International Language

International Language, any of several languages, natural or deliberately constructed, used to facilitate communications among peoples with different native languages.

From time to time different natural languages have been used as universal tongues. As a result of conquest or colonialism, subjugated nations have been forced to abandon their own languages or have gradually adopted the language of the conqueror; conversely, occupying forces have often gradually assimilated the languages of the conquered, as was the case of the Normans in England. In other cases, peoples neighboring on a commercially, culturally, or politically preeminent nation have voluntarily, although usually only partly, adopted the language of that nation as auxiliary to their own. By such means the Latin language came closest of all native languages to becoming a truly universal tongue. Similarly, French from the 18th to the 19th century and English in the 20th century enjoyed relative universality in diplomatic, scientific, and commercial circles.

Other attempts at universal means of communication have been made by the use of a lingua franca or pidgin, or by simplifying existing languages; an example of the last is Basic English, devised between 1925 and 1930 (see English Language). The use of living native languages has generally, however, proved to be impracticable because of difficulties in learning them or because of nationalistic prejudices.

For these reasons, many attempts have been made to construct artificial universal languages, based on elements of natural languages with simplifications of grammar and spelling. Volapük, devised in 1880 by the German priest Johann Martin Schleyer, and Esperanto, invented in 1887 by a Polish oculist (physician who treats diseases of the eye), Dr. Ludwik L. Zamenhof, were both based on a combination of Latin, the Romance languages, and the Germanic languages. Volapük eventually proved too difficult to learn and to use; Esperanto is still the most widely spoken of the artificial languages. Interlingua, created in 1951 by the International Auxiliary Language Association, is derived from English and the Romance languages; it has primarily been used in international scientific and technological journals, thus eliminating the need for costly multiple translations.

See also Language.