CONTENTS

PREFACE.

GRAMMAR.

SPECIMENS OF THE LANGUAGE.

DICTIONARY:

    (a) Neutral-English.

    (b) English-Neutral.

Supplement.

APPENDIX:

    (a) History of the International Academy of the Universal Language.

    (b) List of the Members of the Academy.

    (c) Statutes of the Academy.

Index to the Grammar.

    PREFACE.

    "What is most International is nearest the Ideal."

    In publishing this Dictionary of the Neutral Language, something must be premised as to the origin of the latter, for very few are aware that there exists a well organized international society, to which the language owes its origin.

    After many fruitless attempts — and all by eminent scholars — had been made in the course of the last three hundred years to construct an artificial language that would serve to facilitate intercourse between persons of different nationalities, in the year 1879 Rev. J. M. Schleyer of Litzelstetten, Baden, succeeded in excogitating such a language, called Volapük, which at the time attracted general notice, since the grammar of this language, in contradistinction to the difficult grammars of the living languages, is surprisingly simple; in a few hours the rules could be acquired and correspondence immediately entered upon with the aid of a dictionary.

    This simplicity caused many to learn the interesting language, and after a few years Volapük was so widely spread that there were hundreds of Volapük clubs, and over twenty Volapük papers were published.

    Soon, however, complaints arose as to certain imperfections of the language: some Volapükists arbitrarily introduced changes or corrections, which were not recognized by others, among them the inventor; disagreements arose, and in consequence it was universally deemed desirable to call into existence a society which would preserve the unity of the language and perfect Volapük.

    Such a society, under the name of International Academy of the Universal Language, was founded by the Volapük congress, held in Munich in the year 1887, and the statutes of this Academy were ratified by the international Volapük congress held in Paris in the year 1889; by which statutes the Academy is to this day guided. At first seventeen persons, from twelve different countries, were chosen to constitute the Academy; later the number of members fluctuated between fifteen and thirty-six. The labors of the Academy could be carried on only in writing, since the members lived in various localities (in Europe, America, Africa and Asia).

    In the beginning the Academy was occupied with the discussion of grammatical questions; later, when it was seen that very many words are common to most European languages and consequently are already familiar to those speaking a European language, e.g. tenor, plan, basin brutal, and that therefore all these world-words must find favor in a language intended for international communication, the Volapük words, which are to a great extent taken from the English, but often so distorted as to be unrecognizable, were replaced by international words.

    Now, as the result of the labors of the Academy, a language has arisen — called Neutral Language (Idiom Neutral), — which has retained the good qualities of Volapük, but differs essentially from Volapük in this, that it consists almost exclusively of international words, and can thus, whether spoken or written, be understood by every educated man almost without any previous study.

    Consequently the Neutral Language is capable of rendering effective service in all cases where persons of different nationalities must make themselves understood either orally or in writing, whether it be for commercial, scientific, or other purposes; in a word, wherever the need of a so-called universal language exists.

    M.A.F. HOLMES.

    Macedon, N.Y., May 4, 1903.

GRAMMAR OF THE NEUTRAL LANGUAGE (IDIOM NEUTRAL)

I. PRONUNCIATION AND ORTHOGRAPHY.

§ 1. The Neutral Language (Idiom Neutral) has 22 letters, 5 vowels: a e i o u, and 17 consonants: b c d f g h j k l m n p r s t v y.

The vowels are pronounced as follows:

Consecutive vowels are pronounced separately, e. g. hebre-ik Hebraic, a-utomat automaton, E-urop Europe, no-i we, si-e his.

The consonants are always pronounced as follows:

(*) g: Never as in the English word gentle.

(*) s: Never as s in the English word rose; in other words, s of Idiom neutral is always voiceless, never voiced.

(*) The figures after the “r.” denote the number of the respective resolution of the Academy.

    The letters s and h, if they stand together, form an exception hereto; they are then pronounced as sh in the English word “shall.” (r. 109).

    Remark. In the phonetic writing of proper names and foreign words, in order to show their pronunciation, the following letters and combinations of letters may be used (r. 116, r. 117):

1. ä for the sound ä in the German language = al in the English word fair.
2. ö for the sound ö in the German language = o in the English word word.
3. ü for the sound ü in the German language = u in the French word une.
4. z for the sound z in the English word zeal, zinc.
5. gh for the sound g in the Danish language, e. g. in the word sag.
6. kh for the sound ch in the German language, e. g. in the word Sache.
7. th for the sound th in the English language, e. g. in the word Bath.

§ 2. Words are accented according to the following rule (r. 57):

    The accent (or stress of voice) is on the vowel that immediately precedes the last consonant, if there be such vowel, e. g. fortun (pronounced fortùn) fortune, manu (pr. mànu) hand, aloe (pr. àloe) aloe, filio (pr. fìlio) son; otherwise it is on the first vowel, e. g. mai (pr. mài) May, Deo (pr. Dèo) God. In exceptional cases the accented (stressed) vowel is denoted by a written accent, e. g. idé idea, alé alley, depó depot.

    Remark. In the compounding of such words, that is words having the written accent, with a suffix, the accent is dropped and the word is accented (stressed) according to the general rule, e. g. aleatr (pronunciation ateàtr) alley-like.

II. THE SUBSTANTIVE.

§ 3. The Neutral Language has only one declension for all substantives (r. 43-47):

The accusative is distinguished from the nominative by its place in the sentence: the nominative stands before the verb, the accusative after the verb, e. g. mi klos porta, I lock the door; patr puni filio, the father punishes the son. (r.46)

The dative can be used also without the preposition a, and in that case it is indicated by a fixed place in the sentence, namely before the accusative; this applies particularly to pronouns, e. g. il donav mi libr, he gave me a book; il mit mi flori, he sends me flowers. (r. 55).

§ 4. There is no article; accordingly the English articles the and a, an are not translated, and conversely the word dom can mean the house as well as a house ; which meaning is to be taken can be almost always determined from the context. —If the word a stands for a certain, it is translated by sert: sert dom, a house, a certain house; but if it stands for some, any, it is translated by kelkun: kelkun dom, a house, some house. If we wish to refer to a definite object, the demonstrative pronouns can be used: ist dom, this house; el dom, that house. (c. 42/44) (*).

