Produced by MWS, John Campbell and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive/American Libraries.)









  TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

  Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.

  Bold text is denoted by @at signs@.

  Some unusual letters and symbols are accurately represented with
  Unicode characters. (Some handheld devices may not support combining
  diacriticals such as the circumflex.) These are:
      consonants with a circumflex accent ĉ ĝ ĥ ĵ ŝ;
      letter c with an acute accent ć;
      the diphthong ou with macrons ōū (many platforms do not support
          the combining double macron);
      and the calculus integral symbol ∫.

  Some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book.




  INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE
  AND SCIENCE




  INTERNATIONAL
  LANGUAGE AND SCIENCE


  Considerations on the Introduction of an
  International Language into Science


  BY

  L. COUTURAT

  Formerly Professor at the
  University of Caen.

  O. JESPERSEN

  Professor at the University
  of Copenhagen.

  R. LORENZ

  Professor at the Federal
  Polytechnicum of Zürich.

  W. OSTWALD

  Professor emeritus of the University
  of Leipzig.

  L. PFAUNDLER

  Professor at the University
  of Graz.


  TRANSLATED BY

  F. G. DONNAN

  Professor at the University
  of Liverpool.


  LONDON
  CONSTABLE & COMPANY LIMITED
  10 ORANGE STREET LEICESTER SQUARE W.C.

  1910




  BRADBURY, AGNEW, & CO. LD., PRINTERS,
  LONDON AND TONBRIDGE




PREFACE


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. Both the Volapükists and Esperantists
confused the linguistic aspect of the question with so many side
issues that, not only was it difficult to see the former in its
true light, but also the leaders of the various movements were
unable to guide them in the right direction. For this reason
discussions concerning an international auxiliary language appeared
with good reason to many people to be unpractical, impossible, or
indeed even ridiculous. Matters have, however, changed since the
_Délégation pour l'adoption d'une langue auxiliaire internationale_
has taken the matter up. This International Commission, with its
headquarters in Paris, and consisting of literary and scientific
men of eminent reputation, was entrusted with the task of
investigating the general question of an international auxiliary
language. The Delegation has, in the course of an activity
extending over seven years, succeeded in showing that a sound idea
lies at the root of the various movements for a universal language.
Freed from all extraneous considerations, this idea involves the
purely linguistic question of the introduction of an international
auxiliary language. On the other hand, the Delegation has found
that neither Volapük nor Esperanto have succeeded in solving the
problem. As, however, Esperanto was found to contain a number of
good principles, the Commission finally resolved to work out on
purely scientific principles an international auxiliary language
on the basis of Esperanto. The whole question of the introduction
of an international auxiliary language has thus arrived at a stage
in which it appears worthy of serious discussion. Under these
circumstances, the writers of this brochure considered it their
first duty to draw the attention of scientific and literary men to
the matter, and so initiate discussion.

The object of this book will have been attained, should they have
succeeded in explaining the present state of the question, and in
showing that it is already possible to discuss the introduction
of an international auxiliary language into science, and indeed
even seriously to make the attempt to carry it out. It may be
remarked that the five authors of this book live in five different
countries, and belong to three different languages. The very
considerable correspondence required for the production of their
book was carried out with the greatest success in the _Linguo
Internaciona_, whenever any two of the correspondents possessed
different mother-tongues.

  Paris, Copenhagen, Zürich, Gross-Bothen, Graz.

  L. COUTURAT, O. JESPERSEN, R. LORENZ,
  W. OSTWALD, L. PFAUNDLER.

  _March, 1909._




TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE


The scientific attitude of mind is necessarily critical, but
never sceptical without proper investigation and knowledge. The
Translator hopes, therefore, that English-speaking men of science
will not judge the question of international language before they
have quietly and dispassionately examined the arguments so ably
set forth in the following pages. It is not a question of "another
language"; it is a question of the final solution by the methods of
science of one of the greatest of scientific problems.

Internationalisation of thought is the motto of the twentieth
century, the device on the banner of progress. Science, the
Super-Nation of the world, must lead the way in this as in all
other things. Amidst the clangour and the clamour of political and
commercial strife, the quiet empire of knowledge grows, noiseless
and unseen. Let all those who believe that this peaceful empire is
destined to become the controlling force of the world assist in the
attunement of its common language.

The Translator wishes to thank his friend and colleague, Professor
J. P. Postgate, for having very kindly revised the translation of
Chapters III. and IV.

  F. G. DONNAN.

  UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL,
  _March, 1910_.




TABLE OF CONTENTS


                                                                    PAGE

  Preface                                                              v


  CHAPTER

  I. The need for a common scientific language, by L. Pfaundler        1

  II. The _Délégation pour l'adoption d'une langue auxiliaire
        internationale_, by R. Lorenz                                 11

  III. Linguistic principles necessary for the construction of an
         international auxiliary language, with an appendix on
         the criticism of Esperanto, by O. Jespersen                  27

  IV. On the application of logic to the problem of an international
        language, by L. Couturat                                      42

  V. The relationship of the international language to science,
       by R. Lorenz                                                   53

  VI. The question of nomenclature, by W. Ostwald                     61

  VII. Conclusion; Reading, Writing, and Speaking, by L.
         Pfaundler                                                    69


  APPENDIX I. _Linguo Internaciona di la Delegitaro_; grammar,
                word-formation, list of grammatical words             75

      "    II. Specimen pages from the International-English
                 Dictionary                                           82

      "    III. An experiment in double translation                   84

      "    IV. _Uniono di l'amiki di la linguo internaciona_;
                 extracts from the provisional statutes, and
                 membership form                                      86




INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE AND SCIENCE




CHAPTER I

THE NEED FOR A COMMON SCIENTIFIC LANGUAGE


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.

The remarkable and regrettable feature of this state of affairs is
that we once possessed, and have now lost, such a common language,
namely, Latin. Even in the first third of the last century Gauss
wrote a portion of his mathematical and physical papers in Latin,
and up to the middle of the last century the dissertations of the
scientific candidates at the German universities were translated
into Latin by their philological colleagues, since the former were
no longer sufficiently conversant with that language. The fall
of Latin as the language of scholars and men of science could
not, however, be prevented, nor does there exist the faintest
chance of its ever recovering its lost position. The reasons for
this are known to all. The rise and development of science, for
the expression of whose ideas the language of Cicero no longer
sufficed, the fall of scholasticism, with its Church Latin, the
diffusion of knowledge amongst people not possessing a university
training, the foundation of technical high schools, and, finally,
the growing national sentiment and jealousy of nations who sought
to further the spread of their national languages by using them
in the works of their scientific men--all this has contributed
to displace Latin by the modern national languages. The result
is that, instead of one common language for scholars and men of
science, we now possess three.

It is required or supposed that every scholar or man of science
should know at least German, French, and English. For the majority
of German scholars and men of science this may hold good, but in
the case of the French it is less true, and in the case of the
English least of all. The knowledge of these three languages is,
however, no longer sufficient, and that for the following reasons.

In the first place, several other languages must be taken into
account, for many Italians write only Italian, many Dutchmen
only Dutch, whilst numerous Russians, Poles, Czechs, Hungarians,
Scandinavians, and Spaniards employ only their national languages.
In this way much escapes general knowledge and recognition, or is
only accessible in a belated or mutilated form.

In the second place, the difficulty of a quick mutual understanding
is great, even for those who can command these three chief
languages. If one is possessed of a little natural talent, one can
by dint of industry and much loss of time easily get so far as to
read or understand a paper or a letter in a foreign language, but
when it comes to writing (replying) the task is incomparably more
difficult. One can, however, not assume, when a German scholar or
man of science replies in German to a letter written in French or
English, that he will be always understood.

The matter is much worse in the case of oral intercourse,
especially at scientific congresses. At these the three chief
languages mentioned above are usually now declared to be official,
that is to say, permissible for the delivery of papers. As a
matter of fact, however, the language of the country in which
the congress is held usually dominates. The German speaks French
in Paris, but the Englishman mostly only English, and demands,
as occurred at the recent Refrigeration Congress in Paris, the
translation into English of the papers read at the sectional
meetings. Only very few can take part in the discussions, and
many must be well content if they are able to understand the
usually rapidly delivered papers. Many an important criticism is
not made because one does not possess the expertness necessary
for discussing a question in a foreign language, and does not
wish to expose oneself to the chance of a rebuff, caused not so
much by ignorance of the matter in hand as by want of facility in
expression.

Every member of a congress has noticed that whenever the language
employed in the papers changes, a considerable number of the
audience leave with more or less noise, in order to avoid being
compelled to listen to a paper which they do not understand.
Congresses would be certainly much better attended were it not that
these difficulties keep many away.

One cannot hope that an increasing diffusion of the knowledge
of the three chief languages will cause these difficulties to
diminish, still less to disappear. They will, rather, increase
still more, since the number of national languages desiring to
take part in the work of civilisation is constantly growing.
Already, at the present time, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, and the
Scandinavian and Slavonic languages must be taken into account,
besides the three chief languages. National sentiment forces the
scientific men of these countries to use the national languages,
even when they perceive that this procedure does not conduce
to mutual understanding. Even if the scientific men themselves
were completely free from national _amour propre_, they would be
obliged by their fellow-countrymen to employ their own languages,
not so much for the purpose of advancing scientific knowledge and
learning as in order to contribute by means of their literary
and scientific works to the diffusion of their languages and the
advancement of their nations. Whoever has observed this phenomenon
will be forced to the conclusion that amongst scientific men, at
least in Europe, this state of affairs is getting worse rather than
better.

The increase of the participating languages involves an increase
of the periodicals, just at a time when a concentration of the
periodical literature is most desirable. The cost of subscriptions,
translations, storing, and registration, and the labour and time
spent thereon, increase from year to year. Above all, there is a
want of translators; ordinary interpreters are not sufficient,
since a special knowledge of each subject is required. Where are
such persons to be found in sufficient numbers? And how few and far
between are those who, when they possess the requisite training,
are willing to content themselves with the poorly paid remuneration
of a translator!

Bad or erroneous translations and faulty abstracts are very
harmful; it would be better in such cases that no translation
should exist, as then the original would have to be consulted.
These difficulties, many more of which could be mentioned, are well
known to all scientific men, since each has suffered more or less
from them.

The question then is, What remedy can we apply? One proposal
is to introduce into secondary schools the teaching of modern
instead of classical languages, in order to render the students,
after matriculation at the universities, capable of taking part
in international scientific intercourse. This proposal has arisen
from the view that the learning of modern _added_ to that of the
classical languages would overburden the secondary schools, whilst
the learning of modern languages at the universities would cause
equal or greater difficulties.

Few young people possess, during their years at the university,
sufficient keenness and moral courage to subject themselves to the
ordeal of linguistic studies, from which they have joyfully escaped
on their entrance into the university. Few possess at that age a
full conception of the usefulness and necessity of a knowledge of
languages. And it is just those young people who wish to devote
themselves to the professions of literature or science who ought to
devote their whole time and full powers to their professional work,
and not be obliged to break up their time with linguistic studies.

The proposal to exclude the classical languages from the secondary
schools has encountered, however, from many quarters very weighty
objections, the force of which cannot be denied, even by the
opposite side. We shall, however, not enter into this much-debated
question, contenting ourselves with the remark that at the present
day insuperable obstacles stand in the way of a complete or partial
substitution of modern for classical languages. Experience shows
also that the teaching of modern languages in schools seldom leads
to a practical result, although it must be conceded that nowadays,
with newer methods, much better results are obtained than formerly,
when the grammar, but not the practical use, was taught. If,
therefore, the teaching of modern languages cannot well be carried
out either at the universities or in the schools, there remains
only the time before school studies. It is, in fact, possible (as
is done in many well-to-do families), by means of a French or
German governess, to teach a child, besides its mother tongue, one
of these languages, in so far as its mental development permits. It
is probably inadvisable to teach more than one new language in this
way, in order to avoid injury to the child's own mother tongue.
Such a knowledge, however, is quite insufficient for the needs of
the young scientific man, and so the acquaintance with a language
gained in this way requires constant extension and development.

But even assuming that the young man continues the study of the
language that he has learnt as a child, or even indeed learns
another during his school days, he will possess at best that
approximate knowledge of the three chief languages which we
have characterised above as being neither qualitatively nor
quantitatively sufficient, because it does not suffice for oral
intercourse, and because other languages must be taken into account.

The proposal has, therefore, been made to choose, by international
agreement, _one_ of the national languages as a universal
_intermediary_ language. If everybody learnt this language, then
the difficulty would be surmounted.

This proposal is, however, still-born. Every attempt to realise
it is bound to be shipwrecked on the rock of national jealousy,
as has been often shown before, for it is evident that the nation
whose language was chosen would receive a very great advantage.
The widely spoken English language possesses, it is true, a very
simple grammar, but it would be very unsuitable for this purpose on
account of its extremely difficult pronunciation.

Just as science has succeeded in giving to the world a uniform
system of weights and measures by choosing instead of a national
unit of length one common to all nations, namely, the length of an
earth quadrant, so only that language could find general acceptance
which was based on the common possession of those peoples for whom
it was intended. By that we mean the stock of words common to the
three great families of languages, the Germanic, Romance, and
Slavonic.

Against this the objection will be raised: "An artificial
language; in other words, a Utopia! How could one think of
artificially creating a language, which, after all, is a living
and spontaneously developing organism? One might as well think of
artificially creating a live horse!"

It is true that one cannot make a live horse, but one can make
an automobile, which under certain circumstances may replace the
horse, and even excel its performance. But no one would think on
that account of totally doing away with horses. In a similar manner
the partisans of an artificial language have no wish to displace
the natural languages. In poetry and imaginative literature,
wherein the soul of a nation finds its highest expression, the
mother-tongue will always be supreme.[1]

"But it is unthinkable," one will say, "that an artificial language
would ever be generally accepted."

Such statements must be received with caution, for they have turned
out more than once to be wrong. The introduction of a common system
of weights and measures was also declared to be impossible at one
time, nevertheless it has since been carried out in science. The
construction of a system of telegraph wires connecting the whole
civilised world and a telegraph alphabet common to all nations
was declared seventy years ago to be an impossibility. Now it is
ancient history.

The maritime nations have agreed upon a common code of signals.
When the English sailor arrives at the Japanese coast, he
translates the sentences he wishes to transmit into numbers, which
he signals by means of flags, and the Japanese port official
translates the signalled numbers by means of the code into Japanese
sentences. Why should it therefore be impossible to introduce
instead of this intermediary _numerical_ language an intermediary
_word_ language, which would give expression to thought in a better
and more direct manner?[2]

"Quite so, but such an intermediary language would be much more
difficult to create than a code of signals arranged for a limited
number of words and phrases."

How would it be if this difficulty had been already overcome,
and the intermediary language already created and proved to be
serviceable?

"But that would amount to adding a new language to be learnt to the
ones we already have to learn; there would be no advantage in that!"

If, however, this "new" language was really not "new," consisting
mostly of words known to every educated person; if its grammar was
so simple that its principles could be learned within an hour;
and if, therefore, any educated person who knew a single Romance
language could learn the whole language in an incredibly short
time, would it not be an advantage to acquire it?

To prove this is a simple problem of permutations and combinations,
and the proof possesses all the certainty of mathematical
reasoning. We shall demonstrate that by an example.

Suppose a large town contains ten districts, each possessing a
pneumatic post-office. In order to connect each district with all
the others, one could lay from each of the ten post-offices nine
tubes to the remaining nine post-offices. That would require (10
× 9)/2 = 45 tubes. The problem could, however, be solved much
more easily and cheaply by connecting each of the post-offices by
means of a single tube with a central post-office, which would
receive and distribute all the letters, as is actually the case in
practice. We should then require only ten tubes.

Substitute now for the districts imagined above the languages,
German, French, English, Italian, Russian, Spanish, etc., with the
condition that every person speaking one language should be able
to correspond with everybody speaking a different language. In the
case of ten languages we should require for every correspondent
nine dictionaries, or altogether ninety dictionaries.

Every correspondent would have to know nine languages besides his
own. If, however, we employed an intermediary language, each person
would only require to know this language besides his own. The
matter is so simple and the advantage so exceedingly obvious that
one can only wonder why it has not been recognised and carried out
long ago.

It is quite self-evident that, if one wishes to become acquainted
with the imaginative literature and the inner thoughts and feelings
of a foreign nation, one cannot content oneself with translations,
but must study a language in its own country. But how many people
learn French in order to become acquainted with its literature?
The existence of an intermediary language would interfere with
such linguistic studies just as little as the invention of the
automobile prevents anybody from using a riding or carriage horse.
There is no necessity, therefore, for philologists or professional
linguists to be hostile to the project, since their sphere of work
and influence will not be in any way diminished thereby. On the
contrary, the creation of an artificial language has led to so
many interesting questions relating to the structure, and to such
a deeper insight into the nature of language, and has attracted so
many to its study, that this beautiful department of knowledge will
only derive advantage therefrom.

It is also remarkable that the original work of Dr. Zamenhof,
which in its principles was characterised by genius, but in its
execution was imperfect and therefore insufficient, has only
through the reforming labours of distinguished philologists
attained to that perfection of form and principle required to make
it the international auxiliary language of the civilised world.
The difficulty of the undertaking no longer lies in the language
itself, but, rather, in the task of inspiring all concerned, and
especially the leading thinkers, with the conviction that it is
practically realisable. If this conviction can be sufficiently
spread, the introduction of the auxiliary language will only be a
matter of a few months. In order, however, to form an opinion on
the possibility of this realisation, it is, in the first place,
necessary to become acquainted with the main principles, structure,
and origin of the language which we recommend.

  L. PFAUNDLER.




CHAPTER II

_THE "DÉLÉGATION POUR L'ADOPTION D'UNE LANGUE AUXILIAIRE
INTERNATIONALE"_


One of the most important problems of present day civilisation is
the introduction of an international auxiliary language.

We boast of our international intercourse. The civilised world
has extended to new nations and has embraced whole regions of the
earth, and yet, in spite of the magnificent means of material
communication, nothing of a similar nature has been done for the
purpose of uniting minds together in an equally practical manner.
Recently, however, an event has occurred at Paris which brings us
a step further in this direction. The _Délégation pour l'Adoption
d'une Langue Auxiliaire Internationale_, which was formed in 1900
as a result of the Paris Exhibition, has, after an activity of
seven years, arrived at a definite decision.

The very fact that modern international relations have brought
about such a delegation and entrusted it with work should be
sufficient to emphasise the importance of the problem. It is
not true that the need for an international auxiliary language
disappears with the knowledge of several national languages,
as has been asserted by many who, on account of their personal
knowledge, have not experienced it. This is especially true of some
philologists who overlook the fact that languages form the object
of their special studies, and draw conclusions from themselves
concerning the needs of others. Expertness in the use of languages
does not come so readily to the scientific investigator and the
technologist, whose work lies in other directions, and so it is
in these quarters that the movement for the introduction of an
international auxiliary language receives the greatest support. To
this must be added the fact that, as Ostwald has aptly remarked,
the scientific investigator regards language only as a means of
making himself understood. Language is _not_ for him something
"which thinks and poetises," but rather an instrument for conveying
his knowledge and wishes to other people, much after the fashion
whereby the musician is enabled to convey his feelings by means
of musical notation and the instruments of the orchestra. The
question of the suitability of a language is important in this
connection; and so it does not appear so very strange that it is
just the scientific investigators, technologists, and philosophers
who have never been quite satisfied with living or dead languages.
How otherwise can we explain the fact that it is just they who are
constantly solving philological problems and constantly occupied
with the invention not only of new signs and symbols (mathematical,
chemical, crystallographic), but also new words? The fact is that
science, philosophy, and technology are constantly waging a fierce
battle with existing languages. What they want is a language as
simple and clear as the fundamental laws of nature, as logical as
the precision of experiment, and as many-sided as the complexity
of the facts which it has to describe. And so they are constantly
working at the creation of this language, all the words invented
by science finding their way unceasingly through the channels of
technology into the general vocabulary. These words possess the
special property of being international, that is to say, understood
by all civilised nations, including the Japanese. We do not wish,
however, to stop at this stage of development; we wish to be able
to internationalise not only single ideas, but also the whole train
of thought. For this purpose it is impracticable to make use of
any of the national languages, since they are all so unsuitable,
illogical, capricious, and complicated that the student must learn
to steer clear of thousands of difficulties before he is able to
express himself fairly correctly. _It is possible to construct an
artificial language with such a regular structure that it can be
employed at once without making mistakes._

In accordance with these ideas, the programme of the Delegation was
as follows:--

"(1) It is desirable that an international auxiliary language
should be introduced which, though not intended to replace
the natural languages in the internal life of nations, should
be adapted to written and oral intercourse between persons of
different mother-tongues.

