FrankEsterhill

JournalofUniversalLanguage3 March2002,17-33

Interlanguageand20thCentury ScientificCommunication

FrankEsterhill InterlinguaInstitute

Abstract

Attheoutsetofthe20thcentury,itwastakenforgrantedthatthetrue testofanyauxiliarylanguagewouldbeitsadoptionforuseinthe sciences.,theproductoftheInternationalAuxiliary LanguageAssociation[IALA],foundedin1924,emergedfromthe increasinglynaturalisticlinguisticmodelsofthelate19thandearly 20thcenturies(especiallythoseofLiptay,Lott,andPeano), acknowledgingthefactthatitwasthesurvivingelementsoftheLatin languagethathadlenttothemoderntonguesoftheEuropeanlittoral theircharacterofinternationalityandconsequentlydistancingitself fromthecomplicatedschematismofVolapu짲k,,andtheir manyimitators.Forarelativelylongperiodoftime,aquarterofa century,theInterlinguaofIALAseemedtomeettheexpectationsof itsbuildersthatitwouldfunctionasavehicleofscientific communication:morethantwodozenmedicaljournalsprintedabstracts inInterlinguaandelevenworldmedicalcongressesissuedsummaries inInterlingua.Then,suddenly,atthestartofthe1980sscientificwork inInterlinguacametoanabruptend(translationsinthe Multilingual 18 Interlanguageand20thCenturyScientificCommunication

CompendiumofPlantDiseases fortheU.S.DepartmentofAgriculture andabstractsinthe NewYorkStateJournalofMedicine beingthe finalscientificprojects)fromwhichtherehasbeennorecovery.

1.Introduction

Universallanguagebecameafashionablesubjectonlywiththe declineofLatinasthecommonidiomofthesciencesinthe17th century.InEnglandalone,FrancisLodwick,CaveBeck,George Dalgarno,and,especially,BishopJohnWilkinspublishedtheir universalistschemesinaperiodwhichlastedslightlyovertwenty years,butthesubjectfelloutoffavoralmostimmediatelyandthe projectslanguishedinbenignneglectformorethanacentury.Thenin thesecondhalfofthe19thcenturyseveral"international"languages wereinventedbyaseriesofamateurs(Pirro,Sudre,Schleyer, Zamenhof,Sotos-Ochando,Lauda,Liptay,Lott,Peanoandamultitude ofothers),eachattractingitsownoftenexquisitelysmallbutdevoted coterieoffollowers.Animpartialstudentofthesubjectcaneasily traceintheevolutionoftheseaposteriori systemstheontogenesisof anewLatinity(Ruhrig1980:2-3),culminatinginthe20th centuryinthe registrationoftheinternationalvocabularybytheInternational AuxiliaryLanguageAssociation[IALA]underthedirectionofE.Clark StillmanandAlexanderGodeinthe Interlingua-EnglishDictionary (1951).

1.1.PreliminaryOrganizationalSteps

Atthestartofthe20thcentury,LouisCouturat,professorof philosophy(andsuccessortoHenriBergson)attheCollègedeFrance, broughtrenewedintellectualrespectabilitytothetopicwiththe discoveryofunpublishedmanuscriptsofLeibniz(1901,1903a), discussing, interalia,Descartesonthesubject.1 Couturat'slater FrankEsterhill 19 historicalstudies(1903b,1907)helpedtopopularizethesubjectby bringingittotheattentionofamuchwideraudience.Alongwithhis colleague,Le´opoldLeau,hespearheadedtheDe´le´gationpourl'adoption d'unelangueauxiliaireinternationelle(theformerastreasurer,thelatter assecretarygeneral),whosesmallComite´,insteadofrecommendingan extantproject,proposedasareformcandidateitsownlanguage,, in1908.TheproponentsofIdorecognizedfromthestartthatthe ultimatetestofany"constructed"languagewouldbeitsusefulnessfor scientificcommunication,yetsuchsuccessalwayseludedthem.

