A universal language is a hypothetical historical or mythical language said to be spoken and understood by all or most of the world's population. In some conceptions, it may be the primary language of all speakers, or the only existing language; in others, it is a fluent secondary language used for communication between groups speaking different primary languages. Some mythological or religious traditions state that there was once a single universal language among all people, or shared by humans and supernatural beings; this is not supported by historical evidence. The term supernatural or supranatural ( Latin: super, supra "above" + natura "nature" pertains to entities events

The idea of a universal language is at least as old as the Biblical story of Babel. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin Babel (בָּבֶל Bavel) (بابل Babel) is the name used in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an for the city of Babylon The biblical story of Babel's fall states that there was once a time of a universal Adamic language (now often associated with the Kabbalah) — and then something happened, the confusion of tongues, analogous to the Fall of Man. See also Divine language The Adamic language is according to Abrahamic traditions, the mythical language spoken by Adam and Eve in the Garden Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה lit "receiving" is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. The confusion of tongues ( confusio linguarum) is the initial fragmentation of human languages described in the Book of Genesis 111–9 as a result of the construction The Fall of Man, or simply the Fall, in Christian doctrine refers to the transition of the first humans from a state of innocent obedience to God, In the Christian tradition there are various attitudes to regaining the supposed golden age, before Babel; these include optimism, pessimism, and recourse to parody and warnings on hubris, depending on the wished interpretation of the story. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth The term Golden age is best known from Greek mythology and legend but can also be found in other ancient cultures (see below A parody (ˈpɛɹədiː US, [ˈpaɹədiː] UK) in contemporary usage is a work created to mock comment on or poke fun at an original work its subject Hubris, sometimes spelled hybris ( Ancient Greek ὕβρις is a term used in modern English to indicate overweening Pride, self-confidence

In other traditions, there is less interest in or a general deflection of the question. For example in Islam the Arabic language is the language of the Qur'an, and so universal for Muslims. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran The written classical Chinese language was and is still read widely but pronounced somewhat differently by readers in different areas of China, in Korea and Japan for centuries; it was a de facto universal literary language for a broad-based culture. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries a civilization and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. In something of the same way Sanskrit in India was a literary language for many for whom it was not a mother tongue. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country A first language (also mother tongue, native language, arterial language, or L1) is the language a human being learns from birth

Comparably, the Latin language (qua Medieval Latin) was in effect a universal language of literati in the Middle Ages, and the language of the Vulgate Bible, in the area of Catholicism which covered most of Western Europe and parts of Northern and Central Europe also. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the Liturgical language of the medieval The Vulgate is an early Fifth Century version of the Bible in Latin, and largely the result of the labours of Jerome, who was commissioned by As a Christian Ecclesiastical term Catholic —from the Greek adjective, meaning "general" or "universal"—is described

Contents 1 Seventeenth century 2 Eighteenth century 3 Nineteenth century 4 Twentieth century 5 Contemporary ideas 6 Pentecost 7 References 8 External links

Seventeenth century

Recognisable strands in the contemporary ideas on universal languages took form only in Early Modern Europe. The early modern period is a term initially used by historians to refer mainly to the period roughly from 1500 to 1800 in Western Europe ( Early modern Europe) A lingua franca or trade language was nothing very new; but an international auxiliary language was a natural wish in light of the gradual decline of Latin. A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely An international auxiliary language (sometimes abbreviated as IAL or auxlang) or interlanguage is a Language meant for communication between people from Literature in vernacular languages became more prominent with the Renaissance. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere Over the course of the 18th century, learned works largely ceased to be written in Latin. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. According to Colton Booth (Origin and Authority in Seventeenth-Century England (1994) p. 174) "The Renaissance had no single view of Adamic language and its relation to human understanding. " The question was more exactly posed in the work of Francis Bacon. Francis Bacon 1st Viscount St Alban KC QC (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626 was an English Philosopher, Statesman, and author

In the vast writings of Gottfried Leibniz can be found many elements relating to a possible universal language, specifically a constructed language, a concept that gradually came to replace that of a rationalised Latin as the natural basis for a projected universal language. A constructed or artificial language known colloquially or informally as a conlang is a Language whose Phonology, Grammar Leibniz conceived of a characteristica universalis (also see mathesis universalis), an "algebra" capable of expressing all conceptual thought. Mathesis universalis (Greek mathesis - science Latin universalis - universal is a hypothetical universal science modelled on Mathematics envisaged by This algebra would include rules for symbolic manipulation, what he called a calculus ratiocinator . The Calculus Ratiocinator is a theoretical universal logical calculation framework a concept described in the writings of Gottfried Leibniz, usually paired with his more frequently His goal was to put reasoning on a firmer basis by reducing much of it to a matter of calculation that many could grasp. Reasoning is the cognitive process of looking for Reasons for beliefs conclusions actions or feelings The characteristica would build on an alphabet of human thought. The idea of an alphabet of human thought originates in the 17th century when proposals were first made for a universal ''a priori'' language.

