Interlinguistics, also known ascosmoglottics,[a] is the science ofplanned languages that has existed for more than a century.[1] Formalised byOtto Jespersen in 1931 as the science ofinterlanguages, in more recent times, the field has been more focused withlanguage planning, the collection of strategies to deliberately influence the structure and function of a living language. In this framework, interlanguages become a subset of planned languages, i.e. extreme cases of language planning.[2]
Interlinguistics first appeared as a branch of studies devoted to the establishment of norms for auxiliary languages, but over its century-long history it has been understood by different authors more and more broadly as aninterdisciplinary branch of science which includes various aspects of communication,language planning andstandardization,multilingualism and globalisation,language policy,translation,sociolinguistics,intercultural communication, the history oflanguage creation and literature written inconstructed languages (international auxiliary languages (auxlangs) as well as constructed languages : conlangs), fictionalartistic languages (artlangs),lingua francas,pidgins,creoles andconstructed languages in the internet and other topics were added.[3]
The hybrid term was first coined in French (asInterlinguistique) by the BelgianEsperantistJules Meysmans.[4]
The main historical periods of interlinguistics are:
At the Institute of Linguistics of AMU there is the extramural Interlinguistic studies program. Over the course of three years these studies provide the students with a basic knowledge of general linguistics, interlinguistics, international andintercultural communication with a focus on the linguistics, culture and movement of the internationally dispersed and naturally functioning planned languageEsperanto. Every third year the Interlinguistic Studies program also organizes an international interlinguistic symposium.[6]
At the University of Amsterdam there is also a chair of interlinguistics and Esperanto.
The field of interlinguistics is concerned withinternational planned languages[7] [also called 'constructed languages', 'auxiliary languages', or 'artificial languages'] asEsperanto, and with the relationship between planned languages[8] andlanguage planning. Increasingly, undergraduate courses in planned languages are expanding to embrace not only the history of languages planned for international use, but also the field of imaginary and fictional languages.[9] Interlinguistics is also concerned with investigating how ethnic andinternational planned languages work aslingua franca and with the possibilities of optimizing interlinguistic communication.
The termInterlinguistics can be interpreted in at least two ways:
Among these interpretations, the first one is by far the most well established, whileMario Wandruszka had only the second one in mind.[10]
The term appears first to have been used in French (interlinguistique) by Jules Meysmans in 1911 in a text concerninginternational auxiliary languages.[11] It became more widely accepted subsequent to an address by the Danish linguistOtto Jespersen to the 2nd International Congress of Linguists in 1931. According to Jespersen, interlinguistics is "that branch of the science of language which deals with the structure and basic ideas of all languages with the view to the establishing of a norm for interlanguages,i.e. auxiliary languages destined for oral and written use between people who cannot make themselves understood by means of their mother tongues".[12] According to this definition, investigations that are useful for optimizing interlinguistic communication are central to the discipline, and the purpose may be to develop a new language intended for international use or for use within a multilingual country or union. Research of this kind has been undertaken by the International Delegation, which developedIdo (1907), and by theInternational Auxiliary Language Association (IALA), which developedInterlingua (1951).
Valter Tauli considered interlinguistics as a subdiscipline oflanguage planning.[13] The principles recommended by him forlanguage planning applied to the guided development of national languages are also, and more liberally so, applicable to constructed interlanguages. It is noteworthy that these principles have close counterparts among Grice'sconversational maxims. These maxims describe how effective communication in conversation is achieved, and in order to function well, a language must be such that it allows respecting these maxims, which languages not always do.[14]
Most publications in the field of interlinguistics are, however, not so constructive, but ratherdescriptive,comparative, historic,sociolinguistic, or concerned withtranslation by humans or machines. As forEsperanto, which is the most widely used constructed interlanguage, there is a relatively abundant literature about the language itself and itsphilology (seeEsperantology).
Only a few of the many constructed languages have been applied practically to any noteworthy extent. The most prosperous wereVolapük (1879,Johann Martin Schleyer),Esperanto (1887Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof),Latino sine flexione (1903,Giuseppe Peano),Ido (1907,Louis Couturat),Occidental-Interlingue (1922,Edgar de Wahl) andInterlingua (1951, IALA andAlexander Gode), with Esperanto being the one gathering the most significant community of active speakers at present.[15] Here, theBliss symbols (1949,Charles K. Bliss)[16] deserve also to be mentioned. These were intended for international communication, but have found their field of application elsewhere, namely as an aid for persons who lack an adequate ability of using ordinary language, because of motorical or cognitive handicaps.
The following table lists onlyone representative for each type explicitly.
| Spoken language only | Spoken and written language | Written language only | Gestural language | Multimedial language | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spontaneous | Russenorsk and others | Tok Pisin and other stabilized pidgins | Classical Chinese(used interlinguistically) | Plains Indian Sign Language[17] | Silbo gomero and otherwhistled languages |
| Constructed | Damin(not interlinguistic) | Esperanto and others | Bliss symbols and otherpasigraphies | Gestuno(for the deaf) | Solresol |
Among constructed languages, it is usual to distinguish betweena priori languages anda posteriori languages. The latter are based on one or, more often, several source languages, while this is not evident for a priori languages, e.g., thephilosophical languages of the 17th century,Solresol and thelogical languages of the 20th century, such asLoglan andLojban. Spontaneously arisen Interlanguages are necessarily a posteriori or iconic (using imaging or imitating signs).
