The idea here is not to create a complete phonetic language in one go but to build up nowns over many years and argue about the syntax later ;-)

Here is how it works, First off nations elect to join the project, entitalling them influence in the word creation and sounds of words, each nation has a representative and they all sit around arguing untill they come up with a sound (and therefore word), for say 'bread'. This new word is then incorperated along with phonetic spelling in the nations own language onto the product it describes. New info for nutrition, ingredients etc is regulaly forced upon manufacturers so should be no problem here.

Now every time you look at a loaf of bread you are being exposed to a new word that works for bread in all of the nations in the project, plus because of the phonetic spelling in my own language my pronounciation of the word is also understood. I would propose a small libary of sounds to cut down sentances like 'Could I have' into a single short word spoken before the thing we want.
-- darndog, Sep 25 2001

Pidgins (and Creoles) http://www-sul.stan...pidgins/pidgin.html
What is a pidgin? [pottedstu, Sep 25 2001, last modified Oct 04 2004]

More detailed Pidgin link http://www.siu.edu/...a/ling/glsintro.htm
[pottedstu, Sep 25 2001, last modified Oct 04 2004]

Constructed languages http://www.quetzal.com/conlang.html
Build your own...many have. [Dog Ed, Sep 25 2001, last modified Oct 04 2004]

Universal Chinese http://www.halfbake...Universal_20Chinese
When I fished in similar waters. [st3f, Sep 25 2001, last modified Oct 04 2004]

If I wanted to learn Esperanto I would have to take classes, the idea here is of learning a new language from my enviroment. This is different I think + easier.
-- darndog, Sep 25 2001


Quick as ever, Peter. However, this seems more like a pidgin than Esperanto. That is, a language created by traders out of words from existing languages that consists of names for objects and a few simple verbs, prepostions, and whatever they need to communicate a meaning. In fact, pidgins are not generally considered languages.

Darndog seems to underestimate what is required to construct a language. Aside from the question of who's going to label the turds, there's a lot more than nouns you need: verbs, adjectives, conjunctions and other parts of speech, a characteristic word order, tenses and other verb conjugations (voice, mood), noun cases (or other means to express the difference between a subject, an object, an instrument, a location, a receipient), (implicit) rules for forming new words, often gender/classes of nouns, a writing system, a system of phonology (not all sounds are in all languages).
-- pottedstu, Sep 25 2001


maybe I shouldnta used the word 'Language', it conjures up all those grammatical rules, All I wanted was a simple way of ordering food & drink on my travels. I would like to point out that some languages, mandarin for example get by with a cursory grammatical structure. If I can say 'toasted cheese sandwich & beer' thats all the language I need.
-- darndog, Sep 25 2001


no need for insults peter, your criticism is welcome though. Again the idea is for people around the world to learn a new language, pigeon or otherwise, though doing no more than experiencing their environment. How is that baked?
-- darndog, Sep 25 2001


I cannot find a link to this, so maybe it's another of those cheese-dreams. But I'm sure I heard on the news about a book which contains about 5000 photographs of common objects grouped thematically, designed for a traveller to be able to point to a picture and for a local person to understand him without any words being spoken. I recall the book was made ("written" is hardly appropriate) by a German who photographed half the objects in his house for the book, and I hope some that were not in his house. This certainly strikes me as useful, if anyone knows who it's by/where to get it.
-- pottedstu, Sep 25 2001


PeterSealy: Spanish is phonetic if you know how to pronounce Spanish, but it's quite alien to English speakers, especially Castillian. (And even then, Spanish varies in pronunciation from place to place.) Should we have an English attempt at pronouncing Spanish as our universal language?
-- pottedstu, Sep 25 2001


Peter: Multilingual packaging is designed to allow the same packaging to be used across many different countries or to allow foreign visitors to read the ingredients etc. It is NOT designed to teach languages as can be seen by the size and position of the various translations. There would be no multilingual packaging with this idea because the phonetic translations would be different in each country, consider the letter used for the sound 'W' in English and German.

This system could of course be used to teach English to the rest of the world, but after conversation with friends from here and there, I find most dislike having English forced upon them. So It seemed a good idea to create something new that belonged to the world. dopey optimist that I am...
-- darndog, Sep 25 2001



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