"(2) Such an international language must, in order to fulfil its
object, satisfy the following conditions:--

  "(a) It must be capable of serving the needs of science as well
  as those of daily life, commerce, and general intercourse.

  "(b) It must be capable of being easily learnt by all persons of
  average elementary education, especially those belonging to the
  civilised nations of Europe.

  "(c) It must not be any one of the living national languages.

"(3) The decision as to the choice of a language is to be referred
in the first place to the International Association of Academies,
but if the latter should refuse to consider the matter or come to
no decision, to the committee of the Delegation.

"(4) Circulars are to be sent to learned, commercial, and legal
societies requesting them to signify their approval of the above
programme."

The success of this appeal was extraordinary. It was now evident
for the first time how many thousands of people of all nations were
enthusiastically in favour of the introduction of an international
auxiliary language. The _État de la Délégation_, which the latter
published yearly, included on October 1st, 1907, in the list of
corporate bodies alone, the names of 310 clubs, societies, and
congresses, not a few of which possessed a membership exceeding
1,000. It is interesting to rapidly pass in review the extremely
varied character of the societies included therein. We find, for
example, commercial schools, chambers of commerce, merchants'
clubs, stenographers, the printing trade, correspondence bureaus,
photographic clubs, associations of municipal and other officials,
societies of shipping employés, legal clubs, pedagogic and
religious societies, officers' clubs, institutes for the deaf
and dumb and for the blind, sociological, medical, and health
societies, peace clubs, political and graphological societies,
touring, bicycle, and automobile clubs, sport clubs, bibliographic
societies and library staffs, and finally all sorts of special
scientific societies and congresses. Arranged according to
nationality, we find representatives of France, England, Germany,
Switzerland, Denmark, Spain, Greece, Italy, Belgium, Norway,
Sweden, Holland, Russia (including Poland), Roumania, Austria
(including Bohemia and Hungary), Mexico, Peru, the Argentine,
Algeria, Tunis, the United States, Chile, etc. There is also
the "academic list," which contains the names of no less than
1,250 professors, belonging to 189 universities, technical high
schools, and academies of science, and coming from 110 parts of
the globe, extending as far as India and Japan. It may be stated
without exaggeration that the programme of the Delegation found an
enthusiastic response in all parts of the world and from people
of nearly every occupation and profession, many persons and
societies expressing themselves in favour of the introduction of an
international auxiliary language on the condition that it should
not be one of the living languages.

During the seven years of its existence the Delegation has
carried out the duties entrusted to it in an exemplary manner,
and has performed a gigantic amount of work. In May, 1907, the
Delegation considered the time had come to lay the matter before
the International Association of Academies. At that time the report
was very wide-spread that the Association had altogether refused to
consider the matter. In reality the Vienna Academy, as President of
that year, decided to bring the question before the Association,
but the latter declined to take the matter up (twelve votes to
eight, one member not voting). At this point the Delegation had
the right and the duty to speak out. It obtained an expression of
opinion from the representatives of all the associated societies
and clubs. The result of this was the formation of a working
committee, consisting of sixteen members, almost entirely scholars
and men of science of reputation and members of the different
scientific academies. With the representatives of natural science
and mathematics were associated philologists and linguists. The
committee began to sit on October 15th, 1907, and, after eighteen
sittings held in the Collège de France, arrived at a decision.

Before we enter into this matter more fully it will be desirable
to give a brief sketch of the historical development of artificial
language.

Anyone desiring to go more deeply into the history of this question
(already three hundred years old) and the practical attempts at its
realisation may be referred to the masterly work of L. Couturat and
L. Leau, _Histoire de la Langue Universelle_ (Paris, 1903). In what
follows only a few of the most important points will be mentioned.

The oldest extant reference to the problem of an international
language appears to be contained in the letter written by
Descartes on November 20th, 1629, to his friend Mersenne. The
great philosopher here explains the principles which convinced him
that it would be possible to construct an artificial language
which could be used as an international auxiliary language. As
for Leibnitz, who was attracted throughout his whole life by this
problem, his language projects have been recently investigated
by L. Couturat by means of documents, many of which have never
before been published (_La Logique de Leibnitz_ and _Opuscules et
Fragments Inédits de Leibnitz_). There may further be mentioned the
_Ars signorum Vulgo Charakter Universalis et Lingua Philosophica_
(London, 1661) of George Dalgarno, and the recently discovered
memoir of an unknown author entitled _Carpophorophili Novum
inveniendæ Scripturæ Œcumenicæ Consilium_ (Leipzig, 1734). The
last-mentioned system in particular strikes one as highly modern in
principle.

It was only, however, at the end of the last century that the
era of practical things began with the Volapük of Schleyer. The
success of this language was very considerable. It possessed about
thirty journals, published in the most different countries, even
in Japan, and its literature has been estimated at from 300 to
400 works. The official lists published in 1889 contained the
names of 255 local groups belonging to the "Universal Language
Society," some of which possessed a very considerable membership.
The teaching of the language was highly organised, there being
900 teachers, 200 head teachers, and 50 "professors." This great
linguistic experiment was very instructive, and its significance
cannot be underrated. Important conclusions concerning the theory
and practice of artificial language can be drawn from it, and
especially from a consideration of the circumstances which finally
led to the downfall of Volapük. It turned out that this was due
to the errors which Volapük itself contained, showing us that in
these matters, as in others, practical experience is the best
teacher. The fate of Volapük was sealed when its supporters, in the
year 1889, made the experiment of organising a congress at which
Volapük should be spoken. Although a few Volapükists succeeded in
speaking the language, it was only too painfully evident that such
a goal could not be reached with this system. Almost simultaneously
with Volapük another artificial language had been invented. The
Russian medical man Dr. Zamenhof published his system in 1887 under
the pseudonym of "Doktoro Esperanto." But as Esperanto arrived
while Volapük was at its zenith, it failed at first to attract
general attention. It found, however, in France, an enthusiastic
supporter in the Marquis de Beaufront, who had himself worked out
an international language called "Adjuvanto." He gave this up as
soon as he came to know about Esperanto, and founded the _Société
Française pour la Propagation de l'Esperanto_ and the journal
_L'Esperantiste_ (now in its tenth year). France soon became the
centre of the new movement, and indeed almost the whole existence
and magnitude of the Esperanto movement was due to the influence of
this man. Since then Esperanto has extended to all countries. The
Esperanto journals appear mostly in a bilingual form, the number of
them being, as in the Volapük movement, about forty-five, whilst
there exist a few journals and periodicals published exclusively
in Esperanto. A special significance attaches to the international
congresses organised by the Esperantists, at which only Esperanto
is spoken. In 1905, at Boulogne-sur-Mer, there assembled 600
members, belonging to about fifteen different nationalities.
The differences of pronunciation which, on account of certain
peculiarities of construction in Esperanto, must necessarily appear
amongst the Romance nationalities and the English, were not, we
are told, sufficiently marked to prevent mutual comprehension.
The second congress took place at Geneva in 1906. At the third
congress, in Cambridge, in 1907, there were present about 1,400
members, whilst at the fourth congress, in Dresden, in 1908, there
assembled also 1,400 members. Whatever opinion one may hold about
these congresses, at which much confusion and misunderstanding, and
indeed even much that was ridiculous, took place, they represent,
without doubt, a great and remarkable philological experiment,
and one which demonstrates the possibility of synthetically
constructing a language that can be spoken. On the other hand,
however, the Esperanto congresses showed, according to the
concordant testimony of all persons of unbiassed opinion, that the
Esperanto language in no wise represents the final solution of the
problem. All farsighted leaders of the Esperanto movement have been
for a long time the more fully conscious of this state of affairs
the more profound their knowledge of the Esperanto language. Chief
amongst them may be mentioned M. de Beaufront himself, who has come
forward as one of the leaders of reform, a reform which in many
important respects was recognised as necessary by Dr. Zamenhof
himself in a series of interesting memoirs. The recommendations
of Dr. Zamenhof were, however, rejected in 1894 by the so-called
"Fundamentists" (157 votes to 107), who were supported by a few
great publishing firms interested in the preservation of Esperanto.
By reason of the fact that the Esperanto alphabet contains no
fewer than six special letters to be found in no ordinary printing
fount, the firms referred to possess the monopoly of the very
considerable trade in this literature. The Fundamentists hold the
view that, in spite of a few errors in the auxiliary language, its
success can only be assured by absolute conservatism. They have,
therefore, declared the grammar, together with the reading book and
vocabulary, published by Zamenhof under the title of _Fundamento de
Esperanto_, to be sacrosanct, and go so far in this matter as to
revere as "correct" and "classical" Esperanto the infringements of
his own rules, the grammatical errors, and even the misprints to be
found in the _Fundamento_.

The idea of a powerful organisation has undoubtedly at first
sight something very attractive about it. One must, however, not
forget, even in the case of an international language, that no
organisation in the world can arrest the progress of a necessary
development. Every human contrivance and invention is subject to
change, errors and deficiencies being corrected. Especially is
a rational development inevitable in the case of things, such
as an international language, which are subject to the control
of our intelligence. Conversely it is not difficult to reply to
the question, How is it then possible, when a system has once
been chosen, to carry it out and preserve it? For there are two
fundamental qualities which, happily for us, are apparent in
the history of inventions, and each of which confers stability
quite apart from any conventions, namely, a high degree of
rational development based on the most profound knowledge and an
extraordinary empirical perfection. As examples of the latter may
be mentioned the notation of music, which since Guido d'Arezzo
(born in 990), or at any rate since Johann Sebastian Bach, has not
appreciably changed; the division of time into twenty-four hours
and of the hour into sixty minutes, which is at least three hundred
years old; the face, mechanism, and hands of a watch, which date,
with unimportant changes, from the Renaissance; and, finally, the
violin, which retains up to the present day the characteristic form
which the ancient Italians gave it. Is it not wonderful that this
strangely carved piece of wood must possess just that particular
form in order to yield its harmonious tones?

As examples of the former may be quoted almost all modern
achievements. The metric and decimal systems have come to stay. The
bicycle, the motor car, and the typewriting machine have undergone
successive improvements till finally they have attained to their
more or less definite form. We see from this that when inventions
have once reached a certain degree of suitability they are not
afterwards easily replaced by others. There is, therefore, only one
adequate criterion of the stability of an international language,
namely, that of suitability or adaptation to its purpose, and
we maintain that it is only by means of continuous reforms and
improvements that it will succeed in satisfying this criterion
and so finally attain to stability. In the work of Couturat and
Leau, referred to above, there are described about ten artificial
languages which have sprung up during and after the period of
Volapük and Esperanto, and in which the experience of their
predecessors has been more or less made use of. A study of these
attempts leads to the surprising result that they often differ
amongst themselves less than, for example, the Romance languages.
If, then, one were to choose any one of these languages and to
direct its systematic development according to the principles
which experience and knowledge have shown to be requisite for the
construction of an international language, one would in each case
arrive finally at approximately the same result.

At the present day the rapid development in every department of
life has made us only too ready to regard everything around us
as transient. We forget, however, that the rapidly accumulating
inventions and discoveries which startle and surprise us always
refer to new things. One must bear in mind that there also exist
things which in their essential features can _only be invented
once_, and that the international language in its final form is one
of these.

An excellent means of convincing the incredulous is to demonstrate
the absence of arbitrariness in the character of an invention or
improvement, and the degree of general consent which a given system
has already obtained. Whenever one has recognised the natural and
logical basis of a discovery one perceives relationships which
restrict the ideas of chance and haphazard originally associated
with it in one's mind. It is, therefore, quite unnecessary in the
case of an international language to be afraid of "the arbitrary
action of private persons who possess neither the right nor the
authority to introduce reforms into Esperanto," as Dr. Zamenhof has
recently stated. One ought rather to feel sure that the best means
of defending an international language against arbitrary changes is
the degree of its concordance with sound theoretical principles.

Wilhelm Ostwald has given us an account of the work of the
Delegation. The commission consisted of representatives of the
English, German, Italian, Scandinavian, and Slavonic languages.
Famous philologists such as Otto Jespersen, of Copenhagen,
and Baudouin de Courtenay, of St. Petersburg, as well as the
philosopher L. Couturat, of Paris, rendered priceless services.
The proceedings, which were held in the Collège de France, began
with the interviewing of a number of the inventors of artificial
languages or their representatives, all such people having been
invited to the conference. Where this procedure was not possible
the corresponding writings and documents were examined and
discussed. Concerning this work Ostwald writes, "Although these
labours were very fatiguing, they proved all the more effective for
the progressive elucidation of the problem in hand. From the very
multiplicity of the attempts at a solution and their discussion
there arose in the minds of the workers, in a manner never to be
forgotten, a clear conception of the main conditions required for
a successful solution of the problem, and a recognition of the
errors which a disregard of one or other of these conditions had
produced in the existing systems." Whilst an account of the nature
of these principles and of their application to the construction
of an international auxiliary language will be given by competent
authorities in the following chapters, we may here mention that the
Delegation decided that none of the existing systems satisfied
the conditions necessary for an international auxiliary language,
but that the widely known Esperanto could serve as a basis for
the working out of such a language, although it would require to
undergo a certain number of changes.

A standing committee was elected, including Ostwald, Couturat, De
Beaufront, and Jespersen, which was entrusted with the task of
determining the new forms of the international auxiliary language
on the basis of the principles laid down in the sittings mentioned
above.

The changes carried out by the committee of the Delegation
are embodied in the form of new grammars and dictionaries.
The Delegation succeeded not only in recognising, but also in
correcting in a competent manner, the errors of Esperanto, with
the result that we are to-day in possession of a language which in
respect of facility, lucidity, variety, and elegance of expression,
represents the high-water mark of international speech.

The success which this reform achieved amongst the public and
also in Esperantist circles immediately after the publication
by the Delegation of the first specimen of the new language was
astonishing. That which the Esperantists had scarcely succeeded
in doing during six years of their existence took place with
astonishing rapidity before our eyes, and in scarcely as many
months there were formed in sixty towns of Europe and America local
groups of enthusiastic people affiliated to the Delegation.

Unfortunately the Fundamentists persist in their obstinacy and
continue to manifest their discontent. Although the new language
has sprung from Esperanto and is based upon it, the Esperantists
have forbidden that the name Esperanto should be used. The
conventional name _Ido_ (_i.e._, a descendant) has therefore
been given to it. There exist already some periodicals in the
_linguo internaciona_. The chief organ of the new movement is the
periodical _Progreso_ (pronounced _Progresso_), "_oficiala organo
di la Delegitaro por adopto di linguo helpanta internaciona_." It
is edited by Professor L. Couturat in Paris, and owes its name,
programme, and policy to the advice and initiative of Ostwald.

The superiority of Ido over Esperanto is so striking and is so
incontestably borne out by practical experience that one can
now really speak, after the Volapük and Esperanto periods, of
a third world-language movement which has started off with a
reaction-velocity hitherto unknown in this department of knowledge.
It is characteristic of the new language that it has been taken up
by the English and Americans, whilst an introduction of primitive
Esperanto amongst the Anglo-Saxons encountered insuperable
obstacles, for, as was pointed out with good reason, the English
language, especially in regard to its grammar, was superior to
Esperanto on account of a number of clumsy constructions and errors
which the latter contained. But, apart from the regularity of
pronunciation, Ido excels the English language both in regard to
grammar and, what is of great importance, brevity, a printed Ido
text being even briefer than the corresponding English one.

For the benefit of those who are unacquainted with the nature of
international language and who still regard an artificial language
as an impossible monstrosity, we may remark that the new vocabulary
contains in round numbers 5,400 stems, and that, in spite of the
Romance character which the international language necessarily
possesses, 40 per cent. of these are common to the following six
languages: German, English, French, Italian, Russian, Spanish
(and to many others). Moreover, there are naturally innumerable
other stems which occur simultaneously in five or four of the
great languages. In the face of this overwhelming evidence, no
one can contest the possibility of an international language, for
the above numbers tell their tale with unmistakable clearness.
They _prove the existence of the international language apart from
every theory_. It is only necessary to select judiciously the words
common to the living languages, that is to say, by an artificial
process, in order to construct the international language.

Besides the purely linguistic standpoint, the Delegation considered
the whole question of an international auxiliary language from
another and an essential point of view. It is natural, and
sufficiently well known, that in both the Volapük and Esperanto
movements the linguistic issue was mixed up with a large amount
of disorder, error, misunderstanding, and illusion. This was
due to the fact that these movements were largely directed by
scientifically untrained persons, and partly also fell into the
hands of fanatics and Utopians. Added to this was the desire to
soar to the summits of literature instead of confining themselves
to practical matters, and the truly childish confidence which led
them to spoil the classics of different nations by translating
them into a language intended for other purposes. This latter
trait was even more markedly pronounced in the Esperanto than in
the Volapük movement. The Delegation, as a commission of serious
men of science, has steadily laboured to free the question from
all extraneous considerations, of which we have mentioned only the
best known, and the standpoint which is taken in the periodical
_Progreso_ is in all respects a serious and scientific one. In this
way it has been possible to attain finally to a stage at which
the whole question can be discussed on its merits. The action of
the Delegation marks, therefore, without doubt the beginning of
a rational period in the history of the movement for a universal
language. Henceforth he who comes to mock will have nothing to
say, and the sceptic will have to search for serious and competent
reasons if he wishes to maintain his case.

The point of view which the Delegation has taken is that the
solution of the problem of an international auxiliary language is
a purely scientific and technical question. Scientific in a double
sense of the word: in the first place, because the living germ of
an international language is already to be found in science and as
an expression of the civilisation of Europe and America, requiring
only an artificial development to bring it to maturity and to give
us the international auxiliary language in its final form; in the
second place, because the method of artificial development of
the international language forms itself the object of a science,
and that indeed a new one, namely, the philology of auxiliary
language. The question is also a technical one because the result
obtained by theory is destined for a practical purpose, namely,
the daily use of mankind. Our modern civilisation is signalised
by the application of science to practice. We are no longer pure
empiricists. Science penetrates into every department of daily
life, and all enlightened people are aware that the age of pure
empiricism is over.

The movement for a universal language possesses its epochs, like
other things, but we may rest assured that the era of the attempts
to solve the problem of auxiliary language in a purely empirical,
or even indeed romantic, manner has passed away with the Volapük
and Esperanto periods.

The work of the Delegation has also been in a high degree an
organising one. The beginning of the year 1909 gave birth to a
_Uniono di l'Amiki di la Linguo Internaciona_, extending over all
parts of the world. From this union are derived by election two
directing bodies: firstly, the _Komitato_, a commission which
looks after matters of organisation and business; and secondly,
an _Academy_, entrusted with the scientific investigation of
the international auxiliary language, which sees to its steady
progress, corrects the errors and deficiencies which are sure to
make their appearance, decides in doubtful cases, and regulates
the introduction of new words and constructions.

The carrying out of this scientific and technical programme has now
become the duty of all who feel the necessity for an international
means of communicating thought.

  RICHARD LORENZ.




CHAPTER III

THE LINGUISTIC PRINCIPLES NECESSARY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN
INTERNATIONAL AUXILIARY LANGUAGE, WITH APPENDIX: CRITICISM OF
ESPERANTO


There exist more than sixty systems or attempts at an artificial
universal language, and considering the great diversity of these
languages, it might appear hopeless to arrive at unanimity
concerning any one of them. When, however, one considers the
question more closely, it appears that matters are not so bad as
one might imagine. Whereas twenty years ago the systems which
appeared were as different as day from night, at the present day
one perceives great lines of convergence, pointing to the time when
mankind shall have added to the other triumphs of civilisation
that of an auxiliary language recognised and used by everybody,
to the great advantage of all whose horizon is not limited by the
boundaries of their mother country.