1.2. FoundationoftheInternationalAuxiliaryLanguage Association

Asearlyas1902,theNobelLaureate,WilhelmOstwald,atthe UniversityofLeipzig,hadinterestedhisstudent,theyoungchemist, Dr.FrederickGardnerCottrell,intheideaofanauxiliarylanguage. AftertheFirstWorldWar,Cottrell,ChairmanoftheCommitteeon InternationalAuxiliaryLanguage(from1919to1936)ofthe InternationalResearchCouncil,persuadedtwowealthyandprominent NewYorkers,AliceVanderbiltMorrisandDaveHennenMorris,to foundtheInternationalAuxiliaryLanguageAssociation[IALA]in 1924,withanillustriousteamofprominentacademicsandbusiness leaders.2 Replacingthedilettantismwhichhadprecededitwithanew professionalism,IALA,foradozenyears,sponsoredlinguisticresearch (undertheaegisofEdwardSapir,OttoJespersen,andWilliamE. Collinson,togetherwithAlbertDebrunner,EdgarvonWahl,Giuseppe Peano,JosephVendryes,andothers)andorganizedmeetingsdedicated tothetaskofeffectingconciliationbetweenthealreadyexisting

1 DescartesinhislettertoMarinMersenne,November20,1629,wasrespondingto aplacardinLatinwithsixpropositions. 2 AliceVanderbiltMorrisremainedIALA'sHonorarySecretary(anditssustaining force)untilherdeathonAugust15,1950. 20 Interlanguageand20thCenturyScientificCommunication auxiliarylanguagesystems(Falk1999:40-58,Esterhill2000:1-9). Then,in1937,realizingthatallofthepreviouslyelaborated interlanguageswerefundamentallyflawedandthatcompromisewas impossible,IALAabandonedallhopefortheexistingauxiliariesand embarkeduponitsownindependentwork.Eveninthepreliminary documents--Cottrell's ReportofProgress (1923)andIALA's Outlineof Program fromthefollowingyear--IALA,althoughsuggestingthatit couldproceedbymodifyinganexistinginterlanguage,hadalready signalledthatadifferentapproachmightbenecessarywhenitresolved toseekasolutiontotheproblemeither"bytheadoptionofoneofthe existingsyntheticlanguages,asforexampleEsperanto,Ido,ormodern ,orbythecreationofanewlanguagebasedinsofarasmay befounddesirableuponthese(Cottrell1923:14)...."3 Inits Outlineof Program (1924),IALAsomewhatconfusinglyassertedthat"[t]he Associationhasnointentionofdevelopingorpromotinganynew language(1924:13)...."afterithadalreadybeenstated,echoingthe wordsofCottrell'sreportfromthepreviousyear,that"[t]heIALA thereforestandsfortheadoptionormodificationofasyntheticor classicallanguage,orthecreationofanewlanguage(1924:6)...."In fact,IALAdidnotinitiallyundertakeanyindependentworkto formulateanewlanguagebutinsteaddevoteditsentirefirstdecadeto thehopelesstaskofattemptingtoeffectreconciliationamongtherival auxiliariestheninexistence.4 Strangely,thepre-eminentlinguistswithin IALAfailedtoprovidemuchconstructiveguidanceovertheyears. EdwardSapir,enthusiasticaboutthesubjectfromthestart(1925), whileremainingaffiliatedwithIALAformostofthe1930s,serving abriefstintasDirectorofResearchfromSeptember,1930totheend

3 TheMemorial(inCottrell'sreport)wasrevisedthefollowingyeartostatethatan auxiliarylanguageshouldbeestablishedbytheadoptionormodificationofa syntheticoraclassicallanguageorbythecreationofanewlanguage(Cottrell1923; revised1924). 4 ThiswasIALA'sintentuntil1936.Cf.APlanforObtainingAgreementonan AuxiliaryWorld-Language (1936). FrankEsterhill 21 ofJuly,1931andauthoringmonographs(1930,1932)whose publicationwasinpartfundedbyIALA,seemstohaveplayedno pivotalroleinthatorganization(Esterhill2000:7,note6).Otto Jespersen,authorofNovial,althoughvocalinhiscriticismof EsperantoinhiscorrespondencefromDenmark,didnotactively championhisowncreation.Heremained,untilhisdeathin1943, peripheraltoIALAwhichhadalwaysbeenheadquarteredinNew York.Finally,WilliamE.Collinson(IALA'sDirectoroftheTechnical StaffattheUniversityofLiverpool),astridentEsperantistwhohad provokedmuchcriticism,wasquietlysweptaside,andcontrolover IALA'sworkwastransferredintothehandsofhiscompetentassistant, E.ClarkStillman,whenthedictionaryworkwasbegun. WithagrantfromRockefellerFoundationinJanuary1937,IALA beganthesecond(andfinal)stageofitsresearch,theregistrationof theinternationalvocabulary,underStillmanattheUniversityof Liverpool.Stillmanhadalreadyelaboratedthethree-yearprogramof researchandexperimentationwhichwouldeventuateinthegrammar andnuclearvocabularyofthelanguagewhichIALAwould recommend.HewasnamedSecretaryoftheCommitteeforAgreement inthefollowingyear(1938)andtheTechnicalStaffatLiverpoolwas placed"underhisimmediatedirection(InternationalAuxiliary LanguageAssociation1939:8)." Itwasoriginallyanticipatedthattheentireprojectwouldrequire onlythreeyearstocompletethedeterminationofIALA'slanguageand toreadyitscore:

ThiscorewillconsistofaGrammarandaVocabularyofabout 2000ofthemostfrequentroot-wordsrequiredforordinary usage,togetherwithnucleiofanumberofvocabulariesin certainspecialistfields.Throughouttheperiod,astaffof linguisticworkers,expertinbothethnicandconstructed languages,willbeworkingatLiverpoolUniversityunderthe immediatedirectionoftheAssistantDirectorofTechnical 22 Interlanguageand20thCenturyScientificCommunication

Research,Mr.E.ClarkStillman(InternationalAuxiliary LanguageAssociation1939:10). 5

1.3.FormulationoftheInterlanguage

UpontheoutbreakofwarinEuropein1939,IALA'sfilesand recordsweresafelytransferredtoNewYorkwhereStillmanassembled anewteamtocontinuethework.Heenlistedthesupportofanable assistant,AlexanderGode,whoassumedthedirectionofIALAwhen StillmanresignedinMarch,1943inordertogoonwarduty.IALA atthatpointhadfirmlycommittedtotheInternationalVocabulary6 but wasstilldebatingthequestionastowhetheritshouldbeschematized, and,ifso,towhatextent. Gode(1942),summingupthestatusofIALA'sworktothatpoint, wrote(Romannumeralsinsquarebracketsreferringtothenumbered

5 Collinson,innameatleast,remainedDirectoroftheTechnicalStaffatLiverpool, butsincehewasnotperceivedasanimpartial,non-sectarian,orneutralparty,he appearstohaveprovokedseverecriticism.AttheMarch21,1939meetingofthe CommitteeforAgreement,hefinallyaskedthatinhisfuturecollaborationinthe workofCA[CommitteeforAgreement]hemightbeexemptedfromalllinguistic workotherthanpurelyobjectivestudies.In1941,Collinsonwaspromotedupto DirectoroftheResearchStaff(part-time,onwarleave),eventhoughthewarhad, from1939on,severedmostconnectionsbetweenhimandIALA.Heretainedhis title(andhissalary)untilhisspecialarrangementwithIALAwasterminatedin1942. YearslaterheconfessedtoanAmericanEsperantist,IvyKellermanReed (1958:1388),thathehadbeenunawareofIALA'sdictionaryworkwhichhadbeen begunatLiverpool. 6 InhisRemarksontheBasicFormulaforanILVocabulary,apaperpreparedfor CollaborationMeetingNo.1,June24,1940,Stillmanhaddefinedtheformulathus: AllwordscommontomostoftheRomaniclanguagesandEnglish havetheright toexistintheIL....Withthisformulawehavethemostinternationalcriterionwhich isconsistentwithobtaininganadequatevocabulary.Itisdifficulttoseehowany otherbasisofselectioncouldbefoundwhichwouldnotbeatoncemorearbitrary andlessinternationalinitsresults...andwearethereforeleftwiththatcriterionas thesoundestbasisforanIL: AllwordscommontomostoftheRomaniclanguages andEnglishhaveaclaimtoexistenceintheIL. FrankEsterhill 23 paragraphsofGode'sreport)that"[II.][t]hefocusofallofIALA's enterprisesisthecompilationoftheInternationalVocabulary."The onlyreasonwhynoagencybeforeIALAhadattemptedtoundertake thetask"[III.]...mustbeseeninthefactthatitisextremelydifficult toestablishobjectivecriteriaofinclusivenessforthisvocabulary....To havesolvedthisseeminglyinsolubleproblemisoneofIALA's indisputableclaimstoscientifichonors."ThattheRomancelanguages, thedescendantsofclassicalLatin,mustbetakenintoconsiderationby anyauxiliarywasaxiomatic;IALAinnovatedinstipulatingthat English,aGermanictonguewhichhadbeenheavilyinfiltratedby Latinateidiomsoverthecourseofcenturies,mustbeincludedinthis group.Thisapproach,accordingtoGode,providedanobjective criterionfortheelaborationoftheprototypesoftheInternational Vocabulary 7 :"[XI.]BydefiningInternationalityofwordmaterialmeans internationalitywithintheAnglo-Romancegroupoflanguages'IALA solvedtheproblemofanobjectivecriterionofinternationalityandalso ofamethodusabletodetermineitscomparativedegree."Thefour provenancelanguagesforthevocabularythereforewereItalian,French, Spanish/Portuguese,andEnglish.Themajorconcernwaslexical:

