Novial [nov-, new + IAL, International Auxiliary Language] is a constructed language devised by Professor Otto Jespersen, a Danish linguist who had previously been involved in the Ido movement. He devised Novial to be an international auxiliary language (IAL), which would facilitate international communication and friendship, without displacing anyone's native language. Otto Jespersen is also the name of a famous Norwegian comedian. ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... An international auxiliary language (sometimes abbreviated as IAL or auxlang) is a language used (or to be used in the future) for communication between people from different nations who do not share a common native language. ... An artificial or constructed language (known colloquially as a conlang among aficionados), is a language whose phonology, grammar and vocabulary are specifically devised by an individual or small group, rather than having naturally evolved as part of a culture as with natural languages. ... An international auxiliary language (sometimes abbreviated as IAL or auxlang) is a language used (or to be used in the future) for communication between people from different nations who do not share a common native language. ... The Romance languages, also called Romanic languages or New Latin languages, are a subset of the Italic languages, specifically the descendants of the Latin dialects spoken by the common people in what is known as Latin Europe (Italian/Portuguese/Spanish Europa latina, Catalan Europa llatina, French Europe latine, Romanian Europa... As a recently constructed language, Esperantos history is short and relatively well-known. ... Ido (pronounced //), a constructed language, was created to become a universal second language for speakers of different linguistic backgrounds, easier to learn than any ethnic language. ... ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family. ... ISO 639 is one of several international standards that lists short codes for language names. ... ISO 639-3 is in process of development as an international standard for language codes. ... The International Phonetic Alphabet. ... Phonetics (from the Greek word φωνή, phone = sound/voice) is the study of sounds (voice). ... Unicode is an industry standard whose goal is to provide the means by which text of all forms and languages can be encoded for use by computers. ... An artificial or constructed language (known colloquially as a conlang among aficionados), is a language whose phonology, grammar and vocabulary are specifically devised by an individual or small group, rather than having naturally evolved as part of a culture as with natural languages. ... Otto Jespersen is also the name of a famous Norwegian comedian. ... The following is a list of linguists, those who study linguistics. ... Ido (pronounced //), a constructed language, was created to become a universal second language for speakers of different linguistic backgrounds, easier to learn than any ethnic language. ... An international auxiliary language (sometimes abbreviated as IAL or auxlang) is a language used (or to be used in the future) for communication between people from different nations who do not share a common native language. ... Native Language Music, founded in 1996 by musicians Joe Sherbanee and Theo Bishop, is an independent adult contemporary record company based in Southern California that produces, markets, and distributes premium jazz, world, and new age music. ...

It features a vocabulary based largely on the Germanic and Romance languages, and a grammar heavily influenced by English. The Romance languages, also called Romanic languages or New Latin languages, are a subset of the Italic languages, specifically the descendants of the Latin dialects spoken by the common people in what is known as Latin Europe (Italian/Portuguese/Spanish Europa latina, Catalan Europa llatina, French Europe latine, Romanian Europa... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

The first introduction of Novial was in Jespersen's book An International Language in 1928, with an update in his dictionary, Novial Lexike, published two years later. Further modifications were proposed in the 1930s, but with Jespersen's death in 1943, it became dormant, although in the 1990s, with the revival of interest in artificial language brought on by the Internet, many people rediscovered Novial. 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... // Events and trends The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... The 1990s refers to the years 1990 to 1999; the last decade of the 20th Century, but in an economical sense The Nineties is often considered to span from the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 to the September 11 attacks in 2001. ...

An International Language

Novial was first described in Jespersen’s book An International Language (1928). Part One of the book discusses the need for an IAL, the disadvantages of ethnic languages for that purpose and common objections to constructed IALs. He also provides a critical overview of the history of constructed IALs with sections devoted to Volapük, Esperanto, Idiom Neutral, Ido, Latino sine Flexione and Occidental (Interlingue). The author makes it clear that he draws on a wealth of earlier work on the problem of a constructed IAL, not only the aforementioned IALs. 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Volapük - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... As a recently constructed language, Esperantos history is short and relatively well-known. ... Idiom Neutral is an international auxiliary language, published in 1902 by the International Academy of the Universal Language (Akademi Internasional de Lingu Universal) under the leadership of Waldemar Rosenberger, a St. ... Ido (pronounced //), a constructed language, was created to become a universal second language for speakers of different linguistic backgrounds, easier to learn than any ethnic language. ... Latino sine flexione (Latin without inflections) is an auxiliary language invented by Giuseppe Peano, a mathematician in 1903. ... The language Occidental, later Interlingue, is a planned language created by the Estonian naval officer and teacher Edgar de Wahl and published in 1922. ... The language Occidental, later Interlingue, is a planned language created by the Estonian naval officer and teacher Edgar de Wahl and published in 1922. ...