Is it possible in a single formula to express everything that is
requisite for a practical international language? I think so, and
a brief consideration of the two reasons which prevent us from
choosing one of the natural languages as an international language
will enable me to arrive very quickly at this formula. The first
reason is, that such a procedure would unfairly benefit one nation
at the expense of all the others and would infringe the fundamental
principle of neutrality, which is necessary in all international
affairs. The second reason is, that every language is too difficult
for foreigners. All existing languages swarm with difficulties
of pronunciation, spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and especially
idiom. It is very seldom that a foreigner succeeds, even after
years of study, in learning a language sufficiently well to avoid
occasionally making one of those mistakes which instantly betray
his origin to the natives; it may be a false stress, or a word
employed with an almost imperceptibly different shade of meaning,
or placed in a position in a sentence where the native would never
place it, or, finally, a phrase which, though logically correct,
is nevertheless not permitted by the usage of the language. On
account of their innumerable relationships and associations, which
is indeed what makes them so dear to the nations that employ them,
all natural languages are extraordinarily difficult, and therefore
unsuitable for the purpose of international intercourse. We
require, accordingly, a language which shall be not only neutral,
but also as easy as possible: easy to learn, easy to use, and easy
to understand.

These considerations bring me to the sought-for formula, which we
may express in a form similar to the celebrated ethical dictum of
Hutcheson and Bentham ("That action is best which accomplishes the
greatest happiness for the greatest number"):--

_That international language is best which offers the greatest
facility to the greatest number._

It may be objected, however, that facility is a subjective idea:
what is easy for one is not always easy for another. Quite so, and
it is exactly that observation which will serve us as a guide in
the investigation of the important conclusions which may be drawn
from our fundamental principle.

In the first place, as regards the alphabet and the pronunciation,
our fundamental principle leads to the choice of the Latin
alphabet, with the exclusion of all accented or otherwise
specially modified letters; neither _ä_, _ö_, _á_, _à_, _â_, _ç_,
nor the circumflexed _ĉ_, _ĝ_, _ĥ_, _ĵ_, _ŝ_, especially
invented by Dr. Zamenhof for Esperanto, can be tolerated, for
they hinder, and sometimes even render impossible, writing,
printing, and telegraphing. I have shown in the Introduction to
the international dictionaries of De Beaufront and Couturat how
our fundamental principle leads to the following alphabet and
the following sound values: _a_ (as in _father_), _b_, _c_ (like
_ts_), _d_, _e_ (like _e_ in _net_ or like _a_ in _fate_), _f_,
_g_ (always hard, as in _go_), _h_, _i_ (like _ee_ in _sweet_),
_j_ (either like E.[3] or like F.,[3] as in _journal_), _k_, _l_,
_m_, _n_, _o_ (as in _go_ or as in _not_), _p_, _q_ (_qu_, as in
G. or as in E.), _r_, _s_ (always unvoiced), _t_, _u_ (always like
_oo_, as in _too_), _v_, _x_ (as in G. or as in E. F. in the words
_exist_, _exister_), _y_ (as in E. F., and therefore like G. _j_),
_z_ (as in E. F., and therefore like the voiced North German _s_ in
_rose_), further the two double letters _ch_ (as in E., for example
_church_) and _sh_ (as in E., G. _sch_).

The strict phonetic canon "One symbol, one sound," is therefore
followed in so far as the same sound is never arbitrarily written
one way in one word and another way in another word, and the same
letter is never pronounced differently in some words compared
with the majority. The small exception that _sh_ and _ch_ are not
equivalent to _s_ + _h_ and _c_ + _h_ respectively cannot cause the
least difficulty to anyone, and the use of _qu_ and _x_ enables us
to retain the international spelling of many words, and, moreover,
permits two different pronunciations which cause no difficulty of
comprehension and simplify the pronunciation for several nations.
Otherwise we should be faced with the difficult problem of
choosing between _kwala_ and _kvala_, _eksistar_ and _egzistar_.
It must not be forgotten, too, that for our purposes the purely
theoretical canon "One symbol, one sound," must be subordinated to
the fundamental principle of greatest facility, of which phonetic
simplicity is itself only a consequence. Practical considerations
must, in fact, overrule theoretical objections whenever a small
deviation from the fundamental principle "One symbol, one sound,"
produces greater facility.

There remains to be discussed a matter of very great importance
for the phonetics of international language. Whilst all nations
pronounce without difficulty a series of sounds in which the vowels
alternate with single consonants, and almost all nations have
no objections to certain groups of consonants which are easily
pronounced (such as _tr_, _sp_, _bl_, etc.), the pronunciation of
other heavier groups, especially at the end of words, presents the
greatest difficulty to many nations. The French usually simplify
too complicated groups by inserting an unwritten vowel (as, for
example, in _Félix(e)_ _Faure_), Italians who speak English do
almost the same thing in the case of such groups as _kstr_ (_Greek
Street_) or _ksp_ (_sixpence_), and the phonetic usages of other
nations do not permit even as many successive consonants as
the Italians. In order to make matters as easy as possible for
everybody, one must avoid the mistake of _Neutral Idiom_, many
of whose words contained very heavy groups of final consonants,
endeavouring rather to follow the example of Esperanto, which
succeeded very cleverly by means of its predominance of vowel
terminations in producing not only grammatical clearness, but also
as easy and flowing a pronunciation as possible. In this way the
language becomes musical and pleasant to the ear.

We shall now proceed to the question of a vocabulary. In choosing
the majority of his stems, Dr. Zamenhof had already followed the
principle of maximum internationality, but the authors of _Neutral
Idiom_ were the first to carry out this principle scientifically
for the whole language. Their procedure was, however, somewhat
superficial, since in each particular case they calculated the
number of languages to which a given word was common. One must
not count the languages (and Latin especially must not be counted
along with the living languages), but the people who use them, for
languages are not organisms which possess an individual existence
independent of those who speak them. The proper rule, therefore,
for determining the internationality of a word or stem is to count
the number of people who understand it through their mother tongue.
This definition of the principle of maximum internationality is
simply a necessary consequence of the fundamental principle of the
greatest facility for the greatest number. It is natural that each
person would prefer the use of the greatest number of words which
are familiar to him, and so, to be impartial, we must attach the
same value to the individual preferences of the 120,000,000 who
speak English as to those of the 75,000,000 Germans, the 70,000,000
Russians, or the 50,000,000 French or Spanish, etc. Even the
languages spoken by the smaller nations must be taken into account
in proportion to their numbers.

The choice of the words for our neutral language is, therefore, a
pure question of arithmetic. Statistics of the number of people
who speak the different languages will not, however, furnish us
with a complete solution of the problem. In the first place, there
are to be found in the dictionaries technical words and special
terms which are only known to a minority of each nation. In the
second place, there occur cases where a word, though it does not
belong to a language, is, nevertheless, known through one or
more derivatives. For example, 100 is in English _hundred_, in
German _hundert_, in Danish _hundrede_, and yet the root _cent_
(_zent_) has been long familiar to the world through the terms _per
cent._ (G. _prozent_), _centesimal_, _centimetre_, _centennial_,
_century_, _centenary_, G. _zentner_, Danish _centner_. In
the third place, even when "the same word" belongs to several
languages, it very often possesses different forms, due mostly
to a different phonetic development, with the result that the
choice of a proper form is very often a delicate matter. The
sounds of the word "change," which the English and French write
in the same way, are very different; but as we can employ neither
the nasal vowel of the French nor the diphthong (_ei_) of the
most usual English pronunciation, _chanj_ would appear to be the
most convenient form for all. In very many cases it is possible
to find a common denominator for the different forms. Had not in
English and German the external form of many etymologically closely
related words diverged so much that it is impossible to find a
middle form (for example, water, _wasser_; tooth, _zahn_; speak,
_sprechen_; soap, _seife_; week, _woche_), the Germanic element
would have been the dominating one on account of the great number
of those speaking these two related languages. Such being the case,
the Romance element in English usually decides the matter in the
majority of instances, since it coincides with the French, Spanish,
and Italian, or at least with one of these languages, the result
being that our language necessarily possesses a Romance form in
a much higher degree than one might have thought. Another very
important circumstance (which I have hinted at previously) acts in
the same direction, the circumstance, namely, that numerous Latin
derivatives have passed over into the Germanic languages even when
the stem does not occur there. For example, German possesses the
words _absentieren_, _abstinenz_, _artist_, _dentist_, _dental_,
_moral_, _populär_, which greatly facilitate for a German the
understanding of the words _absenta_, _abstenar_, _arto_, _dento_,
_moro_, _populo_, although he does not possess them in his own
language (with the exception of _pöbel_ = _populacho_).

Sometimes there exists a very troublesome rivalry between two
words. In order to render the substantive "arm" (limb) the proper
word would seem to be the German, English, and Scandinavian "arm,"
until one makes the discovery that the same root "arm" in the sense
of "weapon" is still more international (E., F., I., S., supported
by _armée_ G., E., F., R., _armata_ I., _armada_ S., _armieren_
G., etc.), which compels us for "arm" (limb) to have recourse to
a Romance form. In other cases a more or less arbitrary change
of one of the series of words appears to be the only means of
avoiding confusing homonyms (namely, for door _pordo_ instead of
_porto_, on account of _port_ = carry), but this procedure must be
employed with great caution. Before everything else it is necessary
to avoid all disguising of words, which makes them unrecognisable,
aptly described by M. Blondel as a masquerade. This was set up as
a general principle in Volapük, and Esperanto is by no means free
from it.

As an example of the conflicts which occur now and then may be
quoted the expressions for the idea of "soul." "Soul" is the word
which would be immediately understood by the greatest number of
people, but we cannot employ the English diphthong _ōū_, as we
must be very sparing in the use of diphthongs, since they cause
very great difficulties in pronunciation. We cannot take over
the word in the form _sol_, because we require this for the word
"alone" (I. S. _solo_, internationally used in music, E. _sole_,
F. _seul_). G. _seele_, supported by the Scandinavian _själ_, is
not familiar to a sufficient number of people, and, besides, we
require the word _sel_ for "saddle" (F. I. S.). The French word
_âme_ will not do either, because it is not sufficiently well known
outside France, and, besides, there is a difficulty here too, for
_am-_ is absolutely required for the idea of "love" on account of
F. I. S. and many derivatives in E., not to mention the god Amor.
The use of the Latin _anim-_, which is the basis of the Romance
forms, is impossible, since we cannot do without the adjectival
termination _-al_, and _animal_ would then mean partly "relating
to the soul," partly "animal," which cannot be permitted in an
international language. We must resort to the device of changing
_anim-_ a little, whereby we get _anmo_. This example will show how
complicated the task frequently is of finding an international word
which will give rise to no confusion or misunderstanding.

The degree of internationality of the language of the Delegation
will be evident from the statistics of Couturat; he counted the
roots of the first dictionaries (5,379 in all) and found that of
these the following numbers occur in the national languages:--

  French     4,880, _i.e._ 91 per 100
  Italian    4,454    "    83  "   "
  Spanish    4,237    "    79  "   "
  English    4,219    "    79  "   "
  German     3,302    "    61  "   "
  Russian    2,821    "    52  "   "

For all these languages the above numbers are relatively higher
than in the case of Esperanto.

One of the most effective means of simplifying the vocabulary of
a language is a carefully worked-out system of word formation,
which enables everyone, by means of a series of regular prefixes
and suffixes, to form with the greatest ease a large number of new
words, which are immediately intelligible to all who know the rules.

When one has judiciously chosen the roots which occur under
different forms in the various natural languages and also
selected the derivative terminations with all possible care, it
is astonishing to observe how great a number of words derived
with perfect regularity agree with the forms occurring in living
languages.

With regard to grammar, the fundamental condition to be required
of every system claiming to be an international language is that
of perfect regularity. Every exception to the rules only serves to
produce complications and to render the employment of the language
difficult and uncertain. If one knows the conjugation of one verb,
one must know the conjugation of all verbs, and so on.

In the choice of grammatical terminations the statistical method,
which served us for the purpose of the vocabulary, cannot be
strictly applied, because living languages diverge too much in
this matter. Nevertheless it does not leave us entirely in the
lurch.

Such cases as the dative and genitive and also the ablative,
etc., must be expressed by prepositions in conformity with the
tendency of Western European languages. It is advisable to have an
inflection for the accusative, although this is only intended for
occasional use, because in the great majority of instances there
is no necessity to distinguish it from the nominative. As neither
the Romance languages nor English and Scandinavian possess any
accusative inflection, and as the Slavonic languages do not give
us any help here, we are obliged to fall back on German, which in
the feminine and neuter has no inflection. The masculine, however,
in many cases has an _-n_ (_den guten knaben_). The fact that this
termination is also mostly used for the dative, as well as for the
infinitive, need not prevent us employing it in our language for
the accusative. It necessitates the use, however, of forms ending
in a vowel for the nominative of substantives (and adjectives and
pronouns). It may be remarked that _-n_ as an accusative inflection
is also found in Greek and Finnish.

The only vowels that can be employed in this connection are _o_
and _a_, which, as a matter of fact, occur very frequently as
the terminations of substantives and adjectives in the Slavonic
languages, as well as in I. and S. Since grammatical gender, as
distinct from sex, cannot be permitted in an artificial language,
it is not possible to employ _o_ and _a_ as in natural languages,
where the former is often, though not exclusively, used for the
masculine (I. S., but in R. and Polish for the neuter), and the
latter similarly for the feminine. One might be inclined to employ
_o_ for the male and _a_ for the female sex, with the result that
one would have no termination for inanimate things, abstract
ideas, or living beings whose sex is not a matter of importance
at the moment. The carrying out of this rule, however, leads to
considerable difficulties which would take too long to enter into
here. (This is one of the points which led to most discussion
in the Delegation Committee.) As a matter of fact, a very great
deal can be said in favour of the Esperanto usage of _o_ for
the substantive and _a_ for the adjective, and, as Couturat has
remarked, _la bona viro_ is not any stranger than the Italian _il
buono poeta_.

We need have no compunction in leaving the qualifying adjective
without inflection, as is done, for instance, in English. The
ending _-i_ is very suitable for the plural of substantives, being
used for this purpose in Italian, in Russian and the other Slavonic
languages, as well as in modern Greek; it is also tolerably
familiar to the English in foreign words, such as _banditti_. The
only termination which might dispute the honours with _-i_ is _-s_
(F., although usually silent, S., E., G. partly, and Dutch), but
_-s_ cannot be used if we employ the accusative termination _-n_,
as neither _virosn_ nor _virons_ could be permitted.

As regards the inflections of verbs, we are bound, if we want
a termination for the infinitive, to choose, according to our
fundamental principle, the _-r_ of all the Romance languages,
because neither the German _-n_, which we have used for other
purposes, nor the palatised Slavonic _-t_ (or _-ć_), can be
employed, and English possesses no inflection. We require a vowel
before the _-r_, the choice of which will be evident from what
follows. For the active and passive participles we need only
consider _-nt_ and _-t_ respectively, the vowels being also left
undecided for the present. The greatest difficulty, however, is
caused by the finite tenses, in which we must distinguish present,
past, and future. In this respect living languages differ so much
amongst themselves that the principle of maximum internationality
does not suffice, especially as the inflections of tense are
inextricably mixed up with those of person and number, which for
our purposes are quite unnecessary. The Delegation Committee have,
therefore, for the moment been unable to find anything better than
the Esperanto usage of _-as_ for the present, _-is_ for the past,
and _-os_ for the future. The same series of vowels may also be
employed for the infinitive and participles, so that the normal
forms are _-ar_, _-anta_, and _-ata_ (the final vowel _a_ here
being the adjectival termination), whilst _-ir_, _-inta_, _-ita_,
and _-or_, _-onta_, _-ota_, respectively may be retained for the
less frequent cases where one wishes to indicate expressly another
tense in the infinitive or participle. A few _à priori_ inflections
will not cause much harm in a grammar which is so easy that it may
be mastered in half an hour.

I have now arrived at the end of my investigation, in which I
have endeavoured to show the method whereby the language of the
Delegation has been constructed. The result is a language that
everyone can easily master, and which possesses the advantage
over other languages that it is based on rational scientific
principles and, therefore, need not fear that some fine day it will
be replaced by another and sensibly different language. Naturally
improvements will be effected in details where the fundamental
principles have not been sufficiently worked out, but the
foundation is sound, and the common auxiliary language of mankind
cannot differ very much from our "Internaciona linguo," or, to give
it a shorter name, "Interlinguo," or, still shorter, "Ilo" (from
the initial letters).

  OTTO JESPERSEN.


APPENDIX

CRITICISM OF ESPERANTO


In connection with the foregoing some critical remarks on Esperanto
may be made, from which one will readily perceive the reasons which
made it impossible for the _Délégation pour l'Adoption d'une Langue
Internationale_ to adopt Esperanto in its present form as the
international auxiliary language.

Dr. Zamenhof has given us an interesting account of the way in
which his language gradually developed in his mind while he was
at the Warsaw Gymnasium. Before he arrived at the conviction that
the material for the vocabulary must be obtained from the Romance
and Germanic languages, and that the already existing stock of
international words must be used, he had "simply invented" his
words, that is to say, chosen them quite arbitrarily, but with
as much regard to system and brevity as possible. Although he
himself noticed that such words are difficult to learn and still
more difficult to remember, he has unfortunately retained in the
finished language a whole series of such _à priori_ formations,
which appear in words of such frequent occurrence as _who_, _how_,
_where_, _never_, _everywhere_, etc. The _nul tempe_ and _pro quo_
chosen by the Delegation agree, however, much better with the
general character of language than the _neniam_ and _kial_ of Dr.
Zamenhof.

Some peculiarities may be accounted for by the Slavonic mother
tongue of the author: for example, his preference for sibilants
and diphthongs, which is especially evident in the invented words
(_e.g._, _chi_, here; _chiu_, each; _ech_, even; _ghi_, that;
_ghis_, until, _gh_ and _ch_ being pronounced as E. _j_ and _ch_).
In an article in Zamenhof's _Krestomatio_ I find, for example (p.
288), _chiuj tiuj senantaujughaj kaj honestaj homoj_, _kiuj_,
_anstatau filizofadi pri ghi_, and (p. 293) _tion chi ankorau antau
la apero de la unua arta lingvo antauvidis kaj antaudiris chiuj
tiuj eminentaj kapoj_, _kiuj_, etc. The method of writing _x_ is
also Russian: _ekzameni_, _ekzemplo_, etc., and also _ekspedi_,
_eksplodi_; also _kv_ for _qu_. French words with _oi_ take _ua_
in Esperanto when they are spelt in this way in Russian, _e.g._,
_trotuaro_, _tualeto_, _vuala_; otherwise they are spelt with _oi_
or _oj_, _e.g._, _foiro_, _fojo_, _foino_. _Nacio_, _tradicio_,
etc., instead of _-iono_, is also Russian. Russian usage has
doubtless also inspired such word formations as _elparoli_
and _senkulpigi_ instead of the international _pronuncar_ and
_exkuzar_ (R. _vygovarivat'_ and _izvin'at'_, corresponding to G.
_aussprechen_ and _entschuldigen_). The peculiarity of using the
adverb instead of the adjective in such cases as _estas necese
vidi_, "it is necessary to see," is probably to be ascribed
to the correspondence of the Russian adverb with the neuter
predicate adjective. This rule cannot be permitted, however, in an
international language, because, with a free word order, it would
be impossible to say whether _estas vere necese_ means "it is
really necessary" or "it is necessarily true." The compound perfect
(_mi estas aminta_, "I have loved" = "I am having loved") reminds
one of the Polish _kochal-em_. Finally, the frequent use of the
adjective (in _-a_) instead of the genitive (_Zamenhofa lingvo_)
and of the two sorts of action expressed by _ek_ and _ad_ (_ekvidi_
and _vidadi_ used in many cases where the simple _vidi_ would be
sufficient) are to be accounted for by Russian usages.

Naturally I do not object to the importation of national
peculiarities into the international auxiliary language when the
latter is enriched thereby. For example, one must make use of
the facility for forming compound words common to the Germanic
and Slavonic languages in preference to the poverty of Romance
languages in this respect, and combine it with the more Romance
characteristic of forming new words by means of derivative
syllables. But peculiarities of national language which render
mutual comprehension and international usage difficult must be most
carefully avoided.