"[LXXVII.]Itisthecontentionofthenaturalisticschoolof thoughtthat the majorproblemofinterlinguisticsisthatof vocabularydeduction.Thisproblemcanbeconsideredassolved whenprincipleshavebeenestablishedwhichpermittheobjective elaborationofanimmediatelyavailableadequateinternational auxiliaryvocabularyandwhoseobjectivepotencycanneverbe exhaustedsothatthey(theprinciples)willalwaysbeavailable tosupplynewformationsofabsolutelycertainidentityfornew

7 IALAhaddevisedamethod[XVI.]thatpermittedthesummingupofthenational variationsofaninternationalwordinasymbolicformcalledthe“international prototype”.Theprototypescouldalsobedescribedinanegativeway:[LIII.]the InternationalVocabularydevelopsfromthenationalvocabulariesbyaprocessof suppressionorneglectofallindividual-languageidiosyncrasies. 24 Interlanguageand20thCenturyScientificCommunication

needsasthesearise,i.e.,formationsnotdependingonthe decisionofanacademyorotherlegislativebodybutsimply yieldedbytheapplicationoftherulesandprinciplesthemselves. Thenaturalistscontendthattheirprinciplesandrulesanswerthis descriptioninfairlyfullmeasure. [LXXVIII.]Comparedwiththeproblemofvocabulary deduction,problemsofgrammar,thenaturalistscontend,areof minororatleastsecondaryimportance."

AtthattimeIALAwasdividedintotwoschoolsofthought(the "schematic"andthe"naturalistic")concerningthelanguagewhichit wouldpropose.Ontheonehand,AliceV.Morris,WilliamE. Collinson,and,toalesserextent,WayneJ.Kostir,wishedtointroduce schematizationintotheauxiliarylanguage,whereasStillmanopposed suchamove.Ononefundamentalpoint,however,allwereagreed--that theinternationalvocabularyuponwhichanauxiliarywouldbebased mustbeelaboratedinascientificandobjectivemanner:

[XXVII.]TheInternationalVocabularystandsasasolidrockfit tosupportallsortsofsuperstructures.Workersengagedinthe elaborationofauxiliarylanguageprojectsmustlookuponthe InternationalVocabularyasnaturalraw-material,assomething factualandGod-givenfromwhichtheycanderive,onwhich theycanerect,outofwhichtheycanmakeallsortsofthings butoverwhosebeingandbecomingtheyhavenojurisdiction.

Thenextmonth,Stillman(1942:3),inaMemorandumonGode's Report,confirmedthe"accuracyandimportance"ofthestatementthat theinternationalvocabularywasIALA'sprimaryconcern.This distinctionbetweentheinternationalvocabularyandanylanguagebuilt outofitwaslaterunderlinedbyGodeandBlairwhentheynotedin theprefacetothe InterlinguaGrammar (1951b)thatitwas"a of the internationallanguage"(originalemphasis). FrankEsterhill 25

