Thursday, January 15, 2009

Le sex beneficios de interlingua


(Languages of this post: Interlingua, English)


Interlingua es le producto del confluentia de duo factores.

Primo, illo esseva producite a causa del similaritates e differentias inter le major parte del linguas del Europa moderne, un gruppo de plure linguas separate sed non completemente characterisate per un vocabulario assatis commun e un structura grammatic fundamental que omne illos possede in commun. (In le terminologia del grammatica transformational elaborate per Noam Chomsky, omne lor grammaticas ha un structura profunde multo simile.)

Illo anque esseva elaborate a causa de un aspiration pro construer un lingua auxiliar neutral que poterea jocar le rolo international del latino in le civilisation medieval europee. Annos de studio produceva le conclusion que le lingua auxiliar neutral le plus ideal esserea un idioma componite ex un vocabulario latinesc prototypic con un grammatica moderne.

Que es le tractos avantagiose de iste latino moderne que lo distingue de altere linguas construite?

(1) Le studio de interlingua nos adjuta a cognoscer melio nostre lingua materne. Il pare forsan peculiar que nos considera iste beneficio de interlingua como le prime, ma illo es de grande importantia. In nostre lingua materne il ha multe parolas international. Studiante interlingua, nos apprende simultaneemente lor senso precise, lor origine, lor loco in le systema lexic de nostre lingua, e lor uso correcte. In multe linguas il ha dictionarios de parolas foranee. Quando nos studia interlingua nos es sovente exponite a iste parolas, e nostre necessitate de consultar tal dictionarios se reduce.

(2) Interlingua es un instrumento excellente de apprender como studiar altere linguas. Veteranos de studios linguistic sape que apprender le secunde lingua foranee es plus facile quam le prime; e nos anque cognosce que solmente le prime cinque o sex linguas es difficile. Le ulteriores veni multo facilemente. Que es le causa de iste phenomeno?

Le prime, e forsan maxime, difficultate pro nos como nove studentes de linguas es que, comenciante nostre studios, nos identifica le notion de "lingua" con nostre lingua materne, e naivemente nos sovente crede que apprender un nove lingua involve solmente le substition de parolas differente pro cata parola de nostre prime lingua.

Con le tempore nos apprende que nostre secunde lingua usa, pro exemplo, tres parolas quando nostre lingua native usa solmente un. E nos anque apprende que le architectura, o grammatica, de nostre secunde lingua pote esser multo differente e mesmo stranie comparate con le structura con nostre prime lingua, que nos apprendeva inter le membros de nostre familias.

Un question in interlingua, anglese, e francese forsan illustrara tal differentias de structura: "Esque ille ha tres de illos?"; "Does he have three of them?"; e ("Est-ce qu'il en ha trois?") / (En a-t-il trois?"). Tal differentias deveni multo plus complicate inter le linguas indoeuropee e le altere familias de linguas del mundo.

Eventualmente tamen nos apprende a manipular progressivemente melio le vocabulario e le grammatica de nostre secunde lingua; e si nos apprende un tertie lingua, un comparation inter nostre prime e secunde linguas facilitara grandemente nostre studio de iste lingua nove. E quanto plus de linguas nos cognosce, tanto plus facile es separar lo particular de lo general, e nostre cognoscimentos general reduce grandemente nostre effortios durante que nos apprende le particularitates del linguas nove que nos vole studiar.

Naturalmente on pote dicer "Proque studiar interlingua? Non esserea il plus utile dedicar le tempore e le energia al studio de alicun lingua natural?" Ma le experientia monstra que si un gruppo de personas studia un lingua national durante duo annos e un secunde gruppo studia interlingua un anno e un lingua national le proxime anno, le membros del secunde gruppo habera un cognoscentia plus profunde del lingua que illes ha studiate le secunde anno. (Naturalmente on suppone que le membros de ambe gruppos habera dedicate le mesme tempore e effortio a lor studios.)

Il ha un factor psychologic que influe le sucesso del secunde gruppo: Su membros senti tosto le resultato de lor effortios, lo que augmenta lor confidentia como studentes de linguas e facilita grandemente lor studios ulterior. E quando illes comencia a studiar un lingua national, illes se trovara in un terra assatis familiar e non experientiara le fallimentos de personas sin le avantage de haber studiate un lingua planificate plus simple ante attacar le grammatica plus complicate de un lingua national.