(*) The figures after the “c.” denote the numbers of the circulars of the Director of the Academy to the members thereof, (1) of the circular in which the respective words were proposed, (2) of the circular in which the Director announced the acceptance of these words on the part of the Academy.

§ 5. Nouns are (1) of the masculine gender, if they denote persons or animals of the male sex, (2) of the feminine gender, if they denote persons or animals of the female sex, and (3) of the neuter gender in all other cases. —Mascullne nouns are formed by the addition of the suffix -o, e. g. kavalo stallion, ansiano old man, —and feminine nouns by the addition of the suffix -a, e. g. kavala mare, italiana an Italian (woman) (*). (r. 34, 35. Cf. r. 122 d).

(*) The meaning of the roots kaval, ansian, etc., can easily be found in the dictionary; it is therefore not repeated here.

§ 6. Diminutives are formed by the addition of the suffix -et, e. g. sigaret cigarette, kavalet pony. filieta little daughter. (r 103).

§ 7. Designations for not full-grown (young) animals are formed by compounds with the word yun young, e. g. yun-kaval colt, yun-ran tadpole. (r. 86, c. 53/56).

III. THE ADJECTIVE.

§ 8. Adjectives are distinguished as primitive, e. g. grand great, fasil easy, and derivative, which are formed from other parts of speech by the addition of one of the seven suffixes -abl, -al, -an, -atr, -id, -ik, -os. (r. 12).

    Adjectives in -abl show that something is possible or worthy, with a passive meaning; this suffix is used principally with verbal roots, e. g. komprendabl comprehensible, intelligible, konvenabl suitable, fitting. (r.49).

    The suffix -al is used instead of the suffix -ik (see below), if the root ends in -ik, e. g. gramatikal grammatical, teknikal technical. (r. 133).

    Adjectives in -an show appurtenance to some one or something, e. g. mahometan Mahometan, amerikan American. (r. 32).

    Adjectives in -atr indicate similarity or likeness; this suffix can be joined to substantive and adjective roots, e. g. petratr stone-like, petrous, verdatr greenish. (r. 50).

    Remark. If words end in a, the suffixes -abl, -an, -atr are changed into -bl, -n, -tr, e. g. rusian Russian, akuatr watery. (r. 49, 32, 50).

    Adjectives in -id show a quality of some one or of something; this suffix is used with verbal roots, e. g. timid timid, splendid splendid, bright. (r. 135).

    Adjectives in -os indicate a fullness or multitude of anything, e.g. petros stony, oleos oily, lanos woolly, amoros amorous. (r. 33).

    The suffix -ik is the general adjective suffix; it indicates quality and is used to form derivative adjectives, for which the remaining suffixes, -abl, -an, -atr, -id, -os, are not suitable because of their special signification, e. g. elektrik electric, rusik Russian, anuik annual, Atlantik Atlantic, fantastik fantastic, galvanik galvanic, hastik hasty, historik historic, homik human, horisontik horizontal, idealik ideal, identik identical, lanik woolen, etc. (r. 31, r. 39).

§ 9. Comparison takes place by putting before the adjective the adverbs plu, for the comparative, and leplu for the superlative, e. g. plu grand greater, leplu grand greatest. (r. 123).

    The conjunction than after the comparative is translated by ka, e. g. vo es plu grand ka mi, you are taller than I. So—as, as—as, are rendered by tale—kuale, e. g. vo es tale grand kuale mi, you are as tall as I. (c. 42/44).

    The adverb very is translated by multe, e. g. multe grand very great. (c. 42/44).

§ 10. The adjective always follows the substantive to which it belongs, e. g. dom grand the large house, lingu universal the universal language (r. 84), and is never varied, e. g. patr bon the good father, filia bon the good daughter, filii bon the good children. (Gl. n.) (*).

    (*). The letters Gl. n. signify that the rule in question is quoted from the Glamat nomik (Normal Grammar), written in Volapük, which was duly accepted by the Academy and published in the year 1892 ; which rule has not been changed by any subsequent resolution of the Academy.

§ 11. Every adjective can be used as a substantive, and is then declined as a substantive, e. g. boni e mali the good and the bad, poltron cowardly, a coward. (r. 132).

§ 12. It is not allowed to form a verb from an adjective by means of the general verbal suffixes, but, for the sake of clearness, either the verb esar to be, or one of the suffixes, –ifikar or –eskar, is to be used, e. g. esar san to be well (healthy), sanifikar to heal, saneskar to recover, to convalesce. (r. 121).

IV. THE NUMERAL.

§ 13. Cardinal Numbers [which answer the question kuant? how many?] are either roots, e. g. 1 un, 2 du, 3 tri, 10 des, or compound words, e. g. 20 du-des, 34 tri-des-kuatr.

    The following are roots: 1 un, 2 du, 3 tri, 4 kuatr, 5 kuink, 6 seks, 7 sept, 8 okt, 9 nov, 0 nul, 10 des, 100 sent, 1,000 mil, 1,000,000 milion, 1,000,000,000 bilion, 1,000,000,000,000 trilion, 1,000,000,000,000,000 kuadrilion, 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 kuintilion. The rest are formed from these by composition, des with other numerals being always combined into one word, sent, on the contrary, only when another numeral precedes; the higher numerals, mil, million, billion, etc., always stand alone, e. g.

§ 14. The ordinal numbers [which answer the question kuantim? which of the number? what number? which? What? (what-th, if there were such word)] are formed from the cardinal numbers by the addition of the suffix –im to the respective cardinal number, and to the last word of the cardinal, e. g. 1. unim first, 2. duim second, 7. septim seventh, 30. tridesim thirtieth, 100. sentim hundredth, 120. sent dudesim hundred and twentieth, 325. trisent dudeskuinkim three hundred and twenty-fifth, 1000. milim thousandth, etc., but it is allowed to use instead of the derived forms the following seven well-known roots: 1. prim first, 2. sekund second, 3. ters third, 4. kuart fourth, 5. kuint fifth, 6. sekst sixth, and 8. oktav eighth. –It is also permitted to use the cardinals instead of the ordinals, if the sense shows that there is no question of a cardinal; but in this case the cardinal must occupy the same sense in the sentence that the ordinal would, if it were used, namely after the substantive (see below, § 19), e. g. § des § 10, pagin trisent dudeskuink page 325. (r. 81).