BythetimeWorldWarIIwasover,IALAhadcompleteditsbasic workandwasreadytooffertothepublic,initsGeneralReport1945, three(thenaturalisticandtwoschematic)variantsofitsproposed interlanguage,groundedinthesolidfoundationoftheinternational vocabulary.In1946,AndréMartinetjoinedIALA'sstaffbriefly, formulatingananalysisofIALA's(now)fourvariants(1947a),withtwo naturalisticmodels:modernandclassic.Thefourvariants(P,M,C, andK)fell,accordingtothe PrésentationdesVariantes (IALA1947b), intotwoclasses:(a)thosewhichstressedconformitytothe etymologicalprototypeofeachwordand(b)thosewhichpermitted schematizationorregularizationofpronunciation,spelling,or derivation.Withinthenaturalistictradition,thevariantP(presumably for"Peano")presentedinternationalprototypesinaclassicform, whereasthevariantMpresentedthesamebasicvocabularyinamore modernform("sousuneformeobtenueensuivantlesdirectivesdela majoritédeslanguesintéressées").Intheschematicversions(C,which wasmodelledonOccidental,andK,whichwasmodelledonNovial), theinternationalvocabularyhasbeensubjectedtoaprocessof regularization.Theonlydistinguishingfeaturebetweenthelasttwo variantsisthefactthattherulesforregularizationaresimplerand fewerinvariantKthaninvariantC.VariantCsoughttocombineboth regularityandnaturalism.Itretainedanorthography(whence, presumably,"C")thatwaslessregularthanthatofthemorehighly schematizedvariantK(and,hence,moreinaccordwithestablished Europeannorms).The"reguladeWahl"affectingsupinestems, moreover,introducedanadditionaldegreeofcomplexityintovariantC. MartinetandVinayhadpreparedaquestionnaire(1946)whichwas senttorespondentsinseveralnations.Theresultofthatpollwasa solidrejectionofschematism. 8 AfterMartinet'sabruptdeparturein

8 Martinet(1949:590-591)laterremarkedattheSixthInternationalCongressof Linguiststhatplusdesdeuxtiersdessujets(68%)s'opposent a짪toutetentativequi auraitpourrésultatdemodifierlastructuremêmedesmotsinternationaux. 26 Interlanguageand20thCenturyScientificCommunication

1948inadisputeoversalary(Esterhill2000:15,note17),Alexander GodeonceagainassumedthedirectionofIALA'sstaffandbroughtthe worktocompletion,onthemodernandnaturalisticmodels,withthe publicationofthe Interlingua-EnglishDictionary andthe Interlingua Grammar in1951,usingthelegacywhichhadbeenlefttoIALAby AliceV.Morrisforthatpurpose(Falk1999:81).

2.ScientificUseofInterlingua

2.1.ApplicationintheSciences

TheapplicationofInterlinguatothesciencesbeganthenextyear withDr.ForrestF.Cleveland's SpectroscopiaMolecular,andit advancedfurtherin1953withtheinceptionof ScientiaInternational, publishedbytheInterlinguaDivisionofScienceService.IALAwas eventuallydisbandedinthe1950swhenitsfundingwasexhausted,but overthespanofapproximatelytwenty-fiveyears,Interlingua summariesappearedinmorethantwodozenmedicaljournals (including AmericanHeartJournal,AmericanJournalofClinical Pathology,AmericanJournaloftheMedicalSciences,Annalsof InternalMedicine,ArchivesofInteramericanRheumatology,Archivos PeruanosdePatologiayClinica,ArthritisandRheumatism,Blood:the JournalofHematology,TheBridge,Circulation:OfficialJournalofthe AmericanHeartAssociation,CirculationResearch:OfficialJournalof theAmericanHeartAssociation,ClinicalOrthopaedics,Danish MedicalBulletin,Diabetes,HaematologicaPolonica,HawaiiMedical Journal,JournaloftheAmericanMedicalAssociation,Journalof DentalMedicine,JournalofDentalResearch,JournalofPediatric Surgery,Pediatrics,Radiology,RevistaCubanadeCardiologia, QuarterlyBulletinofSeaViewHospital,TechnicalBulletinofthe RegistryofMedicalTechnologists,andWestIndianMedicalJournal). Godeusuallyfurnishedthetranslations,butthesummariesinthe FrankEsterhill 27 prestigious JournaloftheAmericanMedicalAssociation wereprepared byitsownstaff.Inaddition,GodesuppliedInterlinguaabstracts totallingthousandsofpagesforelevenworldmedicalcongresses between1954and1962(SecondWorldCongressofCardiology [Washington1954],ThirteenthM&RPediatricResearchConference [Syracuse1954],FirstInternationalSymposiumonVenerealDisease andtheTreponematoses[Washington1956],SixthCongressofthe InternationalSocietyofBloodTransfusionandtheNinthAnnual MeetingoftheAmericanAssociationofBloodBanks[Boston1956], SixthCongressoftheInternationalSocietyofHematology[Boston 1956],NinthInternationalCongressonRheumaticDiseases[Toronto 1957],EleventhInternationalCongressofDermatology[Stockholm 1957],NinthInternationalCongressofPediatrics[Montreal1959],First InternationalCongressofEndocrinology[Copenhagen1960],Third WorldCongressofPsychiatry[Montreal1961],andTwelfth InternationalCongressofDermatology[BaltimoreandWashington 1962]).Inhislifetime,AlexanderGodepublishedapproximatelya millionwordsofInterlingua,butbytheendofthe1960stherewas verylittledemandforit.9 TheInterlinguaDivisionofScienceService wasdissolvedattheendof1966,upontheretirementofDr.Watson Davis.Inthenextmonth,attheendofJanuary1967,HughE.Blair, Gode'sassistantandco-authorofthe InterlinguaGrammar,died unexpectedly.Ashisownhealthbegantofail,Godeundertookthetask offounding,inhisfewremainingyears,anorganizationwhichwould continuetheworkofIALA.Accordingly,theCertificateof IncorporationoftheInterlinguaInstitutewasfiledwiththeSecretary ofStateoftheStateofDelawarebythethreeIncorporators,Henry Fischbach,AlexanderGode,andAliceMorrisSturgesonMarch31, 1970.WhenGodediedonAugust10ofthatyear,itwasforawhile

