5 May 2017
The Decimal Language
On the eve of the second round of the presidential elections in France, we would like to leave aside the antagonizing debates for a moment and draw a light on a book whose author, inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, tried hard "to bring people closer together by the sweet bond of brotherhood "… by means of a universal language!
Even we, fervent defenders of linguistic diversity, are fascinated by this extraordinary linguistic utopia by Jean Delormel: a universal language based on the decimal system and the rational principles of the philosophy of the Enlightenment!
Certainly, for languages lovers like you and I, the use of the decimal system as a linguistic principle does not seem very attractive… but is it not how our computers communicate with each other, and therefore, how I’m addressing to you right now?
00101001 100101 01001 0000 0101010 00110 ! (*)
[(*) We wish you a pleasant week-end!]
Even we, fervent defenders of linguistic diversity, are fascinated by this extraordinary linguistic utopia by Jean Delormel: a universal language based on the decimal system and the rational principles of the philosophy of the Enlightenment!
Certainly, for languages lovers like you and I, the use of the decimal system as a linguistic principle does not seem very attractive… but is it not how our computers communicate with each other, and therefore, how I’m addressing to you right now?
00101001 100101 01001 0000 0101010 00110 ! (*)
[(*) We wish you a pleasant week-end!]
Hello Julien, could you please tell us a bit more about Delormel's "decimal language" ? It is indeed mentionned by many, but I cannot seem to find a detailed description of it. Thank you !
Delormel's venture was pretty complex: it was based on a wholly new system of signs, with vowels, consonants and morphemes (signifiers) standing for existing "simple" concepts (signified), agglutinated to form...bizarre words, such as "asofei" ("éxagération"), "adfe" ("seconde") or "asafevauk" ("impersonnel") !
Regards,
Benjamin
Regards,
Benjamin