§ 15. Multiplicatives [which answer the question kuantupl? how many fold?] are formed by the addition of the suffix -upl to the respective cardinal number, and to the last word of the cardinal, e.g. 1. unupl simple, 2. duupl double, twofold, 3. triupl three-fold, triple, treble, 105. sent kuinkupl hundred and fivefold, etc., but it is allowed to use instead of the derived forms the following three well-known roots: 1. simpl simple, 2. dupl double, twofold, 3. tripl threefold, triple, treble. (r. 82).

Remark. The suffix -upl is used also with the word mult many: multupl manifold, multiple. (r. 82).

§ 16. The distributives [which answer the question a kuant? how many apiece? each how many? by how many?] are formed by placing the preposition a before the respective cardinal number, e.g. a un one apiece, one each, one by one, a du two apiece, two each, two by two, etc. (c. 20/28, 42/44).

§ 17. The iteratives [which answer the question kuantfoa? how many times? and kuantimfoa? for the which time? for the what (what-th; see § 14) time? for the how many-th (?) time?] are formed by the addition of the suffix -foa to the respective cardinal or ordinal, and to the last word of the cardinal or ordinal, e.g. 1. unfoa once, 2. dufoa twice, 100. sentfoa a hundred times, 1. primfoa for the first time, 139. sent tridesnovimfoa for the one hundred and thirty-ninth time, etc. (r. 83).

Remark. The suffix -foa can be used also with other parts of speech, e.g. multfoa many times, ultimfoa for the last time, etc. (r. 83).

§ 18. Fractions are formed by a cardinal (for the numerator) with an ordinal (for the denominator) following it, e.g. ½ un sekund or un demi, 2/3 du tersi, 0.2 du desimi, 0.03 tri sentimi, 2/109 du unsent novimi, 0.007 sept milimi. If a fraction is used with a whole number, the fraction is joined to the whole number by the conjunction e, e.g. 3 ¼ tri e un kuart, π = 3.14159.... = tri totali e un kuatr un kuink nov e s., 0.145... nul totali e un kuatr kuink e s. (r. 85).

§ 19. Cardinal numbers and fractions always precede the substantive to which they belong, e.g. du kavali two horses, tri kuarti metr ¾ meter; — the remaining numerals always follow the substantive or verb to which they belong, e.g. paragraf sekund § 2, plesir dupl double pleasure, noi andav a du we went by twos, mi klamav trifoa I shouted three times. (r. 84).

§ 20. Numeral adverbs are formed by adding the adverbial suffix -e to the respective ordinal, e.g. 1. prime first, 2. sekunde secondly, etc. (c. 29/33).

§ 21. Numeral verbs are formed by the addition of the suffix -ifikar to multiplicatives, e.g. simplifikar to simplify, duplifikar to double, etc. (r. 52).

§ 22. Dating takes place in the following manner: in diurn tridesim de mens yuli de anu mil novsentim po nat de Krist, which, by the omission of the words printed in ordinary roman, and even of the word in, is usually shortened to: tridesim yuli, mil novsent 30 July, 1900.

The twelve months of the year are called: yanuar, februar, mars, april, mai, yuni, yuli, august, septembr, oktobr, novembr, desembr.

lundi, marsdi, merkurdi, yovdi, vendrdi, saturndi. (r. 100).

§ 23. The time of day is expressed in the following manner: [it es] hor tri e un kuart, it is quarter after three o'clock; hor tri e des minuti, ten minutes after three; hor tri e kuinkdeskuatr [minuti], six minutes to four; in hor septim de matin, between six and seven o'clock in the morning.

V. THE PRONOUN.

§ 24. The Personal Pronoun. (r. 122).

    The reflexive pronoun is se, self.

§ 25. If only one person is addressed, the pronoun is always in the singular, namely vo.

Remark. There is also another pronoun for the second person singular, namely tu; but it is used only for a literal translation of the word thou, if such translation is absolutely necessary. (r. 79).

§ 26. The pronouns il, ila, it are employed according to the following rule: il is used if we speak of persons or animals without distinction of sex, or of male persons or animals; ila—if we speak of female persons or animals; it—if we speak of notions signifying neither persons nor ammals.—ilai is used only if there is special question of female persons or animals; in all other cases the plural form is ili. (r. 122).

§ 27. The pronoun it with an adjective or participle following is used to express the indefinite, e. g. it bel the beautiful, it bon the good, it lekted the read (what has been read). (r. 122).

§ 28. Personal pronouns (also other words) can be made emphatic by the addition of the pronoun aut self, e. g. mi aut I myself, vo aut you yourself, direktor aut the director himself. (r. 122).

§ 29. The personal pronouns (as also all other pronouns used as substantives) are declined by placing the preposition de (for the genitive) and a (for the dative) before them, e. g. mi I, de mi of me, a mi to me, mi me; voi you, de voi of you, a voi to you, voi you. (r. 122).

§ 30. THE POSSESSIVE PRONOUN.

The reflexive possessive pronoun is sue his (own), her (own), its (own), their (own). It is used instead of sie and lor, if it relates to the subject of the sentence in which it stands. (c. 31/36). The possessive pronoun tue corresponds to the personal pronoun tu. (r. 79).

§ 31. The possessives, and in general all pronouns that relate to a substantive, are always placed before the respective substantive, e. g. mie dom my house, ist sirkular this circular, kel tabl? which table? kuant homi? how many men (human beings)? kelk paroli some words, omni lingui all languages. (r. 84).

§ 32. THE DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN.

In case the pronouns ist and el are used as substantives, they may take the masculine suffix -o and the feminine -a, if we wish to specify particularly the sex of the persons or animals spoken of. e. g. ista, elo. (c. 42/44, 46/48, r. 122).

ist-kos, el-kos, tel-kos, it sem and yuste it sem can be used only substantively.

§ 33. THE INTERROGATIVE AND, EQUALLY, RELATIVE PRONOUNS.

ki? who?
kel? who? which? what? that?
kekos? what? which?

The pronoun ki is used for persons and kekos for all other notions. (r. 122).

These pronouns are declined like substantives by means of the prepositions de and a, and kel takes in the plural the suffix -i: keli. If it should be necessary to indicate the sex of the persons or animals spoken of, kel may take the endings -o and -a, e. g. matr de ist sinior, kela veniav a mi, the mother of this gentleman, who (the mother) came to me.