The unpractical nature of the circumflexed letters has been
indicated previously. It may be remarked here, however, that in
point of system Zamenhof's letters are very inferior to the similar
ones employed in the Czech language, since the parallelism in sound
between _s_ and _ŝ_, _z_ and _ĵ_, _dz_ and _ĝ_, is disguised by
the choice of letters. This produces a very amateurish effect.

Besides the familiar parts of speech which are indicated by special
terminations, Zamenhof invented a new class characterised by the
termination _-au_ (_kontrau_, _almenau_); but the limits of this
class, which includes some, but not all, adverbs and prepositions,
are not clearly defined.

Many words taken from existing languages are disguised, almost
after the fashion of Volapük: _boji_, F. _aboyer_; _parkere_, F.
_par cœur_; _shvit_, G. _schwitzen_, E. _sweat_; _char_, F. _car_;
_faruno_ instead of _farin_; _lerta_, F. _alerte_ (with a changed
meaning), etc. In this category is to be classed the astonishing
_nepre_ (entirely) which is derived from the Russian _nepremenno_,
just as if one were to take from the German word _unbedingt_ the
two first syllables and propose _unbe_ as an international word
instead of _absolute_. The economy in the use of stems was carried
much too far in Esperanto, necessitating the employment of all
sorts of compound words, the discovery of whose meaning requires
much racking of one's brains. The employment of all the derivative
syllables also as independent words is very ingenious, but produces
a very strange impression on the uninitiated.

The method of word formation is greatly wanting in precision, the
limits of the so-called direct derivation in particular being
not sufficiently clearly indicated. One example will suffice.
Starting out from _kroni_ = to crown, _krono_ ought properly to
mean crowning, instead of which it signifies crown, so that one is
forced to use _kronado_ for crowning, whereas, according to the
rules of Esperanto, _kronado_ must mean continuous or repeated
crowning, as if a king were being constantly or repeatedly
crowned.[4]

I have brought together here the most important defects in
Esperanto, the removal of which formed one of the tasks of the
Delegation Committee. The knowledge of these imperfections does not
prevent me from recognising the meritorious services of Zamenhof,
who, at a time when the question of the best construction of an
international language was not seriously discussed, succeeded in
producing one which was in many respects superior to the attempts
of that time, and which has proved in practice a serviceable,
though very imperfect, means of international communication.

  OTTO JESPERSEN.




CHAPTER IV

ON THE APPLICATION OF LOGIC TO THE PROBLEM OF AN INTERNATIONAL
LANGUAGE


The problem of an international language has a theoretical as
well as a practical importance. I have no intention of discussing
the latter here and of explaining once more the necessity of an
auxiliary language for international relations of every sort, and
the practical possibility of making oneself understood by means
of an artificial language, a possibility which has been proved by
experience. But an international language is also, according to the
words of the celebrated philologist H. Schuchardt, a desideratum
of science, in which connection it raises at once problems of
philology and logic. That these problems are worthy of the study
of scientific men is proved by the discussions of Professors Diels
and Gomperz, the reports made to the Academy of Sciences of Leipzig
by Professors Brugmann and Leskien, and, finally, the labours and
decisions of the Committee of the _Délégation pour l'Adoption d'une
Langue Internationale_. The latter, composed of highly competent
scientists and linguists, has determined the principles necessary
for an auxiliary language, and has practically realised them.

My desire in what follows is to show briefly the connection of the
international language with logic, and its claims on the attention
and interest of philosophers. In the words of Leibnitz, "Languages
form the best mirror for the human spirit, and an exact analysis of
the meaning and relationship of words would be the best means of
disclosing the operations of the mind" (_N. Essais_, III., VII.,
end). But the majority of philosophers (with some distinguished
exceptions, _e.g._, Professor Wundt) and the majority of linguists
(also with some distinguished exceptions, _e.g._, M. Bréal) have
given little attention to the study of language from the point
of view of psychology and logic. Now this study is particularly
easy and interesting in the case of an artificial language, since
the latter presents a structure analogous to that of our existing
languages, but much simpler and more regular.

The words of the international language consist of invariable
elements (morphemes) of three sorts: stems, derivative affixes
(prefixes and suffixes), and grammatical inflections which, as in
the case of European languages, are always final letters or final
syllables. The stems themselves can be divided into two categories:
verb stems, which express a state, action, or relation, _e.g._,
_dorm_, _parol_, _frap_; and non-verbal or nominal stems, which
denote an object (living being or thing), or express an aspect of
it, _e.g._, _hom_, _dom_, _bel_, _blind_. The latter can produce
directly only names (substantives or adjectives): man, house,
beautiful, blind (in Ido, _homo_, _domo_, _bela_, _blinda_); the
former, on the contrary, produce directly verbs: to sleep, to
speak, to strike (in Ido, _dormar_, _parolar_, _frapar_), but
they can also give rise to nouns: sleep, word, blow (in Ido,
_dormo_, _parolo_, _frapo_). The proper _rôle_ of the grammatical
terminations is to determine the grammatical function of a stem
word and to indicate the category to which the word belongs,
whether verb, substantive, or adverb. Thus _parol-ar_ = to speak;
_parol-o_ = (spoken) word; _parol-a_ = oral; _parol-e_ = orally.
The _same_ idea, namely, that expressed by the stem word, always
runs through the various categories. This follows from a principle
which dominates the whole structure of the international language:
"Every word element" (morpheme) "represents an elementary idea,
which is always the same, so that a combination of elements has a
meaning determined by the combination of the corresponding ideas."
This principle is only a corollary to the general principle of
uniqueness so clearly enunciated by Ostwald: "There exists a
unique and reciprocal correspondence between the ideas and the
morphemes which express them." This principle represents evidently
the ideal of all language, for a language, being essentially a
system of symbols, is only theoretically perfect (and useful and
convenient in practice) when there exists a unique correspondence
between the symbol and the idea symbolised.

Now it follows from this principle that it is quite incorrect to
say, as is often done, "Being given a stem, it suffices to add
to it _-ar_ to form a verb, _-o_ to form a substantive, _-a_ to
form an adjective"; we require to define the sense possessed by
this verb, substantive, and adjective. In other words, to every
derivative of form there must correspond a derivative of sense
which is in no wise arbitrary, but determined by general rules.
If _dorm-ar_ = to sleep, _dorm-o_ cannot mean indifferently the
sleeper, the dormitory, or the desire to sleep; if _blind-a_ =
blind, _blind-o_ cannot signify at pleasure either blindness or the
act of blinding. The rule which must guide us here is the principle
enunciated above, namely, that a stem always preserves the same
sense and expresses the same idea; if one wishes to express another
idea related to the former in a definite way, it is necessary
to add to the stem a morpheme expressing this relationship. The
morphemes which denote the relations of our ideas are the affixes
of derivation, which permit us to express a whole family of ideas
by the aid and as the function of one fundamental idea, and to
form correspondingly a family of words all derived from the same
stem, as occurs, as a matter of fact, in natural languages. Certain
of these affixes are wrongly classed amongst the grammatical
inflections, such as, for example, the participial suffixes
which serve to derive an adjective or a substantive from a verb,
denoting him who performs the action, or is affected by (subject
to) the state or relationship expressed by the stem: _dorm-ant-a_
= _sleeping, arol-ant-a_ = _speaking_, whence, by simple change
of the final letter, _dorm-ant-o_ = _sleeper_, _parol-ant-o_
= _speaker_. One will perceive thereby the difference between
_direct_ derivation, which is effected by means of the grammatical
inflections, and _indirect_ derivation, which is effected by means
of the addition of affixes. There is nothing arbitrary about this
distinction, for it rests on the logical principles enunciated
above, which determine the theoretical and practical value of the
international language.

From these principles follow at once the rules of direct
derivation. If one starts from a verbal stem, what must be the
sense of the substantive directly derived from it? This sense can
be none other than the state or action expressed by the verb:
_dormar_ = _to sleep_, _dormo_ = _sleep_; _parolar_ = _to speak_,
_parolo_ = _a word_; _frapar_ = _to strike_, _frapo_ = _a blow_.
In these derived words we perceive the sense of the verb stem, and
the proof of that is that in our natural languages we often employ
the infinitive for this purpose: _le manger_, _le boire_, _le
dormir_, _le rire_; _das rennen_ (in English the verbal in _-ing_
is employed with the sense of the infinitive). Indeed, one might
completely identify the verbal substantive with the infinitive.

If one starts from a substantival stem, what must be the relation
between the adjective and substantive derived from it? They
must necessarily have the same sense, whichever of the two one
considers the primary word; if _avara_ = _avaricious_, _avaro_ =
_an avaricious person_; if _blinda_ = _blind_, _blindo_ = _a blind
person_. This rule is all the more necessary in practice as there
are a crowd of substantival stems concerning which one could not
say whether they produce at first a substantive or an adjective:
_vidva_ = _widowed_, _vidvo_ = _widower_; _nobela_ = _noble_,
_nobelo_ = _nobleman_; _santa_ = _holy_, _santo_ = _a saint_. This
is particularly true of the names of followers of this or that
doctrine: _katoliko_, _katolika_; _skeptiko_, _skeptika_, etc.
No one would think of using any suffix to derive one of these
words from the other. There is only a very slight difference of
meaning between a _katolika skeptiko_ and a _skeptika katoliko_,
the substantive indicating in each case the primary and fundamental
idea to which the other is superadded.

This brings us to the enunciation of the _principle of
reversibility_, which may be formulated as follows: "Every
derivation must be _reversible_; that is to say, if one passes from
one word to another of the same family in virtue of a certain rule,
one must be able to pass inversely from the second to the first in
virtue of a rule which is exactly the inverse of the preceding."
That is an evident corollary of the _principle of uniqueness_,
for otherwise one would be led to give two meanings to the same
word. Let us suppose, for example, that from the noun _krono_, =
_a crown_, one imagines it possible to derive directly (as is the
case in certain languages) the verb _kronar_ = _to crown_. From
this verb one could deduce inversely in virtue of the general rule
the substantive _krono_ = _coronation_, so that the same word
_krono_ would then mean both _crown_ and _coronation_. That would
be, however, a logical error inadmissible in the international
language, however numerous may be the examples of it which occur
in living languages. On the contrary, thanks to the principle of
reversibility, one can proceed from any word whatsoever of a family
and arrive at any other word of the same family, or return to the
initial word, in an absolutely unique manner, whereas if one did
not observe this principle one would inevitably obtain two meanings
for the same word.

The principle of reversibility fixes the rules of direct derivation
for the cases which are the converse of those we have studied.
Just as the substantive directly derived from a verb denotes the
state or action expressed by this verb (or, more strictly, by its
root), so a verb can be derived directly from a substantive only
if the latter expresses an action or a state. For example, _paco_
= _peace_; can one form the verb _pacar_, and if so what will be
its meaning? This verb can only signify one thing, _to be in the
state of peace_, and not _to pacify_ or _make peace_, for in that
case _paco_ would mean _pacification_ or _conclusion of peace_, and
not the _state of peace_. Similarly, if one can and must convert an
adjective into a noun by the simple substitution of _-o_ for _-a_,
the adjective immediately derived from a substantive can only mean
"what is --." If _homo_ = _a man_ (a human being), _homa_ can only
mean _human_ in the sense of _which is a man_ (human being); _homa
ento_ = _a human being_. But if one wishes to obtain an adjective
signifying "which belongs to --," "which relates to --," "which
depends on --," it is necessary to employ a suffix (_-al_): _homala
manuo_ = _a human hand_. One might equally well say _manuo di homo_
= _the hand of a man_ (human being). But just as the preposition
_di_ is indispensable for indicating the relationship between two
ideas which are not simply juxtaposed, but depend on each other,
so, if we wish to express one of the ideas in adjectival form, we
require a suffix which also expresses this relation or dependence.
Besides, a suffix of this nature exists under different forms
in all our languages: G. _-isch_; E. _-ic_, _-al_, _-ical_; F.
_-ique_, _-al_, _-el_; I. _-ico_; S. _-ico_. The choice of _-al_
rather than _-ik_ was determined by reasons of euphony and also
internationality, the derivative adjectives employed in science
(the most international of all) ending often in _-al_: _mental_,
_vocal_, _spatial_; _rationnel_, _universel_, _fonctionnel_, etc.

In this connection we shall make a general remark. The
international language borrows its _stems_ from the European
languages according to the principle of maximum internationality,
_i.e._, adopts for each idea the most international stem, namely,
that which is familiar to the greatest number of men. But it
cannot, and must not, borrow their derivatives from living
languages without losing all its theoretical and practical
advantages, because the natural derivatives are too irregular.
Sometimes the same affix has several different meanings; sometimes
the same relationship is expressed by different affixes. In virtue
of the principle of uniqueness, it is necessary to unify and
regularise the meaning and employment of the affixes, assigning
to each one a perfectly definite significance and function.
Undoubtedly one must endeavour to adopt for the affixes forms
which are international (as much as possible), or at least known
in some language (like the suffix _-in_ of the feminine, borrowed
from the German, _e.g._, _königin_, and the prefix _mal-_, denoting
"a contrary," borrowed from the French, _e.g._, _malheureux_), so
as to reproduce as much as possible international derivatives.
But it is chimerical to endeavour to reproduce them all, since
they are irregular and consequently incompatible with that
logical regularity of the language on which is based not only
its fertility, but also its simplicity in practical use and its
facility for _all nationalities_ (even for non-European peoples
who are not familiar with the anomalies and caprices of European
languages). The international language must be autonomous in its
formation of words; when the elements which it borrows from our
languages have been once chosen (in the best possible manner), it
must combine them freely according to its own rules, preserving
their form and sense rigorously invariable. It is by virtue of
this condition that it becomes a true language, richer in certain
respects than our own, since it can form all the useful derivatives
which are often wanting in one or the other, and not merely a
simple imitation or copy of our languages, which would be as
difficult as they, and which would require a previous knowledge of
them.

We shall not explain here all the forms of indirect derivation,
or enumerate the forty-seven affixes used for this purpose. We
shall quote only a few of them for the sake of example, in order
to show the application of the principles enunciated above. If
there is one suffix which is particularly useful to philosophers,
it is that which enables one to derive from an adjective the name
of the corresponding abstract quality; that is the Greek suffix
_-otet_ and the Latin suffix _-itat_ (_-itud_), whence have come
the French _-ité_, the English _-ity_, the Italian _-ita_, the
Spanish _-itad_; and the German suffix _-heit_ or _-keit_, etc.
We perceive here a logical relation well known and made use of
in all our languages. It must find a place in the international
language, but by what suffix ought it to be represented? Now, if
one analyses the idea involved in this suffix, one will find that
_beauty_, _health_, _blindness_, are simply the states or facts
of being beautiful, healthy, blind. The idea involved in this
suffix is then the idea of _being_, not the idea of existence, but
the idea _of being_ such and such, the idea of attribution which
is expressed by the copula _est_. It is natural, therefore, to
represent it by the Indo-European stem of the verb _to be_, namely,
_es_; _bel-es-o_ = _beauty_; _san-es-o_ = _health_; _blind-es-o_
= _blindness_. The fact that this suffix recalls a French suffix
(_richesse_), an Italian suffix (_bellezza_), and an English
suffix _-ness_ (_happiness_) employed in the same sense can only
serve as an accessory confirmation of the above choice, which
was dictated by logical motives. Moreover, this agrees perfectly
with our general rules; _to be well_ will be translated by _esar
sana_ or _san-esar_, and the fact of being well will be _saneso_ =
_health_. Conversely, if we start from _saneso_ = _health_, we can
form the verb _sanesar_ = _to be in (good) health_. Whatever may
be the point of departure, there is no fear of making a mistake or
"going off the rails" in forming these derivatives, if we observe
the principle of reversibility. It would, therefore, be not only
arbitrary, but absurd, to express _health_ by _sano_, which latter
can only mean a healthy being. For one must not imagine, as is
often stated, that an adjective expresses a quality; it expresses
precisely _he who, or that which, possesses the quality in
question_. That is why all our languages employ a suffix for the
purpose of deriving from an adjective the name of the corresponding
quality.

But our languages often require to express the inverse relation,
namely, that of the individual possessing a quality to that
quality. For just as there are names of qualities which are derived
from adjectives, as _beauté_, _gaieté_, _bellezza_, _tapferkeit_,
_gleichheit_, so there are others which are primary and from
which, therefore, the corresponding adjectives are derived:
_courage_, _courageux_; _joie_, _joyeux_; _beauty_, _beautiful_;
_glück_, _glücklich_; _freude_, _freudig_. And, as one sees, our
languages employ in these cases a series of analogous suffixes.
The international language must evidently imitate them, for it
cannot decree that all the names of qualities shall be derivative,
nor that they shall all be primary; that would amount to an
arbitrary uniformity contrary to the spirit of our languages and
probably also to our logical instincts. The international language
must, therefore, have a suffix which will serve to derive from
the name of a quality the name of the possessor of that quality.
That will be _-oz_, a Latin suffix (_formosus_, _generosus_,
etc.), occurring very frequently in the Romance and even Germanic
languages (_mysteriös_, _mysterious_, _mystérieux_, _misterioso_).
This suffix is the logical inverse of the preceding one (_-es_)
and is quite as indispensable as it. It is a curious fact that
our languages exhibit examples of the superposition of these two
suffixes considered in respect of their sense, if not their form:
_glück_, _glücklich_, _glücklichkeit_; _beauty_, _beautiful_,
_beautifulness_. Latin has derived _formosus_ from _forma_; Spanish
in its turn has derived _hermosura_ from _hermoso_, etc. Languages
also provide us with frequent examples of the reciprocity of these
suffixes.

      On the one hand,                On the other hand,
  _gaie_    gives _gaieté_;        _joie_  gives _joyeux_;
  _gay_       "   _gaiety_;        _joy_     "   _joyful_;
  _allegro_   "   _allegrezza_;    _gioja_   "   _giojoso_;
  _fröhlich_  "   _fröhlichkeit_;  _freude_  "   _freudig_.

The international language is, therefore, faithful not only to
logic, but to the spirit of our languages, in admitting at the
same time the two inverse derivations: _gaya_, _gayeso_; _joyo_,
_joyoza_. A language which contained the suffix -es, and not the
suffix _-oz_, would be lame or one-armed.

Besides, this lacuna would manifest itself very quickly in further
derivations, for the latter would violate the principle of
reversibility and therefore that of uniqueness. If from _joyo_ were
derived _joya_, from this adjective, analogous to _gaya_, one could
derive inversely _joyeso_ = _joyo_, thus producing two names for
the same quality (just as above _sano_ would have been synonymous
with _saneso_). If from _kurajo_ (_courage_) were derived _kuraja_
(_courageous_), one could derive from the latter _kurajeso_,
synonymous with _kurajo_. And, on the other hand, _kurajo_ being
the substantive of _kuraja_, this word would signify both _courage_
and _a courageous person_. From want of a single suffix the whole
series of derivations would become confused and illogical, just
as in a chain of reasoning a single error, or in an algebraical
calculation a single false equation, would lead to the most absurd
conclusions.

To sum up, one must take care not to derive a word directly from
another, except when they both express the same idea (apart from
the difference of their grammatical _rôle_ in the sentence).
Consequently, whenever the sense changes, a word element must be
added or disappear, in order to translate the modification of the
idea. It is by virtue of this condition that the language will
become the exact and faithful expression of our thoughts, and
will conform to that indwelling and instinctive logic which, in
spite of all sorts of irregularities and exceptions, animates our
languages. In its system of derivation as well as in the rest of
its structure, the international language is nothing but a purified
and idealised extract, a quintessence of the European languages.
The logic which holds sway there is not the Aristotelian logic of
genus and species, but rather that logic newly constituted under
the name of the _logic of relationships_, which is, however, as
old as the world, since it lies, though obscurely, at the basis
of the formative processes in our natural languages. That is the
reason why the international language offers to philosophers a
particularly instructive field of study. It is worthy of their
interest in other respects. Not only does it offer to them, as it
does to all men, a _medium of communication_ between all countries,
but it furnishes them also with an _instrument of precision_ for
the analysis and exact expression of the forms of thought, which is
very superior, from the point of view of logic, to our traditional
languages, encumbered as these are with confused and ambiguous
expressions. It is their duty to contribute to the development and
perfecting of a language which, without losing anything of its
practical qualities, can and must realise by degrees the ideal of
human language; if it is true that there _does_ exist an ideal
in our languages, though hidden and irremediably disfigured by
all sorts of anomalies. To quote a saying of Schuchardt, _Was die
Sprache gewollt haben die Sprachen zerstört_.[5]

  L. COUTURAT.




CHAPTER V

THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE TO SCIENCE


Whilst the preceding chapters have sufficiently demonstrated that
the construction of an artificial international language is not
only possible, but already in all probability fixed as regards its
fundamental principles, it will be desirable here to give some
account of the inner relations between science and the auxiliary
language.