Leibniz's work is bracketed by some earlier mathematical ideas of René Descartes, and the satirical attack of Voltaire on Panglossianism. François-Marie Arouet ( 21 November 1694 30 May 1778) better known by the Pen name Voltaire, was a French Descartes's ambitions were far more modest than Leibniz's, and also far more successful, as shown by his wedding of algebra and geometry to yield what we now know as analytic geometry. Algebra is a branch of Mathematics concerning the study of structure, relation, and Quantity. Geometry ( Greek γεωμετρία; geo = earth metria = measure is a part of Mathematics concerned with questions of size shape and relative position Analytic geometry, also called coordinate geometry and earlier referred to as Cartesian geometry or analytical geometry, is the study of Geometry Decades of research on symbolic artificial intelligence have not brought Leibniz's dream of a characteristica any closer to fruition.

Other seventeenth-century proposals for a 'philosophical' (i. e. universal) language include those by Francis Lodwick, Thomas Urquhart (possibly parodic), George Dalgarno (Ars signorum, 1661), and John Wilkins (An Essay towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language, 1668). Francis Lodwick (or Lodowick) (1619&ndash1694 was a pioneer of ''a priori'' languages (what in the seventeenth century was called a ' Philosophical language Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty (or Urchard, 1611-c 1660 was a Scottish writer and translator most famous for his translation of Rabelais. George Dalgarno (1626-1687 was a Scottish intellectual interested in linguistic problems John Wilkins ( January 1, 1614 - November 19, 1672) was an English clergyman and author The best remembered of the numerous works of John Wilkins was An Essay towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language ( London, 1668) The classification scheme in Roget's Thesaurus ultimately derives from Wilkins's Essay. Peter Mark Roget roʊˈʒeɪ ( January 18, 1779 &ndash September 12, 1869) was a British Physician, Natural theologian A thesaurus is a book that contains Synonyms and sometimes Antonyms, in contrast to a Dictionary, which contains Definitions and Pronunciations

Early modern ideas about philosophical language were motivated by various theological preoccupations, ones not necessarily associated with Pentecost (see below). Pentecost (πεντηκοστή, pentekostē, "the fiftieth day" is one of the prominent feasts in the Christian Liturgical year, celebrated the

Eighteenth century

In the 18th century, some rationalist natural philosophers sought to recover the Edenic language. The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system See also Divine language The Adamic language is according to Abrahamic traditions, the mythical language spoken by Adam and Eve in the Garden There were two general approaches. In one, it was assumed that education inevitably took people away from the innate state of goodness they possessed, and therefore there was an attempt to see what language a human child brought up in utter silence would speak. This was assumed to be the Edenic tongue, or at least the lapsarian tongue. However, the more common and vigorously attempted project was to either discover the most ancient language (assuming that it would be nearest to Edenic) or to compare all languages and discover their common structures and thus to understand what language God had built into humans. There were, therefore, multiple attempts to relate esoteric languages to Hebrew (e. g. Basque, Erse, and Irish), as well as the beginnings of comparative linguistics. Basque ( native name: euskara) is the Language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain The Goidelic languages, (also sometimes called particularly in colloquial situations the Gaelic languages or collectively Gaelic) historically formed a Dialect Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. Comparative linguistics (originally comparative Philology) is a branch of Historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages in order to

On the other hand, Voltaire's Candide took aim at Leibniz as Dr. Pangloss, with the choice of name clearly putting universal language in his sights, but satirising mainly the optimism of the projector as much as the project. --> Candide ou l'Optimisme (1759 is a French Satire by the Enlightenment Philosopher Voltaire, English translations of which --> Candide ou l'Optimisme (1759 is a French Satire by the Enlightenment Philosopher Voltaire, English translations of which The argument takes the universal language itself no more seriously than the ideas of the speculative scientists and virtuosi of Jonathan Swift's Laputa. Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 Laputa is a fictional place from the book Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. For the like-minded of Voltaire's generation, universal language was tarred as fool's gold with the same brush as philology with little intellectual rigour, and universal mythography, as futile and arid directions. See Comparative linguistics for the narrower field of "comparative philology" Rigour or rigor (see spelling differences) has a number of meanings in relation to intellectual life and discourse A mythographer, or a mythologist, according to a strict dictionary definition is a compiler of myths Mythography (from Greek μυθογραφία