The pronoun kel may also be used adjectively, in which case it remains unchanged, e. g. kel sinior es votr fratr? which gentleman is your brother? kel siniora es votr matr? which lady is your mother?—The remaining interrogative and relative pronouns can be used only substantively. (c. 42/44).

§ 34. THE INDEFINITE PRONOUNS.

kelk, some, any, several,
kelk-kos, something, anything.
kelk-hom, somebody, some one, anybody, anyone.
kelk-un, some, any, a.
nohom, nobody, no one.
nokos, nothing.
noun, no
omni (followed by the sing.), each, every.
omni (followed by the plur.), all.
omni du, both.
omni-hom, everybody, everyone, each one, each.
omni kekos, whatever.
omni ki, whoever, whichever.
omni-kos, everything.
otr, other.
otr-kos, something else.
sert, (a) certain.
sert-kos, a certain thing, some thing.
un—otr, the one—the other.

The pronouns kelk, omni, otr, sert and un—otr can be used substantively and adjectively.—Pronouns used substantively are declined by means of de and a and the suffix -i for the plural. These pronouns can take the suffixes -o and -a, if it be necessary to indicate the sex. (r. 122).

The pronouns otr and sert can take the adverbial suffix -e, in which case they mean: otre otherwise, else; serte certainly, surely. (c. 27/32, 42/44).

§ 35. THE CORRELATIVE PRONOUNS.

These pronouns can take the adverbial suffix -e, in which case they mean:

VI. THE VERB.

§ 36. Idiom neutral has only one conjugation for all verbs; there are six tenses: present, imperfect, perfect, pluperfect, future, and future perfect.

§ 37. The present active is formed from the simple root of the verb, and is recognized by the place that the verb occupies in the sentence, namely after the subject, e. g. mi am I love, infant dorm the child sleeps. (r. 61).

    The form of the present, as also of all other tenses of the indicative and conditional, is independent of the gender, grammatical person, and number of the subject, that is, it always remains unchanged, (r. 59) e. g.

§ 38. The imperfect is formed by adding the suffix -av to the root (r. 87) e. g.

    mi amav, I loved;

the future, by adding the suffix -ero, (r. 88) e. g.

    mi amero, I shall love.

§ 39. In the same way the present, imperfect, and future of all other verbs are formed, including avar, to have, and esar, to be, which are used as auxiliaries in forming other tenses, thus:

• mi av, I have.
• mi es, I am.
• mi avav, I had.
• mi esav, I was.
• mi avero, I shall have.
• mi esero, I shall be.

The passive participle, which is used also in forming some other tenses, always ends in -ed, (r. 94) e. g.

• amed, loved.
• aved, had.
• esed, been.

§ 40. The perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect active (r. 95) are formed by means of the auxiliary verb avar and the passive participle of the respective verb; thus there is employed for the formation of the

§ 41. The present conditional is formed by adding the suffix –erio to the root, e. g.

mi amerio, I should love. (r. 96).

§ 42. The past conditional is formed by using the present conditional of the auxiliary verb avar and the passive participle of the respective verb, e. g. mi averio amed, I should have loved. (r. 73).

§ 43. The subjunctive has the same form as the conditional and is used in conditional secondary propositions with the conjunction if, if the condition expressed is considered as not having happened or as not actual, e. g. mi akuirerio dom, if mi eserio rik, I should buy a house, if I were rich.

Remark. In secondary propositions with the conjunction ke, that, the indicative, not the subjunctive, is used, e. g. on dik, ke il es malad, they say that he is sick or they say he is sick; (r. 74) the conjunction ke, that, is never omitted, though it may be in English.

§ 44. The imperative is formed by the addition of the following suffixes to the root of the verb:

(a) for the 2d pers. sing. -a, e. g. ama! love you!

(b) for the 2d pers. plur. -ate, e g. amate! love ye!

(c) for the 1st pers. plur. -am, e. g. amam! let us love!.

For the third person the conjunction ke, that, is used, e. g. [mi komand, mi demand, mi desir] ke il (ili) am! let him (them) love! ke nostr patria viv! long live our native land! (r. 75).

§ 45. The general infinitive suffix is -ar, e g. amar, to love. (r. 36).

§ 46. If the sense positively requires that past time be indicated (which is very seldom), the past infinitive may be formed by the suffix -avar or by the infinitive of the auxiliary verb avar with the passive participle of the respective verb, e. g. amavar or avar amed, to have loved. (r. 91).—The future infinitive (a still rarer form) is formed by the suffix -erar, e. g. amerar, to be about to love. (r. 92).

§ 47. The general suffix for the active participle is -ant, e. g. amant, loving. (r. 58).

§ 48. The past participle is forned by means of the suffix -avant or by the participle of the verb avar with the passive participle of the respective verb, e. g. amavant or avant amed, having loved. (r.89)

The future participle is formed by means of the suffix -erant, e. g. amerant, being about to love. (r. 90).

§ 49. The participial adverb is obtained by adding the adverbial suffix -e to the participle, e. g. amante, lovingly; ridante, laughingly. (r. 58).

§ 50. The indicative, conditional, imperative and infinitive passive are formed by means of the active of the auxiliary verb esar, to be, and the passive participle of the respective verb, e. g.

INDICATIVE.

CONDITIONAL.

IMPERATIVE.

INFINITIVE.

§ 51. The passive participle, as already mentioned (§ 39), is formed by the addition of the suffix -ed to the root, e. g. amed, loved.

The past participle takes the suffix -aved, the future -ered, e. g. amaved, having been loved; amered, about to be loved. (r. 94).

§ 52. The gerundive is formed by means of the suffix: -and, e. g. amand, to be loved (that must, ought, deserves, to be loved). (r. 97).

§ 53. The following synopsis gives a distinct idea of the conjugation of the verb amar, to love:

All verbs without exception can be conjugated according to this model; and any subject may be used instead of the pronoun mi, e. g. mi skrib, I write; vo audiav, you heard; il av oleed, he has oiled; voi avav volued, you had wished; noi andero, we shall go; it avero esed aksentued, it will have been accented; paya! pay! etc.

