Three Dictionaries of International Auxiliary Languages

Abstract

Three Dictionaries of International Auxiliary Languages Cynthia L. Moore Introduction In 1887, Ludwig Lazarus Zamenhof drafted a manual entitled An International Language: Introduction and Complete Manual [Mezhdunarodny Yazyk: Predislovie i Polny Uchebnik] under the pseudonym Doktoro Esperanto, or "Doctor Hope." This manual was a small dictionary that displayed the essence of Dr. Zamenhof's language: a vocabulary of some 900 words and a grammar of 16 rules (Large 1985, 72). The manual launched Esperanto, one of the most widely recognized International Auxiliary Languages (IALs). In this paper, I will compare the dictionaries of three IALs: Interlingua-English a Dictionary of the International Language, by the International Auxiliary Language Association (1951; reprint 1971); Novial Lexike, by Otto Jespersen (1930); and Glosa 6000, by Wendy Ashby and Ron Clark (1992), which is based on Interglossa, a language developed by Lancelot Hogben. I begin by discussing the developers ' reasons for creating their IALs. I then take up the organization of each dictionary, followed by a brief survey of the vocabulary. In the conclusion, I look at whether each dictionary satisfies the needs of IAL users. A synopsis of my comparison appears at the end of the paper (Table 1). In choosing the IALs and their dictionaries, I sought a range. Interlingua illustrates an IAL with staying power; Novial shows an IAL effort that, although carried out by an eminent linguist, could not stand the test of time; and Glosa demonstrates a recent IAL initiative . I do not attempt to analyze the three underlying IALs in this paper. Instead, I concentrate on the lexicographic issues relating to their dictionaries. 56Cynthia L Moore IALs, sometimes called "artificial languages," are "deliberately constructed for international use" (Jacob 1947, 144). The goal of IAL developers has been to create a cross-national language to supplement, but not supplant, national languages. Some developers, including Zamenhof, view their IAL as a path to world peace. Others profess more limited goals, such as avoiding time-consuming and costly translation at international conferences. In creating an IAL, the developers first decide which existing languages will supply roots (frequently Latin-based languages or Greek). Then they establish a set of rules for word formation and meaning. Finally, they arrange the words of the new language into a dictionary. Interlingua Background In 1924, Alice V. Morris and Dave Hennen Morris founded the International Auxiliary Language Association (IALA). They did so in the belief that an IAL is "one of the means for developing the international community" (IALA [1951] 1971, x-xi). The IALA's goals were "(1) to obtain agreement on one definite planned language system and to obtain official sanction for that language and (2) to secure the general acceptance of the sanctioned language which would include its teaching in the schools" (Jacob 1947, 144). The IALA identified five candidate languages: Esperanto, Esperanto II (developed by René de Saussure), Ido (another Esperanto derivative), Occidental (developed by Edgar de Wahl), and Latino sine Flexione (developed by Guiseppe Peano) (LALA xii).1 In 1930, the IALA organized a conference in Europe, convened by Jespersen, to allow linguists and IAL experts to exchange ideas (xii). Other conferences followed, as well as considerable research. After much study, the IALA chose not to select one of the candidate languages , but to broaden its focus. It decided to start from the basis that underlay all of the candidate languages, "namely the basis of the international vocabulary, or, in other terms, the words common to the greatest number of widely distributed cultural languages" (Jacob 1947, 147). From this principle emerged Interlingua. 1 In its General Report of 1945, the IALA includes Jespersen's Novial (1945, 16), but the Association does not mention it in the IED's introductory materials. Three Dictionaries of International Auxiliary Languages57 Once the IALA decided its course of action, it began the "systematic recording of the international vocabulary" (IALA [1951] 1971, xvii). In 1951, it presented its "international vocabulary" in InterlinguaEnglish a Dictionary of the International Language (IED) and reprinted it in 1971. To complement the dictionary, it published Interlingua a Grammar of the International Language in the same year. (The grammar was also reprinted in 1971.) The IED was the first stage of an active...