Without doubt one of the most important conditions to be satisfied
by an artificial international language is, that it should be
capable of being employed in science. Considering the leading part
which science plays to-day in the life of nations, the system
which this intellectual Great Power will adopt cannot be a matter
of indifference; indeed, its capability of serving the needs
of science might well be regarded as the test of an artificial
language. It is, for example, conceivable that a particular system,
although unsuitable for the purposes of science, might work quite
well so far as commercial relations are concerned.

Before we examine the relationship between science and auxiliary
language the question may be asked whether an international
language is at all necessary in science, and whether it is likely
to be introduced therein. We may consider that this question
has been settled by the discussions contained in the previous
chapters. The general question of the introduction of an artificial
auxiliary language having been answered in the affirmative, the
further question may be raised as to why, in spite of the existence
of different artificial auxiliary languages, such as Volapük,
Esperanto, Neutral Idiom, Novilatin, Universal, etc., science has
not long ago adopted and introduced one of them. Quite apart from
the actual circumstances which have prevented this, a perfectly
precise answer may be given to the above question. There have not
been wanting experiments in this direction. Already in the Volapük
period endeavours were made to translate scientific works into
Volapük in order to prove that this language could also be of
service to science. In particular the translations of Dr. Miess's
_Craniology_, Dr. Winkler's _Petrification of Fishes_, and the
_Eastern Travels_ of the Crown Prince Rudolph were boasted of by
the Volapükists. Esperanto has gone further, and is, as a matter of
fact, more capable of development in this direction. There appears
a periodical, _Scienca Revuo_, which in popular form conveys the
most important results of different sciences to Esperanto readers.
Fechner's little book on life after death and some others have
also been translated. All these attempts possess an extraordinary
interest for the great experiment in language on which mankind
has been engaged during the last twenty years, and the greatest
thanks are due to their authors. It is only, indeed, after many
attempts that an experiment can be successfully carried through.
But, without wishing to deny that very remarkable things have been
accomplished, all these experiments prove one fact beyond question,
namely, that the languages mentioned do not even approximately, and
cannot indeed possibly, satisfy the requirements which science must
demand of the artificial auxiliary language. Science could not,
therefore, have chosen any of these languages as the artificial
auxiliary language even had she wished, nor could she do so in the
future without experiencing failure. An examination of the reasons
for this state of affairs will enable us to arrive at the relation
between science and the international auxiliary language. It can
be shown what the nature of this relationship must be, and it
follows therefrom whether any particular system will or will not be
serviceable to science. There are two necessary criteria, namely,
internationality of vocabulary and logical precision of expression.

One might be inclined to emphasise the importance of the second
criterion without paying any attention whatever to the first,
and to regard a system constructed on a purely logical basis as
alone worthy of science. But this would be a retrograde step,
for indeed the question of artificial language originated with
the idea of a so-called philosophical language in the mind of
Leibnitz and afterwards. If one takes the point of view that
the scientific auxiliary language should be constructed on an
ideographic basis (that is to say, a system of correlation between
symbols and ideas, which, however, as it is a language, must be
capable of being spoken), one arrives at an _à priori_ system, as
it is called in the theory of universal language. Thanks to the
laborious and self-sacrificing work of the thousands who during
the last twenty years have devoted and still devote themselves to
the great experiments in language, we are able nowadays to refer
this question to the test of experience. The latter has shown with
absolute certainty that _à priori systems cannot be spoken_. The
learning of any natural language, with all its irregularities,
peculiarities, and anomalies, is child's play compared to the
learning of an _à priori_ system. All experiments in this direction
have failed and need no longer be seriously considered. But even
when an artificial language has not been constructed _à priori_
another error, producing much the same effect, may very greatly
injure its facility in practice. An otherwise so successful system
as Volapük came finally to grief through an error of this sort.
Although Volapük was constructed by a man of whom it is said that
he was master of, or at least acquainted with, fifty-five living
languages, and although, according to its whole nature, it appeared
to be modelled very closely on natural languages, nevertheless the
abbreviations which Schleyer introduced so often into the words
he took over (for example, _vol_ for _world_, _pük_ for _speak_,
_Melop_ for _America_) produced the same psychological effect as
if his word-formations had been _à priori_. Man is, in fact, a
psychological as well as a logical being. If there is to be any
practical outcome, we must, therefore, under all circumstances base
our work on the psychological principle of internationality. It
is only this which confers on the auxiliary language the quality
of being easily learnt and spoken, which is unconditionally
necessary for its practical use in science, as in other departments
of life. Such systems are called _à posteriori_, and experience
shows that the more _à posteriori_ elements are contained in
an international language the more it conforms to Jespersen's
fundamental principle of _the greatest ease for the greatest number
of people_. But, one may argue, does it not follow from this
that the best solution would be the introduction of a _national_
language into science? Certainly not, for this would not offer the
greatest facility to the greatest number of people, because the
formation of the so-called idioms, which, apart from grammatical
difficulties, hinder the learning and use of a language, would
in the case of many national languages interfere with the
internationality of the vocabulary. These idioms have a very
similar effect to the _à priori_ word formations, and diminish the
intelligibility, lucidity, and facility of logical expression. The
only international auxiliary language which will be of practical
use in science will be constructed according to the _à posteriori_
principle of maximum internationality, and will be almost or
entirely free from idioms. If we add to this that it must possess
that logical clearness of expression which we have described above
as the second criterion, we have the general conditions which must
be satisfied by an international language suitable for science.

Apart from the practical value of the principle of
internationality, there exists in science another very special
reason for regarding it as a necessary condition to be satisfied by
an international auxiliary language.

We may inquire, in fact, from a purely scientific standpoint, how
far the systems which have been devised up to the present have
adjusted themselves to the international language which already
exists in science. For all the thousands of words in scientific and
technical nomenclature which, apart from their nationality, the
scientific men of all countries have been inventing for centuries
according to very uniform principles, as well as the likewise
largely international expressions of "unofficial" nomenclature,
form a possession of modern scientific civilisation of such
magnitude, importance, and value, that it cannot on any account
be sacrificed. On the contrary, all these words, as well as many
similar ones derived from daily life, form the true, natural, and
practical basis of international language.

_This_ international auxiliary language, which forms one of the
foundation stones of our general, scientific, and technical
culture, is so closely bound up with the life and existence of
science and has become so much the second nature of all scientific
men, especially investigators, that they have long become
accustomed to write and think in this language apart from their
nationality. It is an easily ascertained fact, and one that is well
known to the scientific men of all countries, that the latter can
read foreign scientific literature much more easily than newspapers
or novels written in the same languages. The explanation of this is
that the foreign scientific works, on account of their technical
vocabulary, are written in a language which possesses a much more
international character than that of the novels or newspapers. It
cannot, therefore, be denied that there actually exist already,
particularly in science, the beginnings of an international (and
largely artificially created) auxiliary language which is written,
spoken, and read. We find here ready made the first provisional
lexicon of the scientific international language. It cannot,
therefore, be urged that science should "select" any one of the
proposed artificial languages, because the selection of words is
by no means an arbitrary process. The only procedure possible to
science must be the construction of an international language
on the basis of the already existing foundations. Science can
never accept as an international language, one which destroys the
actually existing internationality of scientific nomenclature.

As we see, these considerations, like the former, lead us to
the conclusion that the auxiliary language must be based on
the principle of maximum internationality; that is to say, its
vocabulary must be taken _à posteriori_ from the international
treasury, and must not be invented according to any _à priori_
system or special idiom. It follows from this that the auxiliary
language of the future must inevitably be chiefly Romance in its
character, for Latin is the international auxiliary language which
still lives and flourishes for, and by means of, science.

The objection might be made here that the simplest solution would
be the reintroduction of Latin into science as the auxiliary
language. But this contradicts one of our fundamental premises, for
Latin fails just as much as all other national languages to satisfy
our second criterion, namely, that of complete logical precision.
Besides, it is too difficult.

Esperanto does not even approximately satisfy the necessary
conditions; it infringes, in fact, all three. On the one hand,
its vocabulary is very far from being constructed according to
the principle of maximum internationality; on the other hand, the
Esperantists are supposed to make up for this defect by the famous
principle of _vortfarado_ (_i.e._, word manufacture!), with the
result that their language falls into the error of creating idioms.
For example, in Esperanto the beginning of the sentence "A rotary
transformer might be called a motor-generator, but the latter
name is usually applied to machines with independent armatures,"
is translated in the following way: _Turnighan alispecigilon oni
povas nomi motorproduktanto_, which literally translated reads,
"A self-turning otherwise-making instrument can be called a
motor-producer."

Apart from these fundamental errors of Esperanto, it lacks a
systematic method of word formation, the importance of which
has been demonstrated in a masterly and convincing fashion by
Couturat in the previous chapter. Hundreds of times the puzzled
reader of an Esperanto text is in doubt about the sense of an
adjective, even such common expressions as _stony_ and _made of
stone_ being rendered in Esperanto by the _same word_ (_shtona_).
A phrase such as "It is perhaps possible" cannot be accurately
translated into Esperanto, since, on account of its "simplicity,"
the words _perhaps_ and _possible_ are both rendered by the same
_à priori_ word, _eble_. With regard to choice of vocabulary,
other systems, in particular "Neutral Idiom," are exceedingly
superior to Esperanto. In this last product of the Volapük movement
the principle of internationality has been finally recognised. A
language academy was founded which constructed a lexicon according
to this principle. Unfortunately, as Jespersen has very fully shown
in Chapter III., this principle was not interpreted in the right
manner, so that the language lacks logical clearness in spite of
the international character of its vocabulary.

We need not, therefore, be surprised that science has hitherto been
unable to adopt any of the artificial systems as the international
auxiliary language. That would have been a false step, and would
only have produced confusion.

It is only at the present time that one has arrived at a clear
recognition of the principles on which such a language must
be based. The only artificial system which can claim that its
"inventors" have endeavoured in its "construction" to _combine_
and consistently carry out the principles of internationality and
logical precision (namely, systematic choice of stems and a regular
system of derivation) is, as will be sufficiently evident from the
preceding chapters of this book, the language of the Delegation.
Without doubt the _internaciona linguo di la Delegitaro_ will
have to undergo changes and improvements, for one cannot expect
that such a gigantic task as the introduction of an international
auxiliary language can be accomplished all at once. We hold,
however, that "Ido" represents the first artificial language
concerning whose introduction into science serious discussion is
possible. We may state with full confidence to-day that, so far as
human calculation is possible, the attempt to carry this out will
be crowned with success.

On the other hand, this introduction will not be without a useful
reaction on science, not only in respect to the development and
extension of its external life as an international Great Power, but
also with regard to the more perfect unification and extension of
its language and nomenclature on the lines of strict and complete
internationality. An expression of opinion on this point will be
given in the following chapter.

  RICHARD LORENZ.




CHAPTER VI

THE QUESTION OF NOMENCLATURE


If we take up a book or a paper dealing with mathematics
(especially analysis) printed in a language, such as Japanese,
which is quite unintelligible to us, we shall, nevertheless, soon
succeed in finding out what it is about and often in understanding
its main contents. The reason of this is, of course, that the
mathematical formulæ consist of symbols which are intelligible
to us because they are used in the same manner by all civilised
nations. The same thing holds good in physics, and especially
in chemistry; chemical formulæ contain at the present day such
detailed information concerning the relationships of the substances
symbolised, that one might conceive the possibility of writing a
chemical paper with formulæ alone.

In the case of the descriptive natural sciences, the Latin names of
the genera and species, the Latin nomenclature of anatomy and other
similar groups, form a common international possession. Physiology,
biology, sociology, as well as history and ancient philology,
possess as yet, however, no system of internationally intelligible
terms. In modern philology (phonetics) practical endeavours have
already been made to construct an international system of sound
symbols. All these sciences possess naturally the designation of
numbers by means of numerals which have a perfectly international
character. Since in mathematics not only the quantities, but also
the operations, are denoted by universally understood symbols,
it is already possible, with comparatively few additions, to
express long trains of mathematical thought in a manner which is
internationally intelligible, that is, intelligible to those who
are acquainted with the science and its symbols. For a considerable
time Professor Peano, in Turin, has been publishing works written
in this manner. We perceive here the realisation of the ideal of a
purely ideographic language, which can be read by the specialist
without his requiring to translate it into the words of any
particular form of speech.

To quote a similar example from chemistry, J. H. van't Hoff, in
one of the publications of his youth, avoided assigning names to
the chemical substances with which he dealt, considering that
his meaning would be much better conveyed by the corresponding
structural formulæ. Such a text would be quite intelligible to a
trained chemist without the formulæ calling up in his mind any
particular words, indeed without any such words existing at all.

These well-known facts show _that the problem of an international
language has already been partly solved in science_. In so far as
definite and fairly stable concepts have been formed in science,
they may be designated by arbitrary symbols, which may if necessary
be universally accepted and understood. Hitherto such symbols have
been mainly employed for reading, that is to say intended for the
eye, and not for the voice and ear. For example, in different
languages quite different sounds are assigned to the numerals, so
that, whilst the written symbols are universally intelligible, the
spoken ones are not.

However, there are a considerable number of exceptions to this
statement. The word _integral_ is quite as international as the
symbol ∫ and the chemical symbol Tl is pronounced everywhere
_thallium_, or something very like it. On looking through the table
of the chemical elements one finds that more than two-thirds of the
names possess similar sounds in the chief languages. Differences
occur only in the case of the well-known elements, where the words
employed in daily life have found their way into science, whilst
the newly discovered elements all possess international names.
It follows from this that the further problem of assigning an
international system of sounds to scientific concepts has been in
certain departments of science already approximately solved. It is
true that the sound is still somewhat dependent on the speech basis
of the particular nation, so that, for example, not inconsiderable
deviations may occur in English. But, as the written and printed
word is always simultaneously known, the recognition of a name as
pronounced by a foreigner does not cause any very great difficulty.

There exists here a field of work for those who are interested in
the idea of an artificial language which is as fertile as it is
interesting. As is well known, we scientific men suffer a good deal
from the fact that the same words are frequently employed for the
vague ideas of daily life as well as for the perfectly definite
concepts of science. This is indeed one of the most important
reasons why new designations for scientific concepts should, as far
as possible, be taken from the dead languages, such designations
being thereby already international. It ought therefore to be a
comparatively easy task to devise by means of this international
material and the linguistic rules of the language of the Delegation
a system of international names for the clearly defined concepts of
the different sciences.

Such a system possesses a double purpose. In the first place, it
could, I think, be used in our present natural languages. Certain
English expressions occurring in electrotechnics, such as _shunt_,
_extra current_, are employed in German and French just as if they
were national words. The international names in their international
form might be employed in every case where a precise scientific
terminology was required, without doing much violence to our
natural languages. The inflow of foreign words through the channels
of technology and science as well as those of commerce and music
has already shown itself to be irresistible, so that a strict
carrying out of the principle of "purity" in our national languages
has been a practical impossibility. In literature properly so
called one will endeavour nevertheless to adhere to this principle,
but where the chief question is one of precision of concepts,
as in science, language must be regarded as a handmaiden, whose
first duty is to obey. For language stands only in a secondary
relationship to the independently developed and determined concepts
of science, which have been already fixed by the symbols assigned
to them, just in the same way that language has fixed the concepts
of daily life.

Independent of the above application, which one may or may not
consider practical, is the internationalisation of scientific
publications by means of a universally understood auxiliary
language, which is becoming every day more urgently necessary.

This problem, too, cannot be attacked until the concepts of all
the sciences in question have received their proper designations.
The existing dictionaries of international auxiliary languages
contain mostly the expressions of daily life, so that at present
these languages are mainly applicable only for such communications.
Some success can indeed be obtained in the expression of the higher
trains of thought of philosophical reasoning, but here already
considerable uncertainty exists. It is clear, for instance, that
a paper in organic chemistry can only be successfully written in
the international language after the translations of the different
names for substances occurring in different languages have been
mutually agreed upon.

Consequently the working out of the concepts of the different
sciences and the determination of their international designations
is the very first task which must be performed before the
further objects, international literature and international
oral intercourse in science, can be considered. It is the duty
therefore of the representatives of science who have joined the
_Uniono di l'Amiki di la Linguo Internaciona_ to apply themselves
in the first place to this problem, since the further success of
the whole question depends entirely on its at least provisional
solution.

The first principle which must guide this work is undoubtedly the
general principle of maximum internationality, which has been used
in the construction of the auxiliary language. Its application is
rendered easy by the fact that, owing to the use of Greek and Latin
roots for the designation of scientific concepts, there is already
present a far-reaching internationality, which must naturally be
retained.

In the second place, it will not always be possible to employ in
science the same expressions that are used in ordinary speech,
because the effect of the latter is to produce a blunting of the
precise connotation of concepts; whilst science, on the other hand,
requires clearly defined concepts, to which must correspond equally
distinct expressions.

In the third place, those words which occur frequently in
combinations must be chosen _as short as possible_. Here I would
not shrink from a very considerable mutilation of the most
international forms. Such long names as _wasserstoff_ or "hydrogen"
cannot be permitted, and must be reduced to monosyllabic forms.
Every chemical author must have been times without number annoyed
by the terms of three and four syllables for the commonest
elements, and this defect is common to all languages. The objection
against such an artificial abbreviation, which is valid for the
language of daily life, namely, that it increases the difficulty
of the language for those of little education, does not hold in
the case of science, since it is a matter of indifference to the
beginner whether he learns the new name _oxygen_ or _oxo_ (or any
other similar abbreviation), because in any case he must learn it
by heart. Such a procedure satisfies also the second condition,
as it facilitates most easily the giving of a special form to
scientific terms, which is different from that of ordinary life.

In the fourth place, it will be advisable in cases where
universally known symbols exist, which consist of letters or have
been derived from these (such as certain mathematical symbols),
to choose the name so _that it begins with the same letter_. For
example, the constant of gravitation is now universally denoted
by _g_, and the corresponding international word should therefore
begin with _G_. It appears to me doubtful, however, whether this
principle can be generally carried out. I have examined the names
of the chemical elements with this intent, and have arrived at
the conclusion that it would not work without doing considerable
violence to general usage. For example, it would be scarcely
possible to find an international name for _chlor_ (chlorine)
which, corresponding to the chemical symbol _Cl_, would begin with
_C_, for the latter letter is pronounced _ts_, whilst the word
_chlor_ (with corresponding terminations) is international, and,
according to its sound, must be written like _kloro_ or in some
similar way.

These are the formal suggestions which I should like to make
with reference to the problem in hand; they are only intended
to indicate how one might proceed, and are not to be regarded
as either exhaustive or infallible. There arises now the second
question as to how such work is to be organised.

As the same concepts occur in several related sciences, and must
receive the same designations, it would not be practicable to
entrust the construction of the vocabularies to special commissions
for each particular science. It would be more advisable to appoint
a certain number of persons to collect the material and to make
out lists of the concepts for which terms are required, and then
to appoint commissions representing a whole group of sciences to
discuss the necessary principles, after which the details could be
worked out and finally subjected to the examination and approval of
the whole body. To make matters at once more definite, I think the
exact sciences ought to be first taken into consideration, for in
their case the fixation of concepts is most highly developed. There
is no need for a replacement of the well-known Latin nomenclature
employed in the descriptive sciences, nor would any attempt in
this direction have any likelihood of success. We must look rather
to the distant future, when all other sciences will have already
adapted themselves to the international idiom for the translation
of the Latin names into the forms of the international language
(retaining the stems, however) in order to produce for æsthetic
reasons a uniform system throughout the whole of science.