§ 54. In impersonal verbs the pronoun it, it, is used as subject, e. g. it pluvi, it rains. (r. 78).

§ 55. Reflexive verbs are conjugated according to the following rules: (r. 98)

(a) For the first and second person singular and plural of the indicative, conditional and imperative, a personal pronoun [mi, vo, noi, voi] corresponding to the subject is used after the verb, e. g.

mi lav mi, I wash myself.
vo lav vo, you wash yourself.
noi lav noi, we wash ourselves.
mi e mie fratr vis noi in miror, my brother and I see ourselves in the mirror.
mi laverio mi, I should wash myself,
lava vo! wash yourself !
lavate voi!
lavam noi! let us wash ourselves !

(b) In all other cases the pronoun se is used after the verb, e. g.

il lav se, he washes himself.
femini lav se, women wash themselves.
lavar se, to wash one’s self.
lavant se, washing one’s self.

§ 56. Reciprocity is indicated by the pronoun unotr or by the adverb resiproke, e. g. noi vis unotr in miror or noi vis noi resiproke in miror, we see each other in the mirror; patr e filio am unotr or patr e filio am se resiproke, father and son love each other. (r. 98).

§ 57. Questions, both direct and indirect, are introduced by the conjunction eske, whether, if an interrogative word is not already in the sentence, (c. 23/28, 42/44) e. g.

Eske vo volu skribar? Do you wish to write?

Mi no konos, eske it plis a vo, I do not know whether it pleases you.

If, on the contrary, there is an interrogative word in the sentence, eske is omitted; the interrogative word always precedes the verb, (Gl. n.) e. g.

Ki parl? Who speaks?
Libr de ki es su tabl? Whose book is on the table?
A ki vo donav flori? To whom did you give the flowers?
Ki patr puni? Whom does the father punish?
Ko ki vo esav in teatr? With whom were you in the theater?
Kuant arbori es in votr hort? How many trees are in your garden?
Kuant paroli vo av skribed? How many words have you written?

VII. THE ADVERB.

§ 58. Adverbs are distinguished as primitive and derivative.

§ 59. The following are the primitive adverbs: (c. 42/44)

a (before numerals), apiece, each.
ankor, still, yet.
bene, well.
denove, again, anew.
ergo, therefore, consequently.
gratis, gratis.
ipse, even.
kuasi, nearly, almost.
la, there.
leplu, most.
minu, less.
no, no, not.
plu, more.
respektive, respectively.
retro, back.
si, yes.
sirka, around, about.
tro, too.
ya, already.

§ 60. The remaining adverbs are derivative, and they are formed by adding the suffix –e to other parts of speech or to roots, (r. 37) e. g.

dome, at home.
fakte, in fact.
finie, finally, at last.
frekuente, frequently, often.
interiore, within.
kontinue, continuously.
lente, slowly.
multe, much, very.
noktue, by night.
norde, in the north.
obstine, notwithstanding.
pede, afoot, on foot.
pene, hardly, scarcely.
posible, possibly, perhaps.
probable, probably.
rare, rarely, seldom.
serte, certainly, surely.
setre, moreover.
sikause, hence.
sole, only.
sue-tempe, in due time, duly.
sufise, enough, sufficiently.
tale, thus, so.
totale, totally, wholly.
ulteriore, further.

Remark. For the adverbs in -foa see Chapter IV., § 17 (Iteratives).

§ 61. The following are the Interrogative adverbs:

kefrekuente? how often?
kekause? why?
kelfoa? which time?
kelimfoa? see Dictionary.
keloke? keplase? where?
kemaniere? in what manner?
kuale? how?
kuande? when?
kuante? how much?
kuantfoa? how many times?

The interrogative adverbs can be used also as relatives. (c. 42/44).

§ 62. The prefixes si- and pre-, the preposition po and the adverb piu are joined to the word diurn, day, to form words denoting days close at hand: (r. 125)

sidiurne, to-day.
pre-sidiurne, yesterday.
posidiurne, to-morrow.
plupre-sidiurne, day before yesterday.
plu-posidiurne, day after to-morrow.

In the same way also from other roots, hor hour, seman week, mens month, anu year, etc., adverbs of time are formed, e. g. sihore at this hour, presimense last month, plu-posianue year after next, simomente at this instant.

§ 63. Adverbs are compared by placing the adverb plu for the comparative, and leplu for the superlative, before the word to be compared, (r. 123) e. g.

• tarde late.
• plu tarde later.
• leplu tarde latest.

§ 64. An adverb used to modify a verb is always placed after it, e. g. skribar korekte to write correctly, mi skrib korekte I write correctly. The adverb no forms an exception to this rule, and is always placed before the verb, e. g. mi no skrib I do not write.—An adverb used to modify any other part of speech than a verb is placed before this word, e. g. multe grand very great, no ankor not yet, yuste ist just this. (r. 84).

Remark. Complements of time, place and reason may be placed before the verb, if they are of special importance, e. g. nokuande mi skribav tale never did I write so, in ist dom Emerson moriav in this house Emerson died, kausu pluvi noi restero dome because of the rain we shall remain at home. (Gl. n.).

VIII. THE PREPOSITION.

§ 65. The following are the primitive prepositions: (c. 42/44)

a, to, (before the infinitive) in order to.
ad, at (local).
ante, before (time and place).
da, from, since.
de, of.
di, about, concerning.
eks, out of, from.
ekstr, besides.
in, in, into.
intr, between, among.
ko, with.
kontr, against, toward.
per, through, by.
po, after, behind.
pro, for.
sine, without.
sirka, around, about.
su, on, upon.
sub, under.
trans, over, across.
ultra, beyond.
usk, until, till.
versu, toward.
via, by way of, via.