Nineteenth century

At the end of the nineteenth century there was a large profusion of constructed languages intended as genuine spoken language. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar Among these were Solresol, Volapük, and Esperanto, with Esperanto becoming the most popular. Solresol is an Artificial language devised by François Sudre, beginning in 1827 Volapük (volaˈpyk or ˈvɒləpʊk in English is a Constructed language, created in 1879-1880 by Johann Martin Schleyer, a Roman Catholic priest is by far the most widely spoken constructed International auxiliary language in the world

In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith (Bahá'u'lláh) called on the governments of the world to effect the establishment of an international auxiliary language. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The Bahá'í Faith is a Religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in nineteenth-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind Bahá'u'lláh ( ba-haa-ol-laa "Glory of God" ( November 12, 1817 – May 29, 1892) born Mírzá Ḥusayn-`Alí Nuri Auxiliary language in the Bahá'í Faith focuses on a particular teaching that the world should adopt an International auxiliary language, and everyone should have Since then, the international Bahá'í community has promoted this goal, particularly through the United Nations, as a means of facilitating "the transition to a global society". ^[1]

Twentieth century

Further information: World language

Global media, the legacy of the British Empire, the status of the United Kingdom as an economic superpower in the first half, and the United States in the latter half of the twentieth century led to the informal adoption of English as the primary language of international business. A world language is a language spoken internationally which is learned by many people as a Second language. The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A superpower is a State with a leading position in the international system and the ability to Influence events and project power on a worldwide scale The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The twentieth century of the Common Era began on English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States English is on the rise, and is suspected by some, to become the official language of the world within a few generatons. The constructed language movement gave rise to a more a naturalistic approach, producing such languages as Latino Sine Flexione, Occidental, and finally the auxiliary language Interlingua. Latino sine flexione ( Latin without Inflections is an Auxiliary language invented by the Italian mathematician Giuseppe Peano (1858 - 1932 The Language Occidental, later Interlingue, is a planned language created by the Balto-German naval officer and teacher Edgar de Wahl An international auxiliary language (sometimes abbreviated as IAL or auxlang) or interlanguage is a Language meant for communication between people from Interlingua is an International auxiliary language (IAL developed between 1937 and 1951 by the International Auxiliary Language Association (IALA Of these, only Interlingua has any backing today. ^[2].

Contemporary ideas

The early ideas of a universal language with complete conceptual classification by categories is still debated on various levels. Michel Foucault believes such classifications to be subjective, citing Borges' fictional Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge's Taxonomy as an illustrative example. Michel Foucault ( (15 October 1926 – 25 June 1984 was a French philosopher, Historian, Intellectual, Critic and Sociologist. In " The Analytical Language of John Wilkins " ( El idioma analítico de John Wilkins) Jorge Luis Borges writes "These ambiguities redundancies

A recent philosophical synthesis has also connected Leibniz's interest in environmental engineering with Systems Ecology. It has been proposed that a modern form of Leibniz's Characteristica Universalis is the Energy Systems Language of Systems Ecology, which has been used to develop ecological-economic systems overviews of landscapes, technologies, and Nations. The Energy Systems Language (right also referred to as Energese, Energy Circuit Language and Generic Systems Symbols, was developed by the Ecologist One consequence of this seems to be that Leibniz's Enlightenment project is alive and being applied globally in the evaluation of ecological sustainability. The term Emergy was originally coined by David M Scienceman in collaboration with the late Howard T

Pentecost

A Bible-centred discussion of the question would pick up on the glossolalia (speaking with tongues) of the New Testament Pentecost story, where in the Book of Acts [1]. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin Glossolalia is commonly called "speaking in tongues" For other uses of "speaking in tongues" see Speaking in Tongues (disambiguation. Pentecost (πεντηκοστή, pentekostē, "the fiftieth day" is one of the prominent feasts in the Christian Liturgical year, celebrated the The Acts of the Apostles is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament.

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house". . . "And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire". . . "they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues". In mainstream Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is one of the three entities of the Holy Trinity which make up the single substance . . "devout men, out of every nation under heaven". . . "the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?" - Acts 2:1-13

In the story, Saint Peter proceeds to explain this miracle as the fulfillment of the prophecy by Joel. See also Book of Joel. Alternative spelling Yole Joel (יואל was a prophet of ancient Israel whose prophecies are recorded in the A Christian interpretation views this event as the reconstitution of the division brought about at the Tower of Babel. The Tower of Babel (מגדל בבל Migdal Bavel برج بابل Burj Babil) is a structure featured in chapter 11 of the Book of Genesis, an enormous The tower to reach heaven represents a Titan's (futile) quest, but the descent and acceptance of the Holy Spirit upon the men at the Pentecost represents that quest's fulfillment. In Greek mythology, the Titans ( Greek: Tītā́n; plural Tītânes) were a race of powerful Deities that ruled during the legendary In mainstream Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is one of the three entities of the Holy Trinity which make up the single substance

References

External links

• World international languages of the past and the present (in English and Italian)

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