Thursday, January 15, 2009

Interlingua e orientales


(Languages of this post: Interlingua, English)

De tempore in tempore il es possibile audir personas qui critica interlingua, dicente que illo es "troppo europee pro esser un lingua international". Il es ver que le grammatica de interlingua es toto europee e que su vocabulario, salvo pauc parolas como "mandarin", "the", "geisha", "jujutsu", "harakiri", "zen", etc., es quasi in lor totalitate greco-latin. Dunque, es interlingua un idioma solmente pro Europa? Vermente, le responsa es no. Interlingua, in despecto del origine europee de su elementos, es capace de jocar un rolo foras de Europa.

Primo on debe notar que interlingua es basate super quatro linguas de controlo de un importantia grandissime in le civilisation europee: anglese, francese, italiano, e espaniol (con portugese), con germano e russo in un rolo supplementari. Pro isto illo es ideal como lingua ponte inter le personas qui parla iste linguas.

Secundo, le linguas de controlo non es restringite in lor uso a Europa. Le linguas official de omne paises american es le anglese, le francese, le espaniol, e le portugese. Anque in Africa le anglese le francese, e le portugese joca un grande rolo, e in India le personas culte usa ancora le anglese post le concession de su independentia per Grande Britannia. In Australia on parla anglese como prime lingua. Dunque, un lingua greco-latin pote esser considerate como lingua mundial.

Ma esque il esserea possibile construer un altere lingua planificate, facente concessiones al chinese, al japonese, al malay, e al arabe? Isto es multo dubitose. Inter le multitude de linguas auxiliar proponite in le passato, quasi omnes ha un base europee.

Il es ver que volapük habeva un aer exotic, ma un examination de su parolas demonstra que illos, ben que horribilemente mutilate, ha un origine europee.

Anque esperanto es toto europee: un mixtura de parolas francese, anglese, german, con rar exemplos de parolas ex russo, latino, grec, etc. Mesmo le parolas infamiliar es realmente europee. Pro examplo "edzo" (marito) es un retroformation del parola judeo-german "rabedzin", e "vosto" (cauda) es le resultato de mutilar le russe "kvost".

Le lingua experimental interglossa, publicate per professor Lancelot Hogben durante le Secunde Guerra Mundial (in 1943 [mille nove centos quaranta tres]), habeva un vocabulario greco-latin (specialmente grec); ma pro placer al populos non-europee, illo habeva un grammatica e syntaxe artificial multo ingeniose.

Io non sape si iste systema es facile pro chineses, ma lo que es certe es que illo es difficile pro europeos, a causa del impossibilitate de traducer textos ex ulle lingua europee a in interglossa sin reconstruer omne phrases e omne parolas composite.

In su libro "One Langauge for the World" (un lingua pro le mundo), Mario Pei cita le opinion del Dr. Alexander Gode super iste thema. Gode comencia per scriber un passage in interlingua:

"Le sol dice: 'Io me appella sol. Io es multo brillante. Io me leva al est, e quando io me leva, il es die. Io reguarda per tu fenestra con mi oculo brillante como le auro, e io te dice quando il es tempore a levar te. E io te dice: 'Pigro, leva te. Io non brilla a fin que tu resta al lecto a dormir, sed que tu te leva e labora, que tu lege, e que tu te promena.'"

Postea, ille reconstrue iste passage, substituente le major parte de su parolas per novelle parolas haurite del chinese, japonese, persian, malay, arabe, e hindustani. Ecce le resultato:

"Mata-hari yu: 'Wo-ti nama mata-hari. Wo taihen brillante. Wo leva wo a est, dan toki wo leva wo, ada hari. Wo mira per ni-ti fenestra sama wo-ti mata brillante como kin, dan wo yu ni toki ada tempo a levar ni. Dan wo yu ni: 'Sust, leva ni. Wo non brilla sam-rap ni tomaru a toko a nemru, sed wo brilla sam-rap ni leva ni, dan que ni saru kam, ni yomu, dan ni aruku.'"

Le novelle lingua es completemente neutral, anque elegante e euphonic. Ma es illo utile? Infortunatemente, no. Claro, illo es difficile pro europeos proque le sol parolas familiar in illo es "brillante", "est", "levar", "fenestra", "tempo", etc. Ma illo es difficile in equal mesura pro non-europeos, proque le chineses comprendera solmente la parolas "taihen" e "nemuru", le malayanos solmente le parolas "mata-hari" e "sam-rap", Brevemente, le linguas japonese, chinese, malay, hindustani, e arabe possede in commun solmente rar parolas--naturalmente scientific--que illos ha prendite ex le linguas occidental.

Dunque un lingua consistente de elementos panglobal ha practicamente nulle avantages super un lingua como interlingua, formate ex le linguas de Europa. Alora, esque le japoneses, le chineses, etc., debe esser excludite del avantages de un lingua auxiliar international?

Claro, certe avantages de interlingua non existe pro illes. Nos non poterea scriber in interlingua a un japonese monoglotte in le expectation de esser comprendite. Pro asiaticos, pro arabes, e pro russos, interlingua es comprensibile solmente post studiar lo.

Totevia, iste studio vale ben le pena. In le prime placia, interlingua es un bon introduction al mente europee. Regular e simple, illo da al studente le quintessentia del structura e vocabulario del linguas occidental, sin lor complicationes regional. Post haber apprendite interlingua, le studente oriental pote servir se de illo pro communicar con franceses, italianos, espanioles, e con angleses e americanos si estes possede sufficiente intelligentia linguistic pro comprender interlingua.

Naturalmente, apprender interlingua sol es plus facile que apprender francese, espaniol, italiano, e anglese, ma si nostre asiatico vole apprender le altere linguas europee, ille trovara que su maestria de interlingua facilitara multo su progresso in iste studios.