§ 66. The remaining prepositions are derivative and are formed from other parts of speech or from roots by the addition of the suffix -u, or they are formed by circumlocution. The principal ones follow: (c. 42/44, r. 38)

a kont de, to the account of.
dekstre de, at the right of.
dorsu, back of, behind.
durantu, during.
ekseptu, excepting, except.
eksteriore de, outside of, outside.
favoru, in favor of.
in dom de, in the house of.
inferiore de, below.
in honor de, in honor of.
in manier de, after the manner of.
in mediad de, in the middle of.
in nom de, in the name of.
in sentr de, in the center of.
in sosietet de, in company with.
in temp de, at the time of.
interiore de, inside of, inside.
kausu, because of, on account of.
konsiderantu, in consideration of.
ko permit de, by permission of.
ko sukurs de, with the help of.
longu, along.
manku, for lack of, in defeault of.
mediu, by means of, through, by.
negligantu, regardless of.
obstinu, in spite of.
okasionu, on occasion of.
plasu (or: in plas de), instead of, in place of.
presentu, before, in presence of.
profitu, for the benefit of.
proksimu, near.
relativu, relative to.
sekuantu, according to.
sekuantu komand de, by order of.
sinistre de, at the left of.
siteriore de, on the hither side of.
superiore de, over, above.
ulteriore de, on the thither side of.
visinu, in the vicinity of, beside.

Prepositions always precede the substantive in the nominative, e.g.:

favoru mie fratr, in favor of my brother.
ad mur, at the wall.
pro mi, for me.
kausu pluvi, because of the rain.

IX. THE CONJUNCTION.

§ 67. The following are the primitive conjunctions: (c. 42/44)

e, and.
e—e, both—and, as well as.
eske, interrogative particle, ?, whether, if.
et, also.
if, if.
if et, even if.
ka, than.
ke, that.
ma, but.
ni—ni, neither—nor.
u, or.
u—u, either—or.

§ 68. The remaining conjunctions are rendered by circumlocution; for some conjunctions adverbial forms suffice. The principal ones follow: (c. 42/44)

a fini ke, in order that.
ante ke, before.
da temp ke, since.
durante ke, while, whilst.
eksepte ke, unless.
in kualitet de, in the capacity of, as.
kause, because, for.
kuale if, as if.
kuande, when.
negligante ke, although, though.
nemediate po ke, as soon as.
no sole—ma et, not only—but also.
obstine ke, notwithstanding that.
omnifoa ke, whenever, as often as, every time that.
omni-loke ke, wherever, every-where that.
plase ke, instead of, in place of.
po ke, after.
sine ke, without.
suposante ke, provided that, supposing that, assuming that.
tale ke, so that.
tale longe ke, as long as.
usk ke, until.

X. THE INTERJECTION.

§ 69. The following are the primitive interjections : (c. 42/44, 51/56)

a! ah!
apo! away! begone!
ekse! behold! look! here! there!
fi! fie!
o! 0! oh!
stop! stop! halt!
ve! woe!

§ 70. The remaining interjections are rendered by other parts of speech. (r. 107).—The principal ones follow: (c. 42/44, 51/56)

a revisad! until we meet again!
audia! hear! hello!
brave! bravo! good!
damnos! it is a pity! what a pity!
haste! hurry! be quick!
o Deo! for God's sake!
parat! ready!
pardon! I beg your pardon!
regrete! alas! unfortunately!
silensi! silence! hush!
sukurs! help!
ve a mi! woe to me!

XI. FORMATION OF WORDS.

§ 71. Words are distinguished into primitives (otherwise known as radicals), e. g. tabl table, derivatives, e., g. nemult few, drogist druggist, and compound words, e.g. grand-patr grandfather.

(a) PRIMITIVES.

§ 72. Radicals are taken from the Aryan languages. The “International Academy of the Universal Language” has laid down the following rule for the selection of radicals: “That word is most suitable for an international language, which already exists as a national word or as a foreign word in the most of the leading languages of Europe.” (r. 11). In this the following seven languages were especially considered: English (e), French (f), German (d) [from the first letter of the word: deutsch], Spanish (s), Italian (i), Russian (r) and Latin (l), and, wherever practicable, such words were chosen as occur in all seven languages, e. g. apetit, e f d s i r l, appetite; diametr, e f d s i r l, diameter; eksaminar, e f d s i r l, to examine; tri, e f d s i r l, three, etc. This work of the Academy has shown that there are very many words which are already international, — many more than is generally believed. The most of the radicals chosen occur in at least four of the above-mentioned leading languages; only exceptionally had roots to be taken, that are common to fewer than four of these languages, e. g. trotoar, f d r, side walk ; urs, f i l, bear; tint, d s, ink. For those notions for which there are no international words, derivatives or compounds (see below) were given the preference over words of the natural languages; thus were formed, for instance, words such as nemult, (*)few; kanalet, ditch, trench; saneskar, to convalesce; bel-filio, son-in-law.

 (*) The meaning of the separate parts of words can be easily looked up in the dictionary; they are therefore not repeated here.

§ 73. In order to bring the pronunciation into agreement with the orthography, that is, in order to obtain a really simple, easily acquired orthography, it was resolved to write:

1. ku, where qu appears in the national word, e. g. kuadrat quadrat, square. (. 120).

2. that c before consonants and before a, o, u is, in accordance with general pronunciation, replaced by k, e. g. kart card, klas class, kolor color, kub cube; and before e and i by s, e. g. selebr celebrated, sipres cypress. (r. 23).

3. that t in the ending -tion is, in accordance with the pronunciation, replaced by s, (*) e. g. nasion nation. (r. 23)

4. if a word occurs in English, French and German, but with different endings, e. g. Anker d, anchor e, ancre f;—Meter d, meter e, mètre f; Bibel d, Bible e f, —two or three consonants may be written consecutively at the end, e. g. ankr, metr, bibl, because the insertion of a vowel, for instance e, before the final consonant, would, according to the general rule for accentuation, cause an unnatural accentuation, e. g. bibél, and on the other hand the writing of a meaningless vowel at the end of a word is useless. (r. 23).

5. that z of the national languages is replaced by s, (*) e g. basar bazaar, market. (r. 23).

(*) For the pronunciation of s see Chapter 1, § 1.

6. ph is replaced by f, e. g. fosfor phosphorus. (r. 23).

7. x is replaced by ks, e. g. eksaminar to examine. (Gl , n., c. 23/28).

8. if for the same meaning different roots are extant, e. g. vid and vis, redig and redakt, kresk krev and kret, kolig and kolekt, that root was chosen which is the better known, the more general, e. g. visar to see, redaktar to edit, kreskar to grow, kolektar to collect (r. 23).

9. in some cases roots having the same form but different meanings were admitted, but only when they belong to different parts of speech, e. g. dur hard, durar to last; libr book, libr free; nov new, nov nine. (r. 23).