Part Two of An International Language describes Novial in detail. Alternative possible solutions for problems in the phonology, orthography, grammar and word-stock are considered. The choices made are explained by comparison with ethnic languages and previously constructed IALs.

Novial today

While Novial is not very popular relative to its famous predecessor, Esperanto, it has a small group of enthusiasts. Several efforts to revise Novial have emerged. One such project is Novial '98; see below. As a recently constructed language, Esperantos history is short and relatively well-known. ...

Novial compared to Esperanto and Ido

Jespersen was a professional linguist, unlike Esperanto's creator. He disliked the arbitrary and artificial character that he found in Esperanto and Ido. Additionally, he objected to those languages' Latin-like systems of inflection, which he found needlessly complex. He sought to make Novial at once euphonious and regular while also preserving useful structures from natural languages. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Inflection or inflexion refers to a modification or marking of a word (or more precisely lexeme) so that it reflects grammatical (i. ...

In Novial:

• Syntax is largely a matter of word order, as in English and modern Scandinavian languages. There is no obligatory accusative marker as in Esperanto.
• A genitive or possessive case is available, based on Jespersen's observation that many modern languages have lost complex noun inflections yet retain a possessive form.
• Auxiliary particles express most verb tenses. An inflectional ending is available as a shorthand for the simple past tense.

The most striking difference between Novial and Esperanto/Ido concerns noun endings. Jespersen rejected a single vowel to terminate all nouns (-o in Esperanto/Ido), finding it unnatural and potentially confusing. Instead, Novial nouns may end in -o, -a, -e, or -um. These endings may be taken to indicate natural gender according to the custom in Romance languages. Of course there is no grammatical gender or requirement for adjectives to agree with nouns. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The North Germanic languages (also Scandinavian languages or Nordic languages) is a branch of the Germanic languages spoken in Scandinavia, parts of Finland and on the Faroe Islands and Iceland. ... The accusative case of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a verb. ... The genitive case is a grammatical case that indicates a relationship, primarily one of possession, between the noun in the genitive case and another noun. ... Possessive case is a case that exists in some languages used for possession. ... A verb is a part of speech that usually denotes action (bring, read), occurrence (decompose, glitter), or a state of being (exist, stand). Depending on the language, a verb may vary in form according to many factors, possibly including its tense, aspect, mood and voice. ... Grammatical tense is a way languages express the time at which an event described by a sentence occurs. ... The past tense is a verb tense expressing action, activity, state or being in the past. ... A noun, or noun substantive, is a part of speech (a word or phrase) that refers to a person, place, thing, event, substance or quality. ... An adjective is a part of speech which modifies a noun, usually making its meaning more specific. ...

Sample Text (The Lord's Prayer)

Nusen Patro kel es in siele,

mey vun nome bli sanktifika,

mey vun regno veni,

mey vun volio eventa sur tere kom in siele.

Dona a nus disidi li omnidiali pane,

e pardona a nus nusen ofensos

kom anke nus pardona a nusen ofensantes,

e non dukte nus en li tento

ma fika nus liberi fro li malum.

External links

Wikibooks has more about this subject:

Novial

• An International Language: Prof. Otto Jespersen's 1928 book which introduced Novial.
• Novial Lexike: Novial to English, French and German dictionary.
• Novial Wiki Book: A Novial course for beginners.
• Novial Discussion Group: Novial discussion group at Yahoo!
• A summary of 1928 Novial
• A summary of the 1930 version
• Novial '98: "an ongoing project to revive and improve...Novial" in order to modernize it and release it for contemporary use
• Novial Mailing Lists: Two mailing lists on Novial and derived languages.