On Exact Analysis as the Basis of Lan- Guage.*

A SCHEME for an artificial language was published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Eoyal Society for 1668 by Bishop Wilkins. Since, however, it presupposes a complete enumeration of all that is or can be known, it would be overthrown by every considerable advance in knowledge. The mathematician and philosopher Leibnitz devoted much thought to what he called a spécieuse générale, which he hoped would be an aid in reasoning and invention ; but he died without publishing even an outline of his system. The new universal language Volapük, invented by J . M. Schleyer of Constance, is built upon a purely linguistic basis, being derived from a comparative study of the chief natural languages. In this paper it is proposed to show that the proper and necessary basis for an artificial language is scientific analysis and ' classification, and two specimens of language * Abstract of a paper presented to the Society at the meeting of March 5, 1892. 190 ON EXACT ANALYSIS AS THE BASIS OE LANGUAGE. so constructed will exhibit the great complexity of the problem. In the notation for numbers in Volapük we observe serious defects. As regards the digits there is no word to express 0. As regards the expressions for the denominations, an arbitrary use of the affix for the plural denotes the denomination ten : thus we have tel, two ; tels, twenty ; and the other names for the denominations are no more systematic than the English words. There is the usual jump from thousand to million ; we are not told whether telion means thousand million or million million ; and no words are provided to express fractional denominations. In physical works we meet with the highest development of the notation for number ; it consists of a series of significant figures, and of a positive or negative power of ten. To vocalize this notation we require an elementary word for each of the elementary numbers, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 ; and a series of words for the integer powers of ten, and for the fractional powers of ten. As there are five elementary vowels, ten words for the digits may be obtained by prefixing the consonants b and I. Thus 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, ba, be, bi, bo, bu, la, le, li, lo, lu. The word for a higher number is formed by taking the appropriate monosyllables in succession ; for example : 11, bebe; 23, bibo; 105, bebala. The integer denominations may be expressed by affixing p to the number for the place or power of ten, while the fractional denominations may be expressed by adding n instead of p, thus :— 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, etc. bep, bip, bop, bup, lap, lep, lip, lop, etc. and i 1 I 1 1 I I 1 0 ' 10' 10' 10' 10' 10' 10' ben, bin, bon, bun, Ian, len, lin, etc. For example, one hundred and twenty-three thousand would be vocalized by bebipo bop, and forty-five hundredths by bula bin. Some years ago in a series of papers on " A n analysis of the relationships of consanguinity and affinity," * the author devised a system of notation both literal and graphical, and indicated a corresponding nomenclature. On this analysis may be constructed another specimen of a scientific language, and by the system of words it provides for such relationships the efficiency of Volapük may be tested. * Proc. Boy. Soc. Edinb.,Vol. X., p. 224; Vol. XL, pp. 5 and 162; Phil. Mag. June 1881 ; and Journal of the Anthrop. Inst, of London for 1882. ON EXACT ANALYSIS AS THE BASIS OF LANGUAGE. 191 Let a denote the relationship of parent and e the reciprocal relationship of child ; by forming the different permutations of these letters we get expressions for the several compound relationships. Those of the second order are :—