10. ae and oe of Latin words were replaced by e, e. g. diet diet, homeopati homeopathy. (r. 23).

11. ch of Greek words was replaced by k, e. g. kerub cherub, Krist Christ. (r. 23).

12. double consonants of the national languages were replaced by simple, e. g. aprendar to learn, erar to err, suposar to suppose, because double consonants possess merely a historical, and no practical, value. and at the same time are by no means international, e. g. adresse f d, address e. (r. 23).

13. that j of Latin words was replaced by y, e. g. yug yoke, obyekt object, mayestet majesty. (r. 23, 112).

14. g (before e and i) and j in words of French origin are written j and pronounced like the French j (the sound of z in the English words azure, selizure), e. g. jalus jealous, kurtaj brokerage. (r. 110).

15. the sound sh was written sh, e. g. shalup sloop, sharm charm. (r, 109).

16. in the endings -ion, -ier i was written, e. g. nasion nation, kavalier knight. (r. 113).

17. in words which in French contain li and gn liquid, an i was written after l and n, e.g. biliet billet, viniet vignette. (r II4).

18. it was resolved to use: (a) no consonants with any distinctive mark, e. g. c with a cedilla as in French, (b) no inverted letters, e. g. [*an inverted g], such as phonetic societies make use of. (r. 108).

These rules served in general for guidance, but the Academy did not deem them binding in every instance, and examined each particular root as to its form and meaning. (r. 24).

§ 74. All words that, in any respect, do not agree with the rules given below for the formation of derivatives and compounds, are considered radicals of the Neutral Language, even if they are derivatives in the national languages, e. g. dialekt dialect, doktor doctor, eksempl example, optimist optimist, original original, perpendikular perpendicular. (r . 25).

§ 75. A root remains always unchanged; prefixes and suffixes may be added to it, or a second radical may be joined with it. (r. 26).

§ 76. Radicals can belong to all the parts of speech, e. g. tabl table, grand great, tri three, mie my, [mi] am [I] love, ergo therefore, de of, if if, fi fie. (r. 12).

§ 77. There are radicals of one, two, three, four, and even (in a few instances) five syllables. e. g. verb verb, tortur torture, mineral mineral, temperatur temperature, perpendikular perpendicular. (r. 1, 2, 21).

§ 78. Roots may begin with a vowel. e. g. adres address, amar to love, and end in a vowel, e.g. akua water, lingu language, kontinuar to continue, pronunsiar to pronounce, fluar to flow, vaku empty. (r. 18, 19).

§ 79. Two, three, and even four consecutive consonants may stand at the beginning and in the middle of a word, if such spelling is found in English, French and German, e. g. katastrof catastrophe, magistrat magistracy, monstrar to show, obskur obscure, splendar to shine. (r. 22).

(b) DERIVATIVES.

Derivatives are formed by the addition of prefixes or suffixes to the root.

§ 80. PREFIXES. (r. 99, 124, 125, 129, 134, 141).

1. anti- corresponds to the preposition kontr against: antialkoholik antialcoholic; antipap antipope.
2. arki- signified precedence, superiority: arkiangel arch-angel; arkiepiskop archbishop.
3. auto- signifies self, auto-: autobiografi autobiography.
4. dis- signifies a separating, a parting, a sundering: disfrangar to break to pieces; diskupar to cut up.
5. ekui- signifies equality: ekuikrurik isosceles; ekuivalar to be equivalent.
6. elektro- signifies electricity: elektroteknik electrotechnics.
7. foto- signifies light: foto-grafar to photograph.
8. gala- signifies magnificence or pomp: galadiné state-dinner; galavest gala dress (attire).
9. hidro- signifies water: hidrodens water-tight.
10. homo- signifies proportionateness: homoton consonance.
11. kali- signifies beauty: kali-graf calligrapher.
12. ke- signifies interrogation: keloke? where? kekause? why?
13. krono- signifies time: krono-metr chronometer.
14. ksilo- signifies wood: ksilo-graf xylographer, wood-engraver.
15. kubik- signifies cubic: kubikradik cube root.
16. mikro- signifies smallness: mikrokapik small-headed, microcephalous; mikro-metr micrometer.
17. mis- signifies something not good or something miscarrying: miskredit discredit; miskomprendar to misunderstand.
18. ne- signifies contradictory opposition: neamik enemy; nemult few; nefasil difficult.
19. neo- signifies something new: neopersian Neopersian.
20. no- signifies contrary opposition: nokuande never; noloke nowhere; nokos nothing.
21. para- signifies preservation from (against) something: parapluvi umbrella; parasol parasol.
22. pleni- signifies fullness: plenilun full moon; plenipotent plenipotent(iary).
23. poli- signifies many-, poly-: poliangul polygon; politeknikal polytechnic.
24. pre- signifies pre-, before: prelud prelude; preskribar to prescribe.
25. proto- signifies origin: protoforest primeval forest; prototip prototype.
26. pseudo- signifies something not authentic, not genuine: pseudonom pseudonym.
27. re- signifies repetition or return: redonar to give back, to return.
28. semi- signifies semi-, half: semilun half moon; semifilio stepson.
29. si- signifies the present time or the nearest object: sitempe now; siloke here; sidiurne to-day.
30. te- forms words correlative with the interrogative words formed by means of the prefix ke-: teloke there; tekause for that reason.
31. termo- signifies heat: termo-metr thermometer.
32. ultra- signifies something excessive ultra-: ultraviolet ultra-violet.
33. vise- signifies a person taking the place of another; subordinate; vice-: visedirektor vice-director.

These prefixes may be appended to all radicals, in so far as the sense allows it.

§ 81. SUFFIXES.

Besides the suffixes given above in the discussion of the various parts of speech, the Neutral Language has the following:

All these suffixes may be employed in the formation of new words, and in accordance with the rules given above, by anyone using the language; the suffix -ad is, however, excepted; the Academy reserves to itself the formation of new words in which this suffix appears, on account of its indeterminate meaning. (r. 70).

(c) COMPOUND WORDS.