In summa, le character europee de interlingua pote esser multo utile pro le asiaticos. Iste facto non es surprendente, nam le asiaticos ha sovente profitate de discopertas e inventiones occidental. Illes possede (e illos mesmo manufactura e exporta) ferrovias, cannones, automobiles, telephonos, apparatos photographic, computatores, etc. In China le autoritates ha mesmo reimplaciate le ideas de Confucio con le marxismo, un philosophia essentialmente occidental. Similemente, nos pote sperar que in le futuro iste populos se servira de interlingua pro communicar con le paises occidental.

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Interlingua and Asians:

From time to time it is possible to hear people criticize Interlingua, saying that it is "too European to be an international language." It is true that the grammar of Interlingua is completely European and that its vocabulary, except for a few words like "Mandarin," "the," "geisha," "jujutsu," "harakiri," "zen," etc., is almost completely Greco-Latin. So is Interlingua a language only for Europe? The answer is no. Interlingua, despite the European origin of its elements, is capabile of playing a role outside of Europe.

First it must be noted that Interlingua is based on four control languages of very great importance in European civilization: English, French, Italian, and Spanish (with Portuguese), with German and Russian in a supplementary role. For this reason it is ideal as a bridge language among people who speak these languages.

Second, the control languages are not restricted in their use to Europe. The official languages of all countries in the Americas are English, Spanish, Spanish, and Portuguese. Also in Africa English, French, and Portuguese play a large role, and in India educated people still use English after gaining their independence from Great Britain. In Australia English is spoken as a first language So a Greco-Latin language has a warrant to be considered a world language.

But would it be possible to construct another planned language making concessions to Chinese, Japonese, Malay, and Arabic? This is very doubtful. Among the multitude of auxiliary languages proposed in the past, almost all have a European basis.

It is true that Volapük had an exotic air, but an examination of its words shows that they, though horribly mutilated, have a European origin.

Also, Esperanto is completely European: a mixture of French, English, German words, with rare examples of words from Russian, Latin, Greek, etc. Even the unfamiliar words are really European. For example "edzo" (husband) is a retroformation of the Yiddish "rabedzin," and "vosto" (tail) is the result of mutilating the Russian word "kvost."

The experimental language Interglossa, published by Prof. Lancelot Hogben during the Second World War (in 1943 [nineteen forty-three]), had a Greco-Latin vocabulary (especially Greek); but to please non-European people, it had a very ingenious artificial grammar and syntax.

I don't know if this system is easy for the Chinese, but what is certain is that it is difficult for Europeans because of the impossibility of translating texts from any European language into Interglossa without restructuring all phrases and all compound words.

In his book "One Language for the World," Mario Pei cites the opinion of Dr. Alexander Gode on this subject. Gode starts out by writing a passage in Interlingua:

"Le sol dice: 'Io me appella sol. Io es multo brillante. Io me leva al est, e quando io me leva, il es die. Io reguarda per tu fenestra con mi oculo brillante como le auro, e io te dice quando il es tempore a levar te. E io te dice: 'Pigro, leva te. Io non brilla a fin que tu resta al lecto a dormir, sed que tu te leva e labora, que tu lege, e que tu te promena.'"

Afterwards, he reconstructs this passage, substituting most of its words with new words taken from Chinese, Japanese, Persian, Malay, Arabic, and Hindustani. Here is the result:

"Mata-hari yu: 'Wo-ti nama mata-hari. Wo taihen brillante. Wo leva wo a est, dan toki wo leva wo, ada hari. Wo mira per ni-ti fenestra sama wo-ti mata brillante como kin, dan wo yu ni toki ada tempo a levar ni. Dan wo yu ni: 'Sust, leva ni. Wo non brilla sam-rap ni tomaru a toko a nemru, sed wo brilla sam-rap ni leva ni, dan que ni saru kam, ni yomu, dan ni aruku.'"

The new language is completely neutral, even elegant and euphonious. But is it useful? Unfortunately, no. Of course, it is difficult for Europeans because the only familiar words in it are "brillante," "est," "levar," "fenestra," "tempo," etc. But it is equally difficult for non-Europeans because the Chinese will understand only the words "taihen" and "nemuru," the Malays only the words "mata-hari" and "sam-rap." Japanese, Chinese, Malay, Hindustani, and Arabic share only a few words in common--scientific, naturally--which they have taken from Western languages.

So a language consisting of panglobal elements has no practical advantages over a language like Interlingua, formed from the languages of Europe. So should the Japanese, the Chinese, etc., be excluded from the advantages of an international auxiliary language?

Certainly, certain advantages for Interlingua do not exist for them. We could not write in Interlingua to a Japanese who knew no other language and expect to be understood. For Asians, for Arabs, and for Russians, Interlingua is understandable only after studying it.

Still, this study is well worth the effort. In the first place, Interlingua is a good introduction to the European mind. Regular and simple, it gives to the student the quintessence of the structure and vocabulary of the Occidental languages without their regional complications. After having learned Interlingua, an Asian student can make use of it to communicate with the French, the Italians, the Spanish, and the English and Americans if these people have enough linguistic intelligence to understand Interlingua.

Naturally, learning Interlingua alone is easier than learning French, Spanish, Italian, and English, but if our Asian wants to learn the other European languages, he will find that his mastery of Interlingua will make his progress in these studies much easier.

By way of summary, the European character of Interlingua can be very useful for Asians. This fact is not surprising, for Asians have often profited from Western discoveries and inventions. They have (and they themselves manufacture and export) railroads, cannons, automobiles, telephones, cameras, computers, etc. In China the authorities have even replaced the ideas of Confucius with Marxism, an essentially European philosophy. Similarly, we can hope that in the future these people will make use of Interlingua to communicate with Western countries.

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