On the other hand, I consider it absolutely necessary to subject
the concepts of _logic_ and the _theory of cognition_ to the same
process of scientific delimitation and fixation. In the first
place, these sciences belong, at least theoretically, to the exact
sciences; and, in the second place, work in these departments of
knowledge is rendered extraordinarily difficult by the fact that
their concepts are expressed in the terms used in daily life, whose
elastic nature constantly frustrates exact work.

Conversely, this great process of purification cannot fail to bring
to light much that is of value for the theory and systematisation
of scientific concepts. For one must be quite clear on a subject
oneself before one can make it clear to others. Indeed, even a
simple classified list of possibilities, in which one has earnestly
sought to omit nothing of importance, constitutes in itself a
scientific advance, which is rendered all the more desirable by
the fact that in general people have troubled very little about
questions of this sort. It may be already foreseen, and indeed with
pleasure, that such problems are not to be solved offhand, and
will probably require for their final settlement an international
congress, at which the final decisions will be made. For this
congress will probably be the first scientific gathering at which,
instead of three, four, or five languages, only one, and that the
international auxiliary language, will be spoken.

  WILHELM OSTWALD.




CHAPTER VII

CONCLUSION: READING, WRITING, AND SPEAKING


Anyone who wishes to swim without the help of others is faced by
a "vicious circle." In order to swim he must jump into the water,
but before he entrusts himself to the water he ought to be able
to swim. In spite of this, many people learn to swim without a
teacher. How do they do that? They go at first only into shallow
water, and splash about there until they have become more or less
familiar with this element. Then, when they perceive that they can
propel themselves in it, they go gradually into deeper water.

If we wish to get scientific men to use the international language,
we must probably recommend the same method and advise them to
move about in the shallower regions of every-day language before
they venture into the deeper waters of science. The instruction
concerning the movements of swimming given by the swimming-master
on dry land corresponds to a lesson of a couple of hours on the
simple grammar of the international language. Further progress,
leading up finally to the introduction of the latter into science,
can be divided into three stages, which we may describe by the
words reading, writing, and speaking.

I. _Reading._--The extraordinary ease with which every educated
person, and especially anyone who has learnt Latin or one of the
Romance languages, can read and understand the language of the
Delegation almost without any previous study, indicates that the
first stage will not be difficult of attainment. But one would
require scientific reading material in order to gain practice in
scientific reading, and there we are again faced by a vicious
circle. For, in order to create such reading material, we require
authors who can write it, and yet the latter can only learn to
express themselves in the international language by means of
already existing reading material. We must therefore at first make
use of the language of daily life and carry over into science
whatever is found to be suitable for scientific purposes, after
which more sharply defined meanings may be assigned to the words.
It has been indicated in the previous article how the remaining
special scientific nomenclature can be determined. When this
preliminary work is sufficiently advanced the following way will
lead quickest to the goal.

There will be founded an _international journal_, divided into as
many divisions as correspond to the groups of sciences to be dealt
with. We have here in view more particularly the theoretical and
practical sciences of nature, because they have much more urgent
need of an international auxiliary language than the "humanities,"
whose representatives are more likely to possess a sufficient
knowledge of languages. For example, mathematics, mathematical
astronomy, mathematical geography, mathematical physics, geodesy,
etc., might form one group; general and experimental physics,
chemistry and physical chemistry, electrotechnics and applied
chemistry, mechanics and mechanical engineering, etc., a second
group; mineralogy, petrography, crystallography, geology, etc.,
a third group; biology, systematic and physiological zoology and
botany, morphology, etc., etc., a fourth group. Extensions of these
groups and other modes of arrangement might of course be introduced.

The foundation at first of several separate periodicals would not
be advisable.

The following remarks may be made concerning the contents of
this journal. In conformity with our plan, it should not at first
contain any original articles, for the international language is
not intended to replace the natural ones, but only to act as an
_intermediary_ between them. Besides, the journal must not contain
any insignificant or uninteresting articles if it is to attract and
interest readers. But eminent authors, even if they could command
the international language, would not publish important original
articles in a journal which naturally at first would not have any
very great circulation.

The journal must therefore contain chiefly translations of
interesting articles from all branches of science and from all
languages, and also extracts from the more important literary
productions. The editorial committee of this journal should be
independent of the Language Academy, but nevertheless in close
contact with it, in order, on the one hand, to guarantee the
correctness of the language by means of the Academy, and, on the
other hand, to help the latter by acting as its scientific adviser.
The gradual dissemination of this periodical would have the effect
that a considerable number of scientific men, especially those of
the younger generation, would be induced to read and understand the
international language without any expenditure of trouble injurious
to their professional work.

II. _Writing._--From reading a comparatively easy step leads to
writing. The number of scientific men would soon increase who
could either write directly in the international language, or, at
all events, translate a paper written in a natural language into
the international language. Owing to the gradually increasing
dissemination of the international Review, a first-hand publication
of such papers in the Review would soon be very much in the
interest of the authors, as the acceptance of their papers would
itself be a mark of honour, whilst the rapid distribution amongst
all nations would be likewise advantageous.

III. _Speaking._--The speaking of the international language
at first in small and then gradually amongst wider circles and
finally at international congresses can only be attempted later.
This attempt must not, however, be made before its success is
fully assured, and the language has received a certain amount of
consolidation through its application to writing.

We have already remarked in another place that the introduction of
the international language is not nearly so difficult as it appears
at first sight, almost the only difficulty being the establishment
of the _confidence_ that this goal _can_ be attained.

When one tries to swim for the first time it seems as if one would
never succeed. But when, after a few lessons, one has seen one's
comrades moving safely and merrily in the water, courage comes, and
with it success. We shall therefore show in an appendix by means of
an example that the language of the Delegation is already capable
of expressing difficult passages with all possible fidelity.

At a time when the language had only just been fixed and when
he had very little practice in its use, L. Couturat translated
into it a particularly difficult passage from the work of Gomperz
(the Viennese Academician) on _Grecian Thinkers_. The present
author, without having seen the original, retranslated it at
Graz from the international language into German, and sent this
to Gomperz at Vienna with the request, that he would give his
opinion on the accuracy of the retranslated passage. Gomperz
wrote characterising the reproduction as "astonishingly exact,"
"the test as extraordinarily successful, and the result in a high
degree favourable to the possibility of employing the international
language." This test must certainly be regarded as a very
severe one, because the German language is foreign to the first
translator, whilst, owing to its philosophical nature, the subject
was not familiar to the second translator as a physicist. For the
sake of English readers, a similar experiment has just been made,
the results of which are given in Appendix III. A passage from
Professor W. James's _Talks to Teachers on Psychology_, dealing
with the laws of habit, was translated into Ido by Professor
Couturat, and the Ido text retranslated into English by Mr. P.
D. Hugon in London, who was unacquainted with the original. A
comparison of the two English texts demonstrates the marvellous
lucidity of Ido as a medium for the transmission of thought without
distortion.

Two things are indispensable for the realisation of a great idea.
In the first place, the idea must, as regards its nature and
value, have a rational foundation, and its possibility must be
demonstrated. In the second place, there must be present courage,
energy, and persevering devotion in order to realise practically
that which has been recognised to be right and good. No amount of
energy, however great, can produce a lasting result from a mistaken
idea; but at the same time nothing great has ever been accomplished
by doubters and pessimists. The readers of our brochure will
concede to us that the idea of an international auxiliary language
and its realisation by means of the language of the Delegation have
in the foregoing chapters been fully examined in the cold light of
reason and shown to be good and practicable, whilst the appendices
will enable this opinion to be experimentally tested and confirmed.
Now that the head has done its work, the heart, the source of
courage and devotion, must do its part. We have full confidence,
therefore, in calling upon the representatives of science, who have
followed us so far, to assist us in the work, in the first place by
_joining the Uniono di l'Amiki di la Linguo Internaciona_ and by
making its labours known. This step can be taken also by those who
do not see in the language as at present constituted the final and
best solution of the problem, for before one can reach the topmost
heights one must traverse the intervening stages. We ourselves do
not consider that our language is the best possible, but we regard
it as one which is susceptible of continuous improvement without
its immediate and future use being injured thereby.

  LEOPOLD PFAUNDLER.




APPENDIX I.

"LINGUO INTERNACIONA DI LA DELEGITARO."

(IDO).


The Délégation pour l'Adoption d'une Langue Auxiliaire
Internationale, founded in Paris in 1901, has received the support
of 310 societies of many countries and the approval of 1,250
professors and academicians. It elected in 1907 an international
committee, composed of eminent linguists and men of science, which,
after having studied all the projects for international language,
adopted Esperanto with certain modifications. These modifications,
whilst preserving the principles and essential qualities of Dr.
Zamenhof's language, aim at a more logical and strict application
of these principles and the elimination of certain unnecessary
complications. The following are the principal modifications:--

(1) Suppression of the accented letters, _thus permitting the
language to be printed everywhere_, and at the same time preserving
the phonetic and frequently re-establishing the international
spelling;

(2) Suppression of certain useless grammatical rules which are
very troublesome to many nations, and _especially to persons
possessing only an elementary education_ (accusative, concord of
the adjective);

(3) Regularisation of the method of derivation, this being the
only means of preventing the intrusion of idioms and of furnishing
a solid foundation for the working out of the _scientific and
technical vocabulary_ so indispensable for the propagation of the
language in the scientific world;

(4) Enrichment of the vocabulary by the adoption of new stems
carefully chosen according to the _principle of maximum
internationality_.

All the words have, in fact, been formed from international stems,
that is to say those which are common to the majority of European
languages, with the result that they are immediately recognised
by everyone of medium education. It is not necessary therefore
to learn a new language; _the international language is the
quintessence of the European ones_. It is, however, incomparably
more easy than any of them on account of its simplicity and
absolute regularity; there are _no useless rules_, and _no
exceptions_. It can be learnt by reading it; as soon as one can
read it one can write it; as soon as one can write it one can speak
it. And experience has proved that the differences of pronunciation
amongst people of the most diverse countries are insignificant and
cause no trouble at all. To sum up, the _linguo internaciona_ is
a simplified and improved Esperanto, very analogous to primitive
Esperanto, but possessing the advantage over the latter of being
immediately intelligible, so that it is destined to become _the_
international language. Besides, it has already received the warm
approval and support of many of the earliest and best Esperantists.
It alone, thanks to the support of the scientific and literary men
of the Delegation and Committee, has a chance of being adopted some
day by Governments and of being introduced into the schools of all
countries.

The following pages provide a key which enables one to read a text
in this language.


GRAMMAR.

@Pronunciation.@--All letters are pronounced, and have always the
same sound: _a_ (as in _father_), _c_ (like _ts_), _e_ (like _e_ in
_set_, or _a_ in _fate_), _g_ (always hard, as in _go_), _i_ (like
_ee_ in _sweet_), _j_ (either as in English, or like the French _j_
in _journal_), _o_ (like _o_ in _not_ or like _o_ in _go_), _q_
(_qu_ as in English, or like _kv_), _s_ (unvoiced), _u_ (like _oo_
in _too_), _x_ (like _ks_ or _gz_), _y_ (as in English), _z_ (as in
English), _ch_ (as in _church_), _sh_ (as in English), _au_ (like
_ow_ in _how_), _eu_ (= _e-u_). It will be seen that a _certain
amount_ of latitude is permitted, in order to suit the convenience
of different nations. _Stress_ (tonic accent) on the penultimate
syllable, except in the infinitive, when it falls on the last
syllable (@-ar@, @-ir@, @-or@). Since _y_ is a consonant, it does
not count as a separate syllable (@fluvyo@).

@Definite Article.@--@La@, for all genders and numbers.

@Substantive.@--Ends in _-o_ in the singular, in _-i_ in the plural.

@Adjective.@--Is invariable, and ends in _-a_.

@Personal Pronouns.@--@Me@ = _I_, @tu@ = _thou_, @vu@ = _you_
(singular), @il@ = _he_ or _it_ (masculine), @el@ = _she_ or
_it_ (feminine), @ol@ = _it_ (thing); @ni@ = _we_, @vi@ = _you_
(plural), @li@ = _they_ (all genders). If distinction is necessary,
@ili@ = _they_ (masculine), @eli@ = _they_ (feminine), @oli@ =
_they_ (neuter).

@Possessive Pronouns.@--@Mea@ = _my_, _mine_, @tua@ = _thy_,
_thine_, @vua@ = _your_, _yours_ (singular), @sa@ = _his_, _her_,
_hers_, or _its_; @nia@ = _our_, _ours_, @via@ = _your_, _yours_
(plural), @lia@ = _their_, _theirs_. In the plural the ending _-i_
is substituted for _-a_ when the above words are used as true
possessive _pronouns_.

@Reflexive Forms.@--@Su@ is used as an objective (reflexive)
personal pronoun (for singular and plural) in the third person.
The corresponding possessive forms are @sua@ and @sui@ (plural
_pronoun_). It may be remarked that the possessive pronominal
adjectives @sa@ (singular) and @lia@ (plural) may be made to
indicate sex in the following way:--

              _Singular._       _Plural._
  Masculine     @ilsa@           @ilia@
  Feminine      @elsa@           @elia@
  Neuter        @olsa@           @olia@

@Demonstrative Pronouns.@--@Ica@ = _this_, _these_; @ita@ = _that_,
_those_. The plural forms @ici@ = _these_, and @iti@ = _those_,
are only used as true demonstrative _pronouns_. The indeterminate
(neuter) forms are @ico@ = _this_, @ito@ = _that_. In all the above
words the initial _i_ is usually _omitted_, except where euphony
requires it.

If it is required to indicate sex, or something which is not alive,
this may be done as follows:--

                 _This._    _That._
  Masculine      @ilca@     @ilta@
  Feminine       @elca@     @elta@
  Neuter         @olca@     @olta@
  Plural  }      @ilci@     @ilti@
  Pronoun }       etc.       etc.

@Relative and Interrogative Pronouns@: @qua@ = _who_, _which_,
_what_; plural, @qui@. @Quo@ = _what_ (indeterminate, general).

@Accusative@ (objective case).--When the direct object of the verb
precedes the subject, the former is indicated by the inflexion
_-n_: @la homo quan vu vidis@ = _the person whom you have seen_.

@Verb.@--Invariable in person and number. Endings of the principal
tenses:--

                                            _Active_      _Passive_
           _Infinitive._  _Indicative._   _participle._  _participle._
  Present     @-ar@          @-as@           @-anta@        @-ata@
  Past        @-ir@          @-is@           @-inta@        @-ita@
  Future      @-or@          @-os@           @-onta@        @-ota@
              Conditional, @-us@.      Imperative, @-ez@.

The auxiliary verb @esar@, _to be_, is used for the passive, and
for the compound tenses of the active.

_Passive._

  _Present_       @esas amata@, or @amesas@ = _I am (being) loved_.
  _Past_          @esis amata@, or @amesis@ = _I was (being) loved_.
  _Future_        @esos amata@, or @amesos@ = _I will be loved_.
  _Conditional_   @esus amata@, or @amesus@ = _I would be loved_.
  _Imperative_    @esez amata@, or @amesez@ = _be loved_.
  _Infinite_      @esar amata@, or @amesar@ = _to be loved_.

_Compound Tenses of the Active._

  _Perfect_            @(me) esas aminta@ = _(I) have loved_.
  _Pluperfect_         @(me) esis aminta@ = _(I) had loved_.
  _Future perfect_     @(me) esos aminta@ = _(I) shall have loved_.
  _Past conditional_   @(me) esus aminta@ = _(I) should have loved_.

The past tenses of the passive (indicating _completed_ states) are
formed by means of the passive participle in @-ita@:--

  @(me) esis amita@ = _(I) had been loved_.
  @(me) esos amita@ = _(I) shall have been loved_.
  @(me) esus amita@ = _(I) would have been loved_.

Derived adverbs are formed by substituting the ending _-e_ for the
_-a_ of the adjective or the _-o_ of the noun: @bone@ = _well_;
@nokte@ = _at night_.


FORMATION OF WORDS.

All words are composed of three elements, possessing an invariable
form and meaning: _stems_, _affixes_ (prefixes and suffixes), and
_grammatical terminations_.

@Prefixes@:--

  @ge-@, the two sexes united: @ge-patri@ = _parents_.
  @bo-@, relation by marriage: @bo-patro@ = _father-in-law_.
  @ex-@, former, ex-: @ex-oficero@ = _ex-officer_.
  @mal-@, opposite, contrary: @mal-bela@ = _ugly_.
  @mis-@, error, mistake: @mis-komprenar@ = _misunderstand_.
  @mi-@, half: @mi-horo@ = _half an hour_.
  @re-@, repetition: @re-dicar@ = _repeat_, _say again_.
  @retro-@, backwards: @retro-sendar@ = _return (send back)_.
  @ne-@, negation: @ne-utila@ = _useless_ (but @mal-utila@ = _harmful_).
  @sen-@, want of: @sen-arma@ = _unarmed_.

@Suffixes@:--

  @-in@, female sex: @frat-ino@ = _sister_.
  @-id@, descendant: @Sem-ido@ = _Semite_.
  @-estr@, chief, director: @urb-estro@ = _mayor_.
  @-an@, member of: @senat-ano@ = _senator_.
  @-ism@, system, doctrine: @socialismo@ = _socialism_.
  @-ist@, profession, occupation: @dent-isto@ = _dentist_.
  @-er@, amateur: @fotograf-ero@ = _amateur photographer_.
  @-ul@, person who is characterised by ...: @kuras-ulo@ = _cuirassier_.
  @-aj@, concrete thing, consisting of, or made of: @lan-ajo@ = _woollen
         goods_.
  @-ur@, product, result: @pikt-uro@ = _a picture_.
  @-ar@, collection of a number of similar things: @hom-aro@ = _mankind_.
  @-il@, instrument, tool: @bros-ilo@ = _brush_.
  @-ey@, place for ...: @kaval-eyo@ = _stable_; @dorm-eyo@ = _dormitory_.
  @-uy@, container, recipient: @ink-uyo@ = _inkpot_.
  @-yer@, that which bears or carries: @pom-yero@ = _apple tree_.
  @-al@, relating to: @nacion-ala@ = _national_.
  @-oz@, full of, provided with: @por-oza@ = _porous_.
  @-atr@, similar, like: @spong-atra@ = _sponge-like_, _spongy_.
  @-iv@, that which can, active possibility: @instrukt-iva@ =
         _instructive_.
  @-em@, addicted to: @babil-ema@ = _talkative_, _garrulous_.
  @-ebl@, passive possibility, that which can be ...: @vid-ebla@ =
          _visible_.
  @-end@, that which is to be, or must be ...: @solv-enda@ = _to be
          solved_, _requiring solution_.
  @-ind@, worthy of being: @respekt-inda@ = _worthy of respect_.
  @-es@, state of being: @san-esar@ = _to be well_, whence the
         substantives expressing state or quality, _e.g._, @san-eso@ =
         _health_.
  @-esk@, to commence to do or to be: @dorm-eskar@ = _to fall asleep_.
  @-ig@, to make or cause to do or to be: @bel-igar@ = _beautify_;
         @dorm-igar@ = _to send to sleep_.
  @-ij@, to become: @rich-ijar@ = _to get rich_.
  @-iz@, to furnish or provide with: @arm-izar@ = _to arm_.
  @-if@, to produce, bring forth: @frukt-ifar@ = _to fructify_.
  @-ad@, repetition, continuation: @dans-ado@ = _dancing_.
  @-eg@, augmentative: @bel-ega@ = _very beautiful_.
  @-et@, diminutive: @mont-eto@ = _hill_, _hillock_.
  @-ach@, derogative: @popul-acho@ = _populace_, _the mob_.
  @-um@, indeterminate relationship (see the dictionary),
  @-esm@, ordinal number: @un-esma@ = _first_.
  @-opl@, multiplicative number: @du-opla@ = _double_.
  @-on@, fractional number: @tri-ono@ = _a third_.
  @-op@, distributive number: @quar-ope@ = _in fours_.


LEXIKO DI LA GRAMMATIKALA VORTI.

