Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-06-15
ESPER ANTO.
Suggestion for Universal Language
Made by Russian.

Suggestion for a Universal Language
Made by IA Russian.
From Engineering
A note has been addressed to the Paris
Academic des Sciences suggesting that at
the congress of scientific and literary sci
ences now being held at Paris steps should
be taken to secure the adoption of a uni
versal language for scientific and COM
merciai purposes. Projects of this nature
are brought forward periodically, and never
>fail to secure the adhesion of a certain
number of distinguished names An i'm
mense deal is to be said in their favor the
advantages are manifest and little can be
urged against them; but as the one trick
OF the cat in the fable was worth more
than the foX's score, so this little is of
supreme Importance.
Thus at one time Latin was in use as
universal scientific language. but it was
subsequently, abandoned, because it failed
to meet modern requirements. This fail
ure, we believe, was not due to either it's
limited vocabulary or to it's complicated
grammar. but rather to the fact that the
connection between the craftsman and the
scientific investigator Is now very direct.
Up till the beginning of last century the
methods used in manufactures Of nearly
every description We're based entirely on
the experience of centuries. the principles
underlying them were not understood, and
1t was therefore impossible properly to CO.
ordinate them. Long apprenticeship were
therefore necessary. in which We're ac-
quired the mysteries of the trade.
All this is now changed. The modern
manufacturer is not satisfied to know that
certain procedure is successful, but
wishes also to know why, since he may
thereby. be able to improve his methods
render available for his purposes a
cheaper raw material. For aid in this re-
gard he relies upon the researches carried
out in chemical and physical laboratories.
and We're the results of such Investigations
published only in a language not under
stood of the people the industries of any
country would be correspondingly handi-
capped. Gauss we believe. was the last
man of eminence to publish his work in
Latin.
Some years back much was heard of
Volapuk, and sanguine individuals foresaw
a time when this jargon would be the
mother tongue of the whole of the human
creation. Nevertheless, Volapuk has been
given up by the advocates of International
ism in language, and the suffrages Of the
literary and scientific world are now sought
for Esperanto, an artificial language due
to DR.. Zamenhof a Russian linguist. The
grammar of this language Is stated to con-
sist of sixteen rules. without any excep-
tions. and there are but seventeen modifi-
cations of the Examinations of words. The
words themselves are based mainly on
roots drawn from the romance family of
languages 1t is claimed that with ten
minutes instruction in the grammar a
novice can translate Esperanto with the
aid of a dictionary only, while a month 8
study suffices to enable him to write or
speak it, the latter operation being simpl-
fled by phonetic spelling.
About $1,000 people in different parts of
the world have, it is stated taken IN ira
study, and could one insure that ali the
science and literature Of the future would
be written In this language the school boy
of the next generation would have more
time at his disposal for the cultivation of
no INN nf olrat md fno
ball. which he Is now forced to neglect for
such time as Is needed to give him some
smattering Of French and German to say
nothing of the classical tongues.
Unfortunately, until new language has
a certain vogue 1t Is as useless as rudi-
mentary electric organ would be to the
hypothetical ancestor of the gymnotus. If
our innovators could solve this well-known
problem in evolution they might get some
valuable hints as to how the intermediate
period in the case Of their own specially
might be negotiated. Nevertheless. there
Is little doubt that for international COM
munication a universal language would
have numerous advantages in simplifying
commerce and facilitating the interchange
of ideas.
AS matters stand, however, it is much
more likely that an existing tongue should
be adopted as such a medium than that
any of the fancy tongues devised by san
guine inventors should come into favor,
whatever their theoretical merits Indeed,
case. as on the Baltic and Black sea ship
ping charters are commonly drawn in En-
glsh, whatever the nationality Of the par
ties interested, and in view of the immense
spread of the English tongue during the
last century the day may not be distant
when most civilized people will be fairly
well acquainted with it, At the present
time one two authors of foreign nation
ality write in English in preference to their
native tongues, since a wider circle of
readers Is thus open to them.
1t must, however, be admitted that En-
glish has some serious drawbacks. Our
the less said about our system, or want Of
system. in the matter of spelling, the bet
ter. The latter point Is. however, perhaps
OF minor Importance. as our American
friends are, step by step introducing SIM
Publications., each of which in turn excites
the ire and derision of the highly conserya-
tive public on this side Of the Atlantic but
of which many, nevertheless, have come to
stay. The French seem rather less couser-
vative in such matters than the average
Briton. since only last year some important
simplifcations In grammar and orthog-
raphy were officially recognized
The main drawback to English Is, how
ever, rather to be found in the fact that
it is probably easier to be ambiguous in #
than in any other language. From the
point of view of the party politician this
Is no doubt not without it's Conversations
and We can all recollect cases in which en-
1nent political leaders have derived every
benef1t from this popularity Of our mother
tongue. In science. however ambiguity
should be "banished to Saturn or further
Perils In Store.