Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-02-10
TOLAPUK.
Progress OF the Universal Languages
Throughout the World.
Frank Leslie's Newspaper.

| Frank Leslie's Newspaper.
A great deal is heard of polspuk In
these days, and there sre some excellent
people who seem to believe that in Vols
puk we have universal language adapted
to literature as well as to common use. 1t
msy be that Volapuk has use as COM
mercial language, but we DO not think
that mayed stuls subin tikas alegaloms
de Milton, or the majesty Of the style
and the elevation of the thoughts
| of Milton, could be SIS impress
sive in Volapuk. Neither would it
be easy for a poet to express the tender
sentiment in language which looks and
sounds very much like the Chinook
jsrgon invented as means of commuui-
cation between the Hudson Bay Com
pany's men, the trappers and the Indians
Of the Pacific Northwest. That, indeed,
was sort of universal language COM
pounded of English, French, possibly
Russian and The Slwash dialect, and
soundi not unlike the language OF the
Chinese, by whom IL was quickly under
stood. But Voispuk is something far
more preientious, and it is necessary to
record a remarkable increase in The
number of its users. Although the
system was not published until 1879 by
its inventor, German Roman Catholic
priest, the Rev. Father Johann Martin
Schleyer OF Constance, Baden, yet there
are now over 20, coo who are speaking or
studying Volapuk in Austria and Ger
many alone, and it Is esti-
mated that there are over 10000 III the
world. There are more than 100 Volspuk
societies, and ten Volspuk magazines are
published in various European cities. at
the recent Munich congress q lady from
San Francisco was the sole American
representative, although Mr.. Charles
E. Spragus was appointed the
American member OF & committee to
supervise the apread of the lapgusge,
which in this country hiss been as vet
studied by not over thirty persons.
Nevertheless, interest IN the subject is
rapidly increasing, and 1t seems possible
to demonstrate the superiority OF Vola-
puk SIS means OF ready commercial
communication over other universal
systems," like the incomprehensible
"Alusto," devised by the late Stephen
Pearl Andrews, or the over-elsborate
"Pasi- linguR," invented by Herr
Steiner, one of the imitators
of Schleyer. Herr Scnleyer reasoned
that the whole world could not be persu-
AIDED to adopt any one Language now 10
use, and yet mastery Of very small pro-
portion CT all spoken languages is impos-
sible. He argued that there was need of
8 simplified language containing IS few
words as possible, absolutely regular In
it's COILS ruction, and using the best
words to be found in the four or five Ian
guages in common use in Europe. His
dictionary contains $4,000 words. The |
grammar Is remarkably simple. contains |
no artificial genders, single copjugation,
and no irregulsr verbs. The
method OF derivation is always tae |
same, as The adjective, verb, and edyerb |
are regularly formed from the substsn-
tive and have invariably the same ter /
mination. He vook dictionary and |
translated the common words into Vois-
puk, using the best words to be found in |
English, Germsn, French and Spanish, |
For house his word is dom, snd The de-
clensions sre dom, the house, dome, to
the house; domi, by the house. This is
the decIension of every ncuu in Volspuk,
PlurRls are slwsys formed by adding g,
The prefix "of' expresses the feminine |
gender. The verbs generally have s sub
stsntive for their root, ana their oniues.
tion Ia regular and easy. TIE ac iectiye is
formed by adding SIX" to the substsn-
tive. We are told that the Yolapuk gram
mar contains only sixteen psges OF lsree
type, and the language ran be learned |
sufficiently for the writing Of businesef
letters within S month. Is is In business
that Volapuk is expected to prove Its
usefulness. To-day corresponding clerks,
10 be really valuable, must know three
or four languages. With Yola-
puck this will be unneces
ssry. Already Volapuk Is taught
in some Of the commercial schools of
Germany, and Volapuk interpreter is
at the great Paris shop, the
''Printemps." kilograms In Volspuk, 1t
Is said, cannot besr more than one con
struetion, snd 1t ce' tainlv appears, not
the failure of other attempts
In this direction, that Volspuk offers
some advantages as means Of business
Some poems in Yolapuk
were read at the Munich Congress, but 1t
s improbable that there will ever be a
Volspuk literature. Indeed, many friends
ofthe system do not expect that the Ian
susge will ever De generally spoken.