  @a@, @ad@         _to_, _towards_
  @ad maxime@       _at most_
  @ad minime@       _at least_
  @altra@, @-i@     _other_ (_s_)
  @altru@           _another_
  @altro@           _another thing_, _something else_
  @anke@            _also_
  @ankore@          _still_, _yet_
  @ante@            _before_ (time)
  @aparte@          _apart_
  @apene@           _scarcely_, _with difficulty_
  @apud@            _near_, _close by_, _at_
  @avan@            _before_ (place)
  @balde@           _soon_
  @cent@            _hundred_
  @ceter-i@, @-o@   _the others_, _the rest_
  @che@             _at the house of_
  @cirke@           _around_, _about_
  @cis@             _on this side of_
  @da@              _by_
  @de@              _from_, _since_, _of_
  @dek@             _ten_
  @di@              _of_
  @do@              _therefore_, _hence_
  @dop@             _after_ (position); _behind_
  @du@              _two_
  @dum@             _during_
  @e@, @ed@         _and_
  @ek@              _out, out of_
  @en@              _in_
  @exter@           _outside of_, _besides_
  @for@             _far from_
  @forsan@          _perhaps_
  @frue@            _early_
  @hiere@           _yesterday_
  @hike@            _here_
  @ibe@             _there_
  @inter@           _between_, _among_
  @ips-a@, @-e@     _self_, _even any_ (_whatsoever_)
  @irg-a@, @-u@     _anyone_ (_whatever_)
  @irgo@            _anything_ (_whatever_)
  @itere@           _again_, _anew_
  @ja@              _already_
  @jus@             _just at the moment_
  @kad@             _whether_ (general interrogative)
  @kam@             _as_, _than_ (in comparisons)
  @kande@           _when_
  @ke@              _that_ (conjunction)
  @kelk-a@, @-i@    _some_
  @kin@             _five_
  @kontre@          _against_, _opposite_
  @kun@             _with_
  @lor@             _then_, _at that time_
  @malgre@          _in spite of_
  @max@ (@-ime@)    _most_
  @mem@             _even_, _indeed_
  @mil@             _thousand_
  @min@             _less_
  @minime@          _least_
  @morge@           _to-morrow_
  @mult-a@ (@-i@)   _much_, _many_
  @nam@             _for_, _because_
  @ne@              _not_
  @nek@             _neither_, _nor_
  @no@              _no_
  @nov@             _nine_
  @nu@              _well!_ _now!_
  @nul-a@ (@-u@)    _no_, _no one_
  @nulo@            _nothing_
  @nun@             _now_
  @nur@             _only_
  @o@, @od@         _or_
  @ok@              _eight_
  @olim@            _formerly_
  @omn-a@ (@-i@)    _each_, _all_
  @omno@            _all_, _everything_
  @or@              _now_ (conjunction)
  @per@             _through_, _by means of_
  @plu@             _more_
  @plur-a@ (@-i@)   _several_
  @po@              _for_ (the price of)
  @poke@            _a little_
  @por@             _for_, _to_ (_in order to_)
  @pos@             _after_ (time)
  @precipue@        _especially_
  @preske@          _almost_, _nearly_
  @preter@          _past_, _beyond_
  @pri@             _concerning_, _on_
  @pro@             _for_, _on account of_
  @proxim@          _next_
  @qual-a@          _what_ (_sort of_)
  @quale@           _how_, _as_
  @quankam@         _although_
  @quant-a@ (@-e@)  _how much_, _how many_
  @quar@            _four_
  @quaze@           _as if_, _so to speak_
  @quik@            _at once_, _immediately_
  @sama@            _the same_
  @same@            _similarly_
  @sat@ (@-e@)      _enough_, _sufficiently_
  @se@              _if_
  @sed@             _but_
  @segun@           _according to_
  @sempre@          _always_
  @sen@             _without_
  @sep@             _seven_
  @singl-a@ (@-e@   _single_, _singly_
  @sis@             _six_
  @sive@            _either_, _or_
  @sub@             _under_, _below_
  @super@           _above_, _over_
  @sur@             _on_, _upon_
  @tal-a@           _such a_, _such_
  @tal-e@           _thus_, _so_, _in such a way_
  @tam@             _as_ (in comparisons)
  @tamen@           _nevertheless_, _yet_
  @tant-a@ (@-e@)   _so much_, _as much_, _so_
  @tarde@           _late_
  @til@             _until_
  @tra@             _through_, _across_
  @trans@           _beyond_, _on the other side of_
  @tre@             _very_
  @tri@             _three_
  @tro@             _too_
  @ube@             _where_, _whither_
  @ula-@ (@-u@)     _some_, _any_, _someone_, _anyone_
  @ulo@             _something_, _anything_
  @ultre@           _beyond_, _besides_
  @un@ (@-u@, @-a@  _one_
  @ve@              _alas!_
  @vice@            _in place of_, _vice_
  @ya@              _certainly_, _undoubtedly_
  @ye@              preposition of indeterminate meaning
  @yen@             _here is_, _there is_, _behold_
  @yes@             _yes_




APPENDIX II.

@Specimen page from the INTERNATIONAL-ENGLISH DICTIONARY.@[6]

  @deskript-ar@: to describe;
  @-o@: description;
  @-iva@: descriptive [EFIS].

  @desper-ar@: to despair;
  @-o@: despair;
  @-igar@: to drive to despair [EFIS].

  @despit-ar@: to be vexed, to fret;
  @-o@: spite, despite;
  @-igar@: to vex [EFIS].

  @despot-o@: despot;
  @-eso@, @-ismo@: despotism [DEFIRS].

  @destin-ar@: to destine;
  @-o@, @-eso@: destination, destiny [EFIS].

  @destrukt-ar@: to destroy;
  @-o@: destruction;
  @-iva@, @-ema@: destructive [EFIRS].

  @detal-o@: detail;
  @-a@, @-oza@: detailed;
  @-e@, @-oze@: in detail [DEFIRS].

  @detashment-o@ (military): detachment [DEFIRS].

  @detektiv-o@: detective [EFR].

  @determin-ar@: to determine;
  @-o@, @-eso@: determination (not _decision_);
  @-anta@, @-iva@: determinative;
  @-ismo@: determinism [DEFIRS].

  @detriment-ar@: to cause injury or prejudice to (_a person_);
  @-o@: detriment, damage, injury (_moral_) [EFIS].

  @dev-ar@: to be obliged to, ought, have to;
  @-o@: duty [FIS].

  @devast-ar@: to devastate;
  @-o@, @eso@: devastation [EFIS].

  @deviac-ar@ (_trans. and intrans._): to deviate;
  @-o@: deviation [EFIS].

  @deviz-o@: motto, device [DEFIRS].

  @devlop-ar@: to develop;
  @-o@, @-eso@: development [EFI].

  @devot-a@: devoted;
  @-eso@: devotion;
  @-esar@, @-igar@, @-su@: to devote oneself [EFI].

  @dextr-a@: right (_hand_, _side_);
  @-e@: on the right [IS].

  @dezert-a@: desert, deserted;
  @-o@: a desert, wilderness [EFIS].

  @dezir-ar@: to wish, desire;
  @-o@: wish, desire [EFIS].

  @di@: of (_preposition_).

  @di-o@, day (twenty-four hours);
  @-ala@: daily [EIS].

  @diabet-o@: diabetes [DEFIRS].

  @diablo@: devil;
  @-ala@: diabolical [DEFIRS].

  @diadem-o@: diadem [DEFIRS].

  @diafan-a@: transparent;
  @-eso@: transparency [FIS].


@Specimen page from the ENGLISH-INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY.@

  to @describe@: deskriptar.
  @description@: deskripto.
  @descriptive@: deskriptiva.
  to @desecrate@: profanigar.
  a @desert@: dezerto.
  to @desert@: desertar.
  @deserted@: dezerta.
  @deserter@: desert-anto, -into.
  @desertion@: deserto,
  to @deserve@: meritar.
  @deserving@: merit-anta, -oza.
  to @desiccate@ (_v. trans._): sikigar.
  @desiccated@: sikigita.
  @design@ (= drawing): desegno.
  to @desire@: dezirar.
  @desire@: deziro.
  @desk@ (_writing_): pupitro.
      "       (_pulpit_): katedro.
  to @despair@: desperar.
  @despair@: despero.
  @despair@, to @drive to@: desperigar.
  a @desperado@: riskemo.
  @despicable@: mal-prizinda.
  to @despise@: mal-prizar.
  @despite@ (_s._), despito.
     "    (_prep._) (= _in spite of_), malgre.
  @despot@: despoto.
  @despotism@: despot-eso, -ismo.
  @desquamation@: squamifo.
  @dessert@: desero.
  @destination@: destin-o, -eso.
  to @destine@: destinar.
  @destiny@: destin-o, -eso.
     "   (= _fate_): fato.
  to @destroy@: destruktar.
  @destruction@: destrukto.
      "      , @utter@: nuligo.
  @destructive@: destrukt-iva, -ema.
  @detachment@ (military): detashmento.
  @detail@: detalo, mal-grandajo.
     "  , @in@: detal-e, -oze.
  @detailed@: detal-a, -oza.
  @detective@: detektivo.
  to @deter@: timigar, impedar.
  @determination@ (_not decision_): determin-o, -eso.
  @determinative@: determin-anta, -iva.
  to @determine@: determinar.
   "     "    (= decide): decidigar.
  @determinism@: determinismo.
  to @dethrone@: mal-tronizar.
  @detriment@: detrimento.
  to @devastate@: devastar.
  @devastation@: devast-o, -eso.
  to @develop@: devlopar.
   "    "   (_photo._): rivelar.
  @developer@ (_photo._): rivelilo.
  @developing@ (_photo._): rivelo.
  @development@: devlop-o, -eso.
  to @deviate@ (_v. trans. and intrans._): deviacar.
  @deviation@: deviaco.




APPENDIX III.

EXPERIMENT IN DOUBLE TRANSLATION.

THE LAWS OF HABIT.

By Professor W. JAMES.[7]


I believe that we are subject to the law of habit in consequence
of the fact that we have bodies. The plasticity of the living
matter of our nervous system, in short, is the reason why we
do a thing with difficulty the first time, but soon do it more
and more easily, and finally, with sufficient practice, do it
semi-mechanically, or with hardly any consciousness at all. Our
nervous systems have (in Dr. Carpenter's words) _grown_ to the way
in which they have been exercised, just as a sheet of paper or a
coat, once creased or folded, tends to fall for ever afterward into
the same identical folds.

Habit is thus a second nature, or rather, as the Duke of Wellington
said, it is "ten times nature," at any rate as regards its
importance in adult life, for the acquired habits of our training
have by that time inhibited or strangled most of the natural
impulsive tendencies which were originally there. Ninety-nine
hundredths or possibly nine hundred and ninety-nine thousandths of
our activity is purely automatic and habitual, from our rising
in the morning to our lying down each night. Our dressing and
undressing, our eating and drinking, our greetings and partings,
our hat-raisings and giving way for ladies to precede, nay, even
most of the forms of our common speech, are things of a type so
fixed by repetition as almost to be classed as reflex actions. To
each sort of impression we have an automatic, ready-made response.
My very words to you now are an example of what I mean, for,
having already lectured upon habit and printed a chapter about it
in a book, and read the latter when in print, I find my tongue
inevitably falling into old phrases and repeating almost literally
what I said before.

So far as we are thus mere bundles of habit, we are stereotyped
creatures, imitators and copiers of our past selves. And since
this, under any circumstances, is what we always tend to become,
it follows first of all that the teacher's prime concern should be
to ingrain into the pupil that assortment of habits that shall be
most useful to him throughout life. Education is for behaviour, and
habits are the stuff of which behaviour consists.


LA LEGI DI L'KUSTUMO,

Traduko en Ido da L. COUTURAT.

Me kredas, ke ni esas submisata a la lego di l'kustumo per konsequo
di l'fakto, ke ni havas korpi. La plastikeso di la vivanta materyo
di nia nerva sistemo, esas, abreje, la kauzo ke ni facas un kozo
malfacile la unesma foyo, sed balde plu e plu facile, e fine,
kun suficanta praktiko, ni facas ol mi-mekanike, o kun preske
nula koncio. Nia nerva sistemi _kreskis_ (segun la vorti di Dr.
Carpenter) en la voyo en qua li esis exercita, exakte quale folyo
di papero, o vesto unfoye faldita o shifonigita, tendencas falar
sempre pose en la sama identa falduri.

La kustumo esas duesma naturo, o prefere, quale dicis Duko de
Wellington, ol esas "dekople naturo," omnakaze per sa importo en
adulta vivo; nam la aquirita kustumi di nia eduko en ta tempo
impedis o strangulis max multa de la natural impulsiva tendenci,
qui existas origine. Novdek nov centoni, o, posible, novcent novdek
nov miloni de nia agemeso esas pure automatal e kustuma, de nia
levo matene a nia kusho omnanokte. Nia vestizo e malvestizo, nia
manjo e drinko, nia saluti ed adyi, nia chapel-levi et voyo-cedi
por siorini preteriranta, ya mem max multa formi di nia komuna
parolado, esas kozi de tipo tante fixigita per repeto, ke li povas
esar klasizita quale agi reflexa. Ad omna speco de impreso ni
havas automatal, tute pronta respondo. Mea ipsa paroli a vi nun
esas exemplo de to, quon me pensas: nam, pro ja facir lecioni pri
la kustumo ed imprimigir chapitro pri ol en libro, e lektir olca
dum imprimo, me trovas mea lango falanta neeviteble en sa malnuva
frazi, e repetanta preske litere, quon me dicis ante.

Segun quante ni esas tale pura faski de kustumi, ni esas
stereotipita kreuri, imitanti e kopianti di nia propra pasinto.
E pro ke co, en omna supozi, esas to, quo ni sempre tendencas
divenar, konsequas, unesme, ke la precipua skopo di l'instruktisto
devas esar inkrustar en la lernanto ta asortajo de kustumi, qua
esos max utila ad il tra sa tuta vivo. L'eduko esas por la konduto,
e la kustumi esas la materyo, en qua la konduto konsistas.


THE LAWS OF HABIT.

I believe that we are subject to the law of habit in consequence
of the fact that we have bodies. The plasticity of the living
material of our nervous system is, to put it briefly, the reason
why we do a thing with difficulty the first time, but soon more
and more easily, and finally, with sufficient practice, we do it
half mechanically, or almost without any consciousness. Our nervous
systems _have grown_ (in Dr. Carpenter's words) in the way in which
they were trained, just as a sheet of paper or a garment, once
folded or crumpled, tends to fall ever after in the same identical
creases.

Habit is a second nature, or rather, as the Duke of Wellington
said, it is "tenfold nature," at any rate by its importance in
adult life, for the acquired customs of our education by that time
have impeded or strangled most of the natural impulsive tendencies
which existed originally. Ninety-nine hundredths or maybe nine
hundred and ninety-nine thousandths of our activity is purely
automatic and habitual, from our rising in the morning to our
retiring every night. Our dressing and undressing, our eating
and drinking, our greetings and leave-takings, our hat-raisings and
way-givings to ladies passing by, even indeed most forms of our
common speech, are things of a type so well fixed by repetition,
that they can be classified as reflex actions. For every kind of
impression we have an automatic, ever-ready response. My very words
to you now are an example of what I think, for through having
already given lessons about habit, and having had a chapter printed
about it in a book, and having read the latter in the course of
printing, I find my tongue falling unavoidably into its old phrases
and repeating almost literally what I have said before.

Inasmuch as we are thus pure bundles of habits, we are stereotyped
creatures, imitators and copyists of our own past. And because
this, in any case, is what we always tend to become, it follows, in
the first place, that the teacher's chief object must be to incrust
in the learner that set of habits which will be most useful to him
throughout his whole life. Education makes for conduct, and habits
are the material which conduct consists of.

[Retranslated into English by P. D. HUGON, who was unacquainted
with the original before doing the retranslation, 20th January,
1910.]




APPENDIX IV.

"UNIONO DI L'AMIKI DI LA LINGUO INTERNACIONA."


The following excerpt from the provisional statutes of the _Uniono_
is only intended to give an indication of its nature. The full
statutes will be willingly sent to anyone interested by one of the
authors of this brochure or by the Secretary of the _Uniono_, Herr
A. Waltisbühl, 46, Bahnhof Strasse, Zürich.


EXCERPT FROM THE PROVISIONAL STATUTES.

(1) The sole purpose of the _Uniono di l'Amiki di la Linguo
Internaciona_ is to unite, for the purposes of common action, all
persons who recognise and approve of the idea of an international
language in the form given to it by the _Délégation pour l'Adoption
d'une Langue Auxiliaire Internationale_.

(2) The Uniono accepts as the international auxiliary language the
_Linguo internaciona di la Delegitaro_ resulting from the labours
and decisions of the commission and the working committee of the
Delegation, but expressly declares that this language is not to be
regarded as "perfect" and "infallible." On the contrary, it takes
the view that the language is capable of continuous improvement
according to the principles resulting from the work of the
Delegation.

(3) The _Uniono_ consists of members of both sexes of all
nationalities (at least eighteen years old) who are willing to
learn the language, to employ it on all suitable occasions in
intercourse with foreigners, and to take part in its propagation.

(4) The yearly subscription amounts to 1·25 francs, 1 shilling,
1 mark, or 1·20 krone (Austrian). Half of this sum goes to the
Academy, the other half to the credit of the "Komitato." Permanent
membership is obtained by a single payment of 50 francs. Persons
paying at least 100 francs in a single payment become _membri
protektanta_.

(5), (6), (7) All members take part in the election of the two
directing bodies of the _Uniono_ (the Academy and the "Komitato")
according to a specially arranged method of representation (in
which account is taken of the number of adherents belonging to each
nationality).

(8), (9), (10) The Academy is concerned only with questions
relating to the development and improvement of the international
language. It has to reply within six months to all questions and
suggestions emanating from at least three elected representatives.
The official organ of the Academy is the journal _Progreso_
(pronounced _Progresso_). The _Komitato_ has the practical
direction and organisation of the _Uniono_ which it controls and
represents. It is intended to found in the different countries
language courses, offices for the practical employment of the
language in commerce and travel, and translation bureaus. The
Academy and Komitato may unite for the purpose of discussing
general questions concerning the international language.

(11), (12), (13) deal with local groups, change of statutes,
dissolution of the Society, etc.

(14) All questions or proposals to be settled by the Academy or the
Komitato must be published in the journal _Progreso_ three months
before the decision in order to allow of general discussion.


ENTRANCE FORM.

  The undersigned declares his (or her) adherence to the
  "Association of Friends of the International Language," as
  constituted by the provisional statutes, and subscribes

  for the year 19....
  or in one { life member,
  payment   { _protektanta_
    as      { _membro_.

  Signature.

  Christian name
    and surname.
  (Please write clearly.)

  Address.

  Profession or occupation
        (optional).

  Natural language.

  Age.

  Send this form filled up, together with your subscription
  (international money order), to the Secretary of the Society,
  Herr A. Waltisbühl, 46, Bahnhofstrasse, Zürich, Switzerland.


UNIONO DI L'AMIKI DI LA LINGUO INTERNACIONA.

ADHERILO.

_Me subskribanta deklaras adherar a_ l'Uniono di l'Amiki di la
Linguo Internaciona, _tala quala ol esas definita en la_ Provizora
Statuti, _e me suskriptas_{1}

  { _por la yaro_ 19  ............................
  {
  { _unfoye_  { _permananda_  }
  {   _quale_ { _protektanta_ } _membro_  ............

      _Subskribo_:

  _Nomo e prenomo_  ..............................

  _Adreso_   .....................................

  ................................................

  _Profesiono_ (ne obliga indiko)  ...............

  _Naturala linguo_   ............................

  _Eco_   ................................

@Sendez ta adherilo kun la suskripto@ (@per internaciona valoro@)
_a la sekretaryo-kasisto_, @So. A. WALTISBÜHL, 46, Bahnhofstrasse,
Zürich@ (@Suiso@).

  {1}  Minima suskripto: fr. 1·25, shilling 1, mark 1, dollar 0·25.
  _Permananta membri_ pagas 50 fr. unfoye; _protektanta membri_ pagas
  100 fr. unfoye.