(3) Interlingua es un clave a omne le linguas romanic proque illo, como un lingua latinesc, se trova simile al linguas romanic (o neolatin). Isto vole dicer que un persona qui sape interlingua pote devenir capace de leger textos in le altere linguas romanic con un minimo de effortio, e anque, in le caso de textos scientific, illes potera leger plus facilemente le anglese.

(4) Interlingua nos approxima al latino. Il non es necesse accentuar lo que le hereditage latin significa pro omne nostre cultura. Totevia, nos sape que a causa del multe cosas que on debe apprender pro functionar in le mundo contemporanee scientific e technologic, le latino ha perdite su importantia previe in le programmas de instruction de nostre scholas.

Multe personas deplora iste perdita del latino, ma sin spero, e il es certe que solmente studentes specialisate va studiar le latino classic in le futuro. Interlingua tamen es un forma de latino contemporanee con un moderne grammatica europee. E a causa de iste consideration, su cognoscientia nos presenta omne le le avantages de un cognoscientia del latino ma sin le problemas de maestrar su grammatica, le qual es multo differente in su architectura que le systemas del linguas moderne de Europa. E pro illes qui vole studiar le latino, un cognoscientia de interlingua es un introduction excellente a su vocabulario.

(5) Interlingua nos adjuta a trovar nostre loco in le mundo. Il es trivial notar que nos omnes pertine a duo grande collectivates. De un latere nos es membros del humanitate. Ma nos es etiam membros de un nation. Pensar in le polaritate humanitate/nation tamen es un modo troppo simplificate de vider le realitate. Extra le humanitate e le nation il ha un tertie collectivate, al minus tanto importante como le prime duo. Isto es le cultura commun del civilisation occidental.

Naturalmente, le cultura es alique con multe facetas complicate. Totevia, illo ha anque un aspecto lingual. Interlingua es un derivation del linguas que ha portate al civilisation occidental su ideas le plus importante e assi provide un demonstration potentissime del unitate structural de iste linguas.

(6) Interlingua es ben usabile como un lingua ponte inter le linguas europee. Nos sape que le scopo primari del creation de interlingua esseva le production de un lingua auxiliar international. E examinante interlingua como un possibile lingua ponte international, on constata que, comparate a altere linguas proponite pro iste function, illo possede un grande avantage: pro comprender lo, un immense numero de personas non besonia ulle studio.

Il resulta del structura simplissime de interlingua que illes qui cognosce duo de su linguas fonte fundamental comprende automaticamente omne textos in interlingua. Ma mesmo si on sape solmente un lingua romanic--particularmente si illo es su lingua materne--e si un tal persona pote usar su imagination linguistic pro extrapolar un pauco, tunc ille o illa comprendera assatis facilemente interlingua in su forma scribite.

Inversemente, personas qui cognosce passivemente duo del linguas fonte de interlingua ma non es capace de usar los activemente pote apprender plus rapidemente le uso active de interlingua. E iste cognoscimento facilitara grandemente lor effortios pro maestrar altere linguas.

Il ha non paucos qui jam volerea interrar Europa. Totevia, il ha multe alteres, como anque nos, qui crede que illo ha ancora un futuro. Ma un Europa nove potera facer se comprender solmente con multe difficultate con su actual multiplicitate de linguas. Illo besonia un lingua connexive. E que poterea esser plus apte a iste rolo que interlingua?

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The Six Benefits of Interlingua:

Interlingua is the product of a confluence of two factors.

First, it was produced because of the similarities and differences among most of the modern European languages, a group of several separate but not completely independent languages characterized by a rather common vocabulary and a very similar fundamental grammatical structure that all of them share. (In the terminology of the transformational grammar elaborated by Noam Chomsky, all their grammars have a very similar deep structure.)

It was also produced because of an aspiration to construct a neutral auxiliary language that could play the international role of Latin in medieval European civilization. Years of study produced a conclusion that the most ideal neutral auxiliary language would be one made up of a prototypical latinesque vocabulary with a modern grammar.

What are the advantageous traits of this modern Latin that distinguish it from other constructed languages?

(1) The study of Interlingua helps us get to know our maternal language better. It may seem peculiar that we consider this benefit of interlingua to be the first one, but it is of great importance. In our mother tongue, there are many international words. By studying Interlingua, we simultaneously learn their precise sense, their origin, their place in the lexical system of our language, and their correct use. In many languages there are dictionaries of foreign words. When we study Interlingua, we are often exposed to these words, and we don't need to consult such dictionaries all that often.