§ 82. Compound words, that is, words containing two roots, may be formed from all the parts of speech with the exception of the cardinal numbers (see below), if the sense allows it, by simple juxtaposition, with a hyphen or (usually) without it; the determining (or modifying) word precedes the determined, e.g. post-mark postage stamp; grand-patr grandfather; dupl-akuil double eagle; omni-potent omnipotent; bene-fasiar to benefit; eks-posar to expose, to exhibit. — Instead of cardinal numbers special prefixes are used, the principal of which are the following: 1 mono-, 2 bi-, 3 tri-, 4 kuadri-, 5 penta-, 6 heksa-, 7 hepta-, 8 okto-, 9 nona-, 10 deka-, 100 hekto-, and 1000 kilo-, e.g. monookulik one-eyed; bikavalik two-horse; pentaangul pentagon. (r. 86).

§ 83. Remark. As the most common prefixes and suffixes taken from the natural languages have been chosen, the most of the artificially formed words correspond fully to the natural words with the same meaning; e.g. preskribar, prototip, kavalkad, deklinasion, ventilator, milioner, patria, falsifikar, realism, drogist, kualitet are formed according to the rules of the Neutral Language, and yet they are perfectly international words. Often, however, the natural words that have become international are not identical with the regularly formed, artificial words,e .g. visibl — visabl visible; egualisar —egualifikar to equalize; anual — anuik annual; infeksion — infektasion infection. Such international words are placed in the dictionary (in the orthography of Idiom neutral) in parentheses immediately after the regularly formed, artificial word of the same meaning. It is allowed to use at will either form. (r. 56).

XII. Abbreviations.

§ 84. The following abbreviations are used in the Neutral Language (r. 137):
e s. for e setri means: etc., and so forth.
i.e. for it es means: i.e., that is.
kh for kelk-hom means: somebody, some one.
kk for kelk-kos means: something.
p.e. for pro eksempl means: e.g., for instance, for example.
s. (before numerals) for sirka means: c., circa, about.

   CONCLUSION.

§ 85. The following will serve to show how whole sentences are formed:

    Sankt-Peterburg, 8 februar 1901.
A sinior
    P. Lachou, injenier,
    in Boulogne sur Seine; Fransia.
    Respondante votr letr de 1 februar 1901, direktorad de sosietet de relsrut S. Peterburg-Tobolsk av honor komitar a vo, sinior estimed, trides (30) nivelmetri (*) de votr sistem pro lokomotivi a pris de seksdeskuink (65) franki pro eksemplar franku S. Peterburg, a termin 8 april 1901 loku S. Peterburg e a kondisioni sekuant:
    1. Aparati deb esar adresed a shef de stasion Peterburg de relsrut nomed e deb esar asekured per vo e pro votr kont; if aparati u partii de ili esero ruined u perded in voyaj, vo deb mitar nemediate otri, plasu aparati e partii ruined u perded.
    2. Vo prend su vo garantad de funksion rekt de aparati durantu un anu da resivasion de ili per ofiseri de relsrut nomed.
    3. Mon esero payed a vo no plu tarde ka un seman po resivasion definitiv de aparati.
    Direktorad nomed av honor pregar vo, sinior estimed, avisar di akseptasion de ist komision no plu tarde ka 15 februar 1901 – If tetempe votr respond no esero resived, direktorad nomed estimero, ke vo av refused ist komision.
    Shef de seksion ekonomik, N. N.
    President de direktorad, N. N.

    (*) Aparat pro observasion de nivel de akua in kaldron.

    Kristiania, 27 februar 1902.
A doktor de medisin P. O.
    in S. Peterburg, Rusia.
    Koleg estimed!
    Mi aprendav, ke votr artikl di influensa es traduked eks lingu rusik in lingu fransik.
    It es motiv pro mi komunikar a vo, ke “Akademi internasional de lingu neutral” av publiked in ist anu diksionar e gramatik de idiom neutral, tale ke sitempe artikli medisinik potes esar skribed in ist idiom, kel potes esar komprended per omnihom kultived kuasi sine aprendasion anterior.
    It es ver, ke ekspresioni mult spesiale medisinik no ankor eksist in diksionar nomed, ma it no es obstakl pro skribasion de artikli sientifik in ist lingu, kause ist ekspresioni es paroli internasional.
    Skribasion in idiom neutral don profiti sekuant in komparasion ko kelkun lingu nasional:
    1. Libri e broshuri sientifik publiked in ist idiom potes esar lekted per omnihom in original,
    2. traduksion no plu es nesesar,
    3. ili avero sirkl multe plu grand de lektatori, e tekause
    4. ili potes esar imprimed in kuantitet plu grand de eksemplari; ergo
    5. ili potes esar vended a pris plu minim, e
    6. profit material de editor (respektive de autor) esero plu grand.
    Idiom neutral es usabl no sole pro skribasion, ma et pro parlasion; sikause in kongres sekuant internasional de medisinisti mi av intension usar ist idiom pro mie raport di maladitet “lupus” e mi esper esar komprended per omni medisinisti present.
    Publikasion de idiom neutral interesero et votr filio, kel kolekt postmarki, kause ist idiom es lingu praktikal pro korespondad ko kolektatori in otr landi.
Ko respekt grand e ko saluti kordial mi rest
Votr serv leplu devot
F.

DICTIONARY
OF THE
NEUTRAL LANGUAGE
(IDIOM NEUTRAL).

EXPLANATION OF THE ABBREVIATIONS AND SIGNS USED IN THE DICTIONARY.

Words containing a hyphen, e. g. grand-patr, grandfather, are compounded of two roots; the hyphen need not be employed in the actual use of the language, e. g. grandpatr.

Prefixes and suffixes of derivatives are printed in italics, e. g. prototip, prototype; bonitet, goodness.

If a word in parentheses immediately follows a derived Neutral word, e. g. “absolution, n., absolvasion (absolusion);” either form may be used.

On the Neutral-English side the root of the Neutral word occurs but once; the suffixes in italics which follow should be added to the root to form words, e. g. “dorm, n., sleep. -ar, v., to sleep” read: dorm, n., sleep. dormar, v., to sleep.—“kolektar, v., to collect. -ad n., collection” read: kolektar, v., to collect. kolektad, n., collection.

The letters in parentheses given after the names of the chemical elements, e. g. Fe in “fer, n., iron (Fe);” indicate the symbols used in chemical formulæ.

IDIOM NEUTRAL - ENGLISH