FOOTNOTES:

[1] We do not therefore approve of the poetical attempts of
Zamenhof, or the dramatic representation of Goethe's _Iphigenia_.

[2] For other comparisons, such as musical notation, chemical
formulæ, etc., compare the excellent brochure of W. Ostwald,
_Die Weltsprache_. Compare also L. Couturat, _Pour la Langue
Internationale_.

[3] Here and elsewhere the following abbreviations will be
used:-- G. = German, E. = English, F. = French, I. = Italian, R. =
Russian, and S. = Spanish.

[4] Concerning the criticism of Esperanto, cf. also Zamenhof,
_Pri Reformoj en Esperanto_, 1894, _represita per zorgo de E.
Javal_, 1907 (containing many important suggestions which the
Esperantists have now unfortunately forgotten); A. Liptay,
_Eine Gemeinsprache der Naturvölker_, 1891; E. Beermann, _Die
Internationale Hilfssprache Novilatin_, 1907; K. Brugmann and A.
Leskien, _Zur Kritik der Künstlichen Weltsprachen_, 1907; Couturat
and Leau, _Conclusions du Rapport_, 1907; L. Couturat, _Étude
sur la Dérivation en Esperanto_, 1907; Ido, _Les Vrais Principes
de la Langue Auxiliaire_, 1908; many articles in the periodical
_Progreso_, 1908; F. Borgius, _Warum ich Esperanto verliess_, 1908.

[5] "What language aimed at languages have destroyed." The remarks
contained in this chapter have been developed and applied to
the criticism of Esperanto in my _Étude sur la Dérivation_ (1st
edition, unpublished, 1907, 2nd edition in French and in Ido, 1909).

[6] The letters D, E, F, I, R, S, are the initial letters of the
names of the six chief European languages, and those placed after
any word indicate to which of these languages the corresponding
stem is common (D = Deutsch (German)).

[7] "Talks to Teachers on Psychology," pp. 65, 66 (New York, H.
Holt & Co., 1907).




CONSTABLE & CO. LTD


CHEMISTRY

PRACTICAL METHODS OF INORGANIC CHEMISTRY. By E. MOLLWO PERKIN,
Ph.D. 2_s._ 6_d._ net.

  CONTENTS:--Chapter I.--Introduction. Chapter II.--General
  Preparations and Methods. Chapter III.--Salts. Chapter
  IV.--Halogens and Halogen Compounds. Chapter V.--Metallic Oxides.
  Chapter VI.--Acids. Chapter VII.--Preparation of Metals and
  Metalloids. Chapter VIII.--Special Preparations. Index.

  _The Journal of the Faraday Society._--"This book cannot be too
      strongly recommended."
  _Educational News._--"Most valuable."
  _The Lancet._--"The true educational method is set forth in this
      little work."
  _Journal of Education._--"It is useful both to teacher and to pupil."

EXERCISES IN PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY. By W. A ROTH, Ph.D., etc., Late
Professor of Chemistry in the University of Greifswald. Translated
for the use of Students by A. T. CAMERON, M.A., B.Sc., of the
University of Toronto. Price _6s._ net. Fully Illustrated.

  CONTENTS:--Chapter I.--Introductory. Chapter II.--The
  Determination of Density. Chapter III.--Determination of
  Molecular Weights in Solutions. Chapter IV.--Thermo-Chemistry.
  Chapter V.--The Determination of Optical Constants. Chapter
  VI.--The Thermostat. Chapter VII.--Chemical Statics and
  Dynamics. ELECTRO-CHEMISTRY: Chapter VIII.--Foundations. Chapter
  IX.--Electrical Conductivity. Chapter X.--Faraday's Law.
  Transport Numbers. Chapter XI.--Measurement of Differences of
  Potential. Chapter XII.--Electro-statics. Appendix. Index. SMALL
  TABLES IN THE TEXT: Molecular elevation of the boiling point and
  depression of the freezing point. Heat of combustion per gram at
  constant volume. Spectrum lines for optical measurements. Atomic
  refraction. Conductivities of some standard solutions. Dielectric
  constants.

INTRODUCTION TO THE CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS OF BUILDING MATERIALS. By
ALAN E. MUNBY, M.A. (Cantab). The elementary principles of science
which underlie the study of Building Materials in practice. Demy
8vo. 6_s._ net.

TECHNICAL THERMODYNAMICS. By Dr. GUSTAV ZEUNER. First English
Edition. From the fifth complete and revised edition of "Grundzüge
der Mechanischen Wärmetheorie." Vol. I.--Fundamental Laws of
Thermodynamics; Theory of Gases. Vol. II.--The Theory of Vapours.
Authorised Translation by J. F. KLEIN, D.E., Professor of
Mechanical Engineering, Lehigh University. Illustrated. Two
Volumes. Demy 8vo. Price 36_s._ net.

EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL APPLICATIONS OF THERMODYNAMICS TO
CHEMISTRY. By PROFESSOR WALTER NERNST, University of Berlin. Extra
Crown 8vo. 5_s._ net.

ENTROPY: OR, THERMODYNAMICS FROM AN ENGINEER'S STANDPOINT, AND THE
REVERSIBILITY OF THERMODYNAMICS. By JAMES SWINBURNE, M.Inst.C.E.,
M.I.E.E., etc. Illustrated with Diagrams. 4_s._ 6_d._ net.


ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

ELECTRICITY. By H. M. HOBART, B.Sc., M.Inst. C.E., etc. A
Text-Book designed in particular for Engineering Students. 208
pages + xix. 43 Tables and 115 Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 6_s._ net.

  CONTENTS:--The "Generation" and Conduction of Electricity.
  Copper, Aluminium, and other Conducting Materials. Energy. The
  Kelvin. Electricity. Continuous Electricity and Ohm's Law.
  The Magnetic Field. Conductors Moving in a Magnetic Field.
  Alternating Electricity. Inductance. The Magnetic Circuit.
  Insulating Materials.

  _The Engineer._--"A rapid glance at the illustrations contained
  in this book is sufficient to show that it differs very
  materially from most others having the same title. Indeed, it
  may be said that the volume possesses that desirable but unusual
  feature--originality. A chapter on the magnetic field contains
  information which the student will find well worth acquiring, and
  the same applies to that section of the book which deals with
  conductors moving in a magnetic field. The alternating current
  section is also good, and in a number of places it possesses the
  merit of originality. The book, as we have already intimated,
  is written on practical lines, and it is a decided improvement
  on most books we have seen having for their title the word
  'Electricity'."

CONTINUOUS CURRENT ENGINEERING. By ALFRED HAY, D.Sc., M.I.E.E.
About 330 pages. Fully Illustrated. Demy 8vo. 5_s._ net.

  A standard text-book for the practical student, giving a simple
  account of the component parts of a continuous current lighting
  and power plant, dynamos, motors, secondary cells, measuring
  instruments, etc.

DIRECT AND ALTERNATING CURRENT TESTING. By FREDERICK BEDELL,
Ph.D., Professor of Applied Electricity in Cornell University, and
CLARENCE A. PIERCE, Ph.D. 8_s._ net.

  CONTENTS:--Direct Current Generators. Direct Current Motors.
  Synchronous Alternators. Single-Phase Currents. Transformers.
  Polyphase Currents. Phase Changers. Potential Regulators, etc.

THE THEORY OF ELECTRIC CABLES AND NETWORKS. By ALEXANDER RUSSELL,
M.A., D.Sc. Demy 8vo. 8_s._ net.

  _Mechanical Engineer._--" ... the work needs only to be known in
  order to be well appreciated by the electrical profession."

LABORATORY AND FACTORY TESTS IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING. By GEORGE
F. SEVER and FITZHUGH TOWNSEND, Second Edition. Thoroughly revised.
Demy 8vo. 282 pages. 10_s._ 6_d._ net.

  This book represents the laboratory work required in the
  Electrical Engineering Course at Columbia University. It is
  intended to serve as a text-book for the use of students, but
  furthermore it may be found useful by those who are engaged in
  the electrical profession.

RADIO-TELEGRAPHY. By C. C. F. MONCKTON, M.I.E.E. With 173 Diagrams
and Illustrations. Extra Crown 8vo. 6_s._ net.

  CONTENTS:--Preface. Electric Phenomena. Electric Vibrations.
  Electro-Magnetic Waves. Modified Hertz Waves used in
  Radio-Telegraphy. Apparatus used for Charging the Oscillator.
  The Electric Oscillator: Methods of Arrangement, Practical
  Details. The Receiver: Methods of Arrangement, The Detecting
  Apparatus, and other details. Measurements in Radio-Telegraphy.
  The Experimental Station at Elmers End: Lodge-Muirhead System.
  Radio-Telegraph Station at Nauen: Telefunken System. Station at
  Lyngby: Poulsen System. The Lodge-Muirhead System, the Marconi
  System, Telefunken System, and Poulsen System. Portable Stations.
  Radio-Telephony. Appendices: The Morse Alphabet. Electrical Units
  used in this Book. International Control of Radio-Telegraphy.
  Index.

  _Nature._--"A very interesting and valuable book."


MATHEMATICS

THE CALCULUS AND ITS APPLICATIONS. A PRACTICAL TREATISE FOR
BEGINNERS, ESPECIALLY ENGINEERING STUDENTS. With over 400 Examples,
many of them fully worked out. By ROBERT GORDON BLAINE, M.E.,
Assoc.M.Inst.C.E. Lecturer at the City Guilds' Technical College,
Finsbury, London, E.C. Author of "Hydraulic Machinery," "Lessons in
Practical Mechanics," "The Slide Rule," etc. Crown 8vo. 4_s._ 6_d._
net.

  The difficulties which beset the beginner are fully explained,
  and the principles of the differential and integral calculus, and
  differential equations, are clearly set forth in the simplest
  language; each rule being illustrated by practical examples.
  Applications of the calculus to problems in engineering and
  physics form a feature of the work, which concludes with an
  up-to-date chapter on Harmonic Analysis, of special interest to
  electrical engineers and students of electro-technics.


ENGINEERING

ENGINEERING WORKSHOPS, MACHINES AND PROCESSES. By F. ZUR NEDDEN.
Translated by JOHN A. DAVENPORT. With an Introduction by SIR A. B.
W. KENNEDY, LL.D., F.R.S., M.Inst.C.E., M.Inst.M.E. Plates. Demy
8vo. 6_s._ net.

  A handbook of workshop practice for the young engineer. It fills
  a gap in our books for the practical training of engineers.

MACHINE DESIGN. By CHARLES H. BENJAMIN, Professor of Mechanical
Engineering in the Case School of Applied Science. Numerous
Diagrams and Tables. Demy 8vo. 8_s._ net.

  Prepared primarily as a text-book, but containing mainly what the
  writer has found necessary in his own practice as an engineer. As
  far as possible the formulas for the strength and stiffness of
  machine details have been fortified by the results of experiments
  or by the practical experience of manufacturers.

THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE: Being a Text-Book on Gas, Oil, and
Petrol Engines, for the use of Students and Engineers. By H. E.
WIMPERIS, M.A., Assoc.M. Inst.C.E., Assoc.M.Inst.E.E. Illustrated.
Crown 8vo. 6_s._ net.

  CONTENTS:--Introductory. Section I.--THEORY: Thermodynamic
  Cycles. Combustion and Explosion. Thermodynamics. Section
  II.--GAS ENGINES AND GAS PRODUCERS: The Gas Engine. The Gas
  Producer. Blast Furnace and Coke-Oven Gases. Section III.--OIL
  AND PETROL ENGINES: The Oil and Petrol Engine. Petrol Engine
  Efficiency and Rating. Index.

THE MODERN STEAM ENGINE: THEORY, DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, USE. A
Text-Book for Students. By JOHN RICHARDSON, M.Inst.C.E. With 300
Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 7_s._ 6_d._ net.

  CONTENTS: Unit of Power. Natural Forces. Early Types of Engine.
  The Watt Engine. The Use of Steam in Multiple Cylinder or
  Compound Engines. Valve Gears. Double or Compound Slide Valves.
  Releasing Valve Gear. Exhaust Valves and Valve Driving Gear. The
  Governor. Electrical Regulation. Condensers. The Steam Turbine.
  Design of Details. Examples of Various Types. Feed and Steam
  Heating. Hints to Users. Appendix. Tables and Formulæ. Index.

  _Engineer._--"Essentially a practical treatise."

THE CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES. Being
a Practical Manual for Gas Engine Designers, Repairs and Users. By
R. E. MATHOT. Translated by W. A. TOOKEY. Medium 8vo. With over 350
Illustrations. 24_s._ net.

THE ELEMENTS OF MECHANICS OF MATERIALS. A Text-Book for Students
in Engineering Courses. By C. E. HOUGHTON, A.B., M.M.E., Associate
Professor of Mechanical Engineering, New York University. 7_s._
6_d._ net.

  CONTENTS: Chapter I.--APPLIED MECHANICS. Chapter
  II.--APPLICATIONS. Chapter III.--BEAMS. Chapter IV.--TORSION.
  Chapter V.--THE ELASTIC CURVE. Chapter VI.--LONG COLUMNS. Chapter
  VII.--COMBINED STRESSES. Chapter VIII.--COMPOUND BARS AND BEAMS.
  TABLES.

HYDRAULICS AND ITS APPLICATIONS. By A. H. GIBSON, M.Sc.,
Assoc.Mem.Inst.C.E., Victoria University, Manchester. 774 pages.
308 Figures. Demy 8vo. 15_s._ net.

  _Engineering Times._--"This is the best book to date on the subject."

NATURAL SOURCES OF POWER. By ROBERT S. BALL, B.Sc., A.M.Inst.C.E.
With 104 Diagrams and Illustrations. Extra Crown 8vo. 6_s._ net.

  CONTENTS:--Preface. Units with Metric Equivalents and
  Abbreviations Length and Distance. Surface and Area. Volumes.
  Weights and Measures. Pressures. Linear Velocities. Angular
  Velocities. Acceleration. Energy. Power. Introductory Water
  Power and Methods of Measuring. Application of Water Power to
  the Propulsion of Machinery. The Hydraulic Turbine. Various
  Types of Turbines. Construction of Water Power Plants. Water
  Power Installations. The Regulation of Turbines. Wind Pressure,
  Velocity, and Methods of Measuring. The Application of Wind Power
  to Industry. The Modern Windmill. Constructional Details. Power
  of Modern Windmills. Appendices A, B, C. Index.


METALLURGY

MALLEABLE CAST IRON. By S. JONES PARSONS, M.E. Illustrated. Demy
8vo. 8_s._ net.

  The information in this volume is thoroughly practical and
  reliable, and the entire process of manufacture is clearly
  explained, each stage being treated separately and in detail,
  while much valuable information will be found in chapters dealing
  with design, patterns, inspection, machining, supplementary
  processes, and the application of the material, the use of which
  has increased so enormously within the last few years that
  it is now preferred to steel for many purposes. It is freely
  illustrated with photographs and line drawings, and will be
  invaluable to the professional man and the student.

THE PRECIOUS METALS: COMPRISING GOLD, SILVER, AND PLATINUM. By T.
KIRKE ROSE, A.R.S.M., D.Sc. Extra Crown 8vo. 6_s._ net.

  CONTENTS:--History of Gold--Properties of Gold--Compounds
  of Gold--Alloys of Gold--Occurrence of Gold in Nature: Gold
  Ores--Extraction of Gold from its Ores: Gold Washing--Treatment
  of Gold Ores by Crushing and Amalgamation--Treatment of Gold
  Ores by Wet Methods--Silver and its Alloys--Compounds and Ores
  of Silver--The Extraction of Silver from its Ores--Refining Gold
  and Silver--The Assay of Gold and Silver Ores--The Assay of Gold
  and Silver Bullion--Minting--Manufacture of Gold and Silver
  Wares--Platinum--Production and Consumption of the Precious
  Metals.


AGRICULTURE

SOILS AND MANURES. By J. ALAN MURRAY, B.Sc. Demy 8vo. 6_s._ net.

  CONTENTS:--Preface. Chapter I.--Introductory. Chapter II.--The
  Origin of Soils. Chapter III.--Physical Properties of Soils.
  Chapter IV.--Chemistry of Soils. Chapter V.--Biology of
  Soils. Chapter VI.--Fertility. Chapter VII.--Principles
  of Manuring. Chapter VIII.--Phosphatic Manures. Chapter
  IX.--Phospho-Nitrogenous Manures. Chapter X.--Nitrogenous
  Manures. Chapter XI.--Potash Manures. Chapter XII.--Compound and
  Miscellaneous Manures. Chapter XIII.--General Manures. Chapter
  XIV.--Farmyard Manure. Appendices.--I. Valuation of Manures; II.
  Composition and Manurial Value of Various Farm Foods. Index.


BOTANY

PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY. By FREDERIC EDWARD CLEMENTS, Ph.D.,
Professor of Botany in the University of Minnesota. With 125
Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 10_s._ 6_d._ net.

TIMBER. By J. R. BATERDEN, Assoc.M.Inst.C.E. Profusely Illustrated
from Photographs and Diagrams. Extra Crown 8vo. 6_s._ net.

  This is essentially a practical work, and botany is only
  incidentally touched upon. The timbers dealt with are those in
  most general use, either in their native districts or in the
  timber trade, together with some others which are likely before
  long to come into the market.


CYTOLOGY

THE ESSENTIALS OF CYTOLOGY: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF LIVING
MATTER. By CHARLES EDWARD WALKER, Assistant Director of the
Cancer Research, Liverpool, and Honorary Lecturer in Cytology to
the School of Tropical Medicine in the University of Liverpool;
formerly Demonstrator of Zoology in the Royal College of Science,
London. Illustrated. Demy 8vo. 7_s._ 6_d._ net.


POLITICAL ECONOMY

THE ELEMENTS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE. By STEPHEN LEACOCK, formerly
Lecturer on Political Science at McGill University, Montreal. Crown
8vo. 7_s._ 6_d._ net.

  CONTENTS:--Part I.--THE NATURE OF THE STATE: I. Political
  Science, the Theory of the State. II. The Origin of the State;
  Fallacious Theories. III. The True Origin of the State. IV. The
  Sovereignty of the State. V. The Liberty of the Individual. VI.
  Relation of States to One Another. VII. The Form of the State.
  Part II.--THE STRUCTURE OF THE GOVERNMENT: I. The Separation
  of Powers. II. The Legislature. III. The Executive. IV. The
  Judiciary and the Electorate. V. Federal Government. VI. Colonial
  Government. VII. Local Government. VIII. Party Government.
  Part III.--THE PROVINCE OF GOVERNMENT: I. Individualism. II.
  Socialism. III. The Modern State.


PSYCHOLOGY

PSYCHOLOGY: AN INTRODUCTORY STUDY OF THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF
HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS. By JAMES ROWLAND ANGELL. Demy 8vo. 7_s._ 6_d._
net.


10 ORANGE STREET LEICESTER SQUARE W.C.




  TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

  Appendices I and II have several pages of 2-column data. These are
  shown in the etext in single-column format.

  Appendix III consists of 3 side-by-side columns over two pages,
  each rotated vertically in the original text. These are shown in
  the etext with column 1 (the segment in English) first. Then comes
  column 2 (the segment translated into Ido), followed by column 3
  (the segment retranslated back to English).

  The 'Entrance Form' in Appendix IV is also shown in single-column
  format, the English version first followed by the Ido version.

  The Footnote near the top of the Appendix IV 'Entrance Form' (Ido
  version) has its anchor marked as {1}, with its text placed at the
  bottom of the Form as in the original text.

  The other Footnotes [1] to [7] are placed at the end of the etext.
  Footnote [3] has two anchors on page 29.

  Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
  corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within
  the text and consultation of external sources.

  Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text,
  and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. For example,
  mother tongue, mother-tongue; ready made, ready-made; unbiassed;
  superadded; incrust; scholasticism; employés.

  Pg 14, 'States, Chili,' replaced by 'States, Chile,'.
  Pg 15, 'la Langue Universale' replaced by 'la Langue Universelle'.
  Pg 50, 'will be _oz_' replaced by 'will be _-oz_'.
  Pg 56, 'à posterori' replaced by 'à posteriori'.
  Pg 82, 'in detail, retail' replaced by 'in detail'.