(2) Interlingua is an excellent instrument for leaning how to study other languages. Language study veterans know that learning a second foreign language is easier than the first one; and we also know that only the first five or six languages are difficult. The rest come very easily. What is the cause of this phenomenon?

The first, and perhaps the greatest, difficulty for us as new language students is that, as we start our studies, we identify the notion of "language" with our mother tongue, and we often naively believe that learning a new language involves only the substitution of different words for each word in our first language.

In time we learn that our second language uses, for example, three words when our native language uses only one. And we also learn that the architecture, or grammar, of our second language can be very different and even strange compared with the structure of our first language, which we learned among the members of our families.

A question in Interlingua, English and French will perhaps illustrate such differences in structure: "Esque ille ha tres de illos?"; "Does he have three of them?"; and ("Est-ce qu'il en ha trois?" / ("En a-t-il trois?"). Such differences become much more complicated between the Indoeuropean languages and the other families of languages in the world.

Eventually, however, we get progressively better at manipulating the vocabulary and the grammar of our second language; and if we learn a third language, a comparison between our first and second one will greatly ease our study of this new language. And the more languages we know, the easier it is to separate the particular from the general, and our general knowledge greatly reduces our efforts as we learn the particularities in the new languages that we want to study.

Naturally someone can ask "Why study Interlingua? Wouldn't it be is more useful to dedicate the time and energy to the study of some natural language?" But experince shows that if a group of people studies a national language for two years and a second group studies Interlingua one year and a national language the next year, the members of the second group will have a more profound grasp of the language they study in their second year. (Naturally, this supposes that the members of both groups will have dedicated the same time and effort to their studies.)

There is a psychological factor that influences the success of the second group: Its members are soon paid off for their efforts--which increases their confidence as language students and makes their further studies much easier. And when they start to study a national language, they will find themselves in rather familiar territory and will not experience the failures of people without the advantage of having studied a much simpler planned language before attacking the more complicated grammar of a national language.

(3) Interlingua is a key to all the Romance languages because as a latinesque language it is similar to the Romance (or neolatin) languages. This means that a person who knows Interlingua can become capable of reading texts in the other Romance languages with a minimum of effort, and also, in the case of scientific texts, he or she will be able to read English more easily.

(4) Interlingua brings us closer to Latin. It is not necessary to emphasize what the Latin heritage means for our entire culture. Still, we know that because of many things that must be learned to function in the contemporary scientific and technological world, Latin has lost its previous importance in the curricula of our schools.

Many people deplore this loss of Latin, but it is a lost cause, and it is certain that only specialized students are going to study classical Latin in the future. Interlingua, however, is a form of contemporary Latin with a modern European grammar. And because of this consideration, knowing it gives us all the advantages of a knowledge of Latin but without the problems of mastering its grammar, which is very different in its architecture from the systems of the modern languages of Europe. And for those who want to study Latin, a knowledge of Interlingua is an excellent introduction to its vocabulary.

(5) Interlingua helps us to find our place in the world. It is trivial to note that all of us belong to two large collectivities. We are, first of all, members of humanity. But we are also members of a nation. To think in the dichotomy of humanity/nation, however, is an oversimplified way of looking upon reality. Outside of nation and humanity, there is a third collectivity at least as important as the first two. This is the common culture of Western Civilization.

Naturally, culture is something with many complicated facets. Still, it also has an aspect of language. Interlingua is a derivation of the languages that have brought to Western Civilization its most important ideas and thus provides a very powerful demonstration of the structural unity of these languages.

(6) Interlingua is easily usable as a bridge language among the European languages. We know that the primary reason for creating Interlingua was to produce an international auxiliary language. And an examination of Interlingua as a possible international bridge language reveals that, if compared with other languages proposed for this purpose, it has a great advantage: To understand it, an immense number of people do not need any study.

As a result of the very simple structure of Interlingua, those who know two of its fundamental source languages understand automatically everything written in Interlingua. But even if people know only one Romance language--particularly if it is their maternal language--and if they can use their linguistic imagination to extrapolate a little, then they will be able to understand the written form of Interlingua rather easily.

On the other hand, people who know passively two of the source languages of Interlingua but who are not able to use them easily can learn more rapidly the active use of Interlingua. And this knowledge will greatly help them in their efforts to master other languages.

There are quite a few people who want to bury Europe as a lost cause. Still, there are many others, like us, who believe that it still has a future. But a new Europe can make itself understood only with a great deal of difficulty with its present multiplicity of languages. It needs a bridge language. And what can serve this purpose better than Interlingua?

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