International Language, Past, Present & Future

Clark, Walter JohnProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.2

Word count: 401K words
Chapters: 41

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.International Language, Past, Present & Future by Walter John ClarkAuthor: Clark, Walter John,Language: English, Class: PM: Language and Literatures: Indigenous American and Artificial Languages, Release Date: Sep 24, 2005

Editor's review

This book is a historical survey and discussion of prospects on the international language question, divided, as the title indicates, into past, present, and future. Walter John Clark examines the historical development of artificial languages and universal-language schemes, discusses the progress and obstacles of the language-unification movement of his day, and offers judgments on its future course. For readers in language planning, the history of the Esperanto movement, and the study of artificial languages, it is a primary document with the perspective of its era, through which to observe early twentieth-century ideas about language and international communication. Its views reflect the understanding of the time and should be read with critical distance, distinguishing historical statement from the author's advocacy. As a public-domain e-book of moderate length, it suits as a starting point for thematic reading or as course reference material.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars and students of language planning, the Esperanto movement, and the history of artificial languages
General readers interested in the international language question and language policy
Upper-level undergraduates needing public-domain English material for thematic reports
Language enthusiasts curious about early twentieth-century debates on language unification

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking the latest data and conclusions of contemporary language policy
Beginners wanting systematic textbook-style instruction in linguistics
Readers interested only in the grammatical details of one particular artificial language

Reading tips

Read the contents and introduction first to grasp the logic of the author's division into past, present, and future.
Note the author's period standpoint as you read, distinguishing historical narrative from personal advocacy.
Read alongside a brief history of the Esperanto movement to fill in the background.
Write a short review afterward, sorting out which judgments have been borne out or revised by history.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book about Esperanto?

Judging by the title and its classification, the book discusses the past, present, and future of the international language question, and artificial languages and the Esperanto movement should be important parts of it; the exact coverage should be confirmed from the main text. Readers may consult the contents first to confirm the theme of each chapter before deciding what to read closely.

Are the book's views still applicable today?

The book was written in the early twentieth century, and its judgments on the prospects of language unification bear the limits of their time; some predictions may not have come true. Its value lies chiefly in presenting the framework of discussion and modes of argument of the day, and readers should compare it with contemporary language-policy research and read it critically.

Can I understand it without a background in linguistics?

The book is a discursive work for general readers rather than a professional textbook, and a basic reading ability in English suffices for the gist. Readers unfamiliar with language-planning terms may first look up basic concepts such as Esperanto and universal language for smoother reading.

Comments

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About the author

Clark, Walter John Author

Walter John Clark is an author about whom publicly available information is limited; details such as nationality, birth and death dates, and educational background have not been reliably recorded. Based on the single work held in the collection, he wrote International Language, Past, Present & Future, a book discussing the history, current state, and future of international languages. The subject matter places it in the genre of general language studies and language planning, addressing the question of an international lingua franca rather than fictional writing. Such works are typically aimed at readers interested in language history, the auxiliary language movement, and cross-linguistic communication, and tend toward factual exposition and the tracing of historical developments. Because the author's output is small and external sources are scarce, a full assessment of his style and scholarly influence remains difficult; he may be regarded as a recorder and discusser of international language issues.