9 Beginningin1967andcontinuingin1968therehasbeenanunmistakableregression inthedemandsforInterlinguatranslations.Ihavenoreasontopredictthatthistrend willcontinue,butIhavenoreasoneithertoexpectthattherewillbeconsiderable Interlinguagainsinthisarea(Gode1968). 28 Interlanguageand20thCenturyScientificCommunication uncertainwhethertheInterlinguaInstitutewouldlongsurvivehim. Yet,Interlinguacontinuedtobeuseforscientificpurposesfor anotherfifteenyears.AbstractsinInterlingua,preparedbyEduardoI. Juliet,M.D.,wereprintedin NewYorkStateJournalofMedicine for adecadefrom1974on,andFrankEsterhillprovidedInterlingua translationsforthetwovolumesofPaulR.Miller's Multilingual CompendiumofPlantDiseases (1976and1977).Then,inthelate 1980s, SpectroscopiaMolecular failedtoappearaftermorethana quarterofacenturyofuninterruptedmonthlypublication.Thefinal chapterinthedistinguishedhistoryofInterlinguaintheserviceof sciencehadsuddenlycometoanabruptcloseaftermorethanthirty yearsofseriousattentionbytheinternationalscientificcommunity.

2.2. InterlinguaasVectoroftheInternationalScientific Vocabulary

ThefoundationsofInterlinguawerelaidattheendofthe1930s whenIALA,underE.ClarkStillman,atlonglastundertookitsown originalwork.B.C.Sexton(1979:4)correctlysummedupthe importanceofStillman'scontribution,remarkingthat"[h]esawthatthe workofhisteamshouldconsistprimarilyintheextractionandthe establishmentoftheinternationalvocabulary, i.e.,ofthosewords whosepresenceinthemultiplicityofthegreatculturallanguagesofthe worldconstitutetheindispensableconditionoftheviabilityofthe conceptofaninternationalauxiliarylanguage." Shortlybeforehisdeath,indefiningtheessenceoftheInterlingua ofIALA,Gode(1968:4-5)stressedthenon-originalnatureofthe language,thefactthatitwasbasedupontwofundamentalpremises:

...(1)theexistenceofan"internationalscientificvocabulary"and (2)theclosestructuralaffinityofallthelanguagesofwestern civilization. FrankEsterhill 29

The"internationalscientificvocabulary,"forwhichP.B.Gove (aseditorofWebster'sThirdNewInternationalDictionaryofthe EnglishLanguage)introducedthelexicographicallabel"ISV," consists(virtuallyinitsentirety)ofwordsandword-building elementsnativetoclassicalGreekandLatinandhence(1) historicallysharedbytheromanceandteutoniclanguagesas keepersandbeneficiariesoftheculturalandlinguistic Greco-Latintraditionand(2)madefamiliartosophisticated speakersofalllanguages(includingthoseoutsidethe Greco-Latinorbit)throughtheworldconquestofscienceand technology,which(radiatingfromtheWest)usedtheminthe pastandarestillusingthemtodayastheirlinguisticvehicle.

