 Northcroft Road,
West Ewell, Surrey.