Whereasearlierattemptsinthefieldhadfocusedmostlyonapriori systems(17th century),so-called“Acompromise”languages(Pirro),and deformedvocabulariesofEuropeantongues(Schleyer,Zamenhof), IALAbaseditsInterlinguaonthealready-existinginternational vocabulary.UnlikePeanowhohadlookedtoclassicalLatinfor inspiration,StillmanandGode,followinginthefootstepsofLiptayand Lott,recognizedthatanysuccessfulinternationallanguagehadtobe baseduponthoseelementsofLatinwhichhavesurvivedinthemodern idioms--preciselythoseelementswhichhavelenttothemodern languagestheircharacterofinternationality.

2.3. FailureofEsperantoandIdotoWinAcceptancein ScientificCommunication

IALA,atitsfounding,hadperceivedtheneedforanauxiliary language,especiallyinthesciences:"Thepublicationofscientific articlesandabstractsinaconstantlyincreasingnumberof mother-tonguestogetherwiththewide-spreaddistributionofthesame hasintensifiedthescientist'sneedforacommonlinguisticmedium. ThatwhichDescartesconsideredanadvantageseveralcenturiesago 30 Interlanguageand20thCenturyScientificCommunication hasnowbecomeanurgentnecessity(1924:5)."Itwasnotsurprising thatInterlinguamadesuchimpressiveinitialprogressinthefieldof scienceanditshouldnothavebeenunforeseenthatearlierauxiliary languageswhichhadmangledtheinternationalscientificvocabularyin ordertomakeitfittheirnarrowgrammaticalcriteriawouldenjoyso littlesuccess.AsB.C.Sexton(2001:9)hasobserved,"Ithasbeensaid thatscienceistheonlybranchoflearningthatistrulyinternational,yet noneofthepreviousinternationalauxiliarylanguagesmadeany headwayinthisfield,notevenIdoinspiteofthesupportofOstwald, Nobelprize-winnerforhisworkincolourscience,anditsbrave attempttosetupaninternationalpatentreview.Scientistswerenot likelytofavouraschematiclanguagethatrequiredtherebaptismofthe entirescientificvocabulary." Interlingua,theonlyinterlanguageeveradoptedforseriousand extensiveuseinthesciences,survivedlittlemorethanaquarterofa century.Thegoalofinterlinguisticsfromthestartofthetwentieth century,professionalrecognitionoftheusefulnessofanauxiliary languagethroughitsacceptanceinthesciences,hadneverbeenreached untilthepublicationofInterlingua,and--ironically--professionalinterest inthesubjectofinterlinguistics(whichhadbeenlatetoemergeafter centuriesofdeliberation)evaporatedshortlythereafter. Martinet(1952:163),inhissomewhatbitterreviewofthe Interlingua-EnglishDictionary,thefruitionofallofIALA'slabors, observed,notentirelyunfairly,thatthe"commonmistakeofalmostall language-makersistoassumeademandwherethereispractically none."Godehimselfhadnoted(1968:8)thatInterlinguacouldfunction asa"bridgelanguageinscientificand,specifically,medical communication."Still,hehadtoaddthatthe"argumentthatInterlingua summariesareusefulissound,buttheargumentthatInterlingua summariesareindispensableisnonsense."EchoingLiptay,whohad commentedupontheriseofEnglishinthelastyearsofthenineteenth century,heremarkedthat"Englishowesitsoverridinginternational significancetothefactthatitis(amongallthelanguagesofthe FrankEsterhill 31 westernworld)themosteffectivevehicleoftheinternationalscientific vocabulary...(1968:9)"

3.Conclusion

Therewasnoneed(andnouse)everfortheinternationallanguages ofthe19th andearly20th centuryandtoday,withtheunparalleled ascendancyofEnglish,thereisnofurtherneedforInterlinguaorany otherinterlanguage.ThelanguagesoftheEuropeanlittoralhave becomethetonguesoftheNewWorldandsubsequentlytheidiomof thewholeworld,bringingtheLatinvocabularyofwhichtheyarethe carrierstoitsultimatedestinationasthepatrimonyoftheentireearth.

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