The Modern International Language

In the world today there are over 2,000 languages. More than enough to cause international confusion. But, let's look at a smaller part of the world in order to try and make some sense of it all.

The world's Tower of Babel!

Recent statistics record that there are more than 120 national languages spoken in Europe, not counting those spoken in the Americas. Let's just stick with Europe for discussion purposes. These 120 languages represent a continuous interruption in commercial and scientific communication. But with an auxiliary language, employed alongside the national languages, immediate understanding will be worldwide.

"We Need An International Language..."

But it exists already! Compare the vocabularies of the national languages and you will notice that a large number of words are common to all the European languages and an even larger number to the West European (English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German), which, fortunately, cover the largest area.

It has been calculated that 38% of the words in these languages are the same. That gives us more than 10,000 words already international, enough to compose a language which can be understood at sight by most of the civilized peoples.

Unfortunately, however, these 10,000 words, mainly of Latin origin, are not always formed regularly thus the first projectors of an international language, finding it impossible to incorporate these irregular words in a simple system, either deformed or rejected most of them.

But the problem of an auiliary language took on a new aspect as soon as a scholar of Reval (Estonia), Professor Edgar de Wahl, succeeded in regularising this international vocabulary. His solution, Occidental, combines regularity with naturalness so ingeniously that it has converted a large number of interlinguists, and associations for promotion are being formed in every country.

The Basis of Occidental.

Occidental is not an artificial language: it does not contain a single invented word. The author has let the language construct itself. Always he has admitted words used by the majority without considering their nationality. The Occidental dictionaries could all disappear, and yet, by applying the principle of the maximum internationality, be restored identically.

Edgar de Wahl...

The author of Occidental, a professor at the gymnasium in Reval, was one of Dr. Zamenhof's* first collaborators and is the oldes writer of Esperanto after Zamenhof (1888). He also worked to improve Idiom Neutral (1906) and Ido (1907). It was not till 1922 that he decided to publish the results of his labours in a little journal which became later Cosmoglotta.

The Study of Occidental/Ie is Anything but a Waste of Time.

When you learn Esperanto, you have to remember a number of jigsaw words (e. g. chiam, chiel) or words deformed (e.g. nacia, antau), but when you learn Occidental yo acquire a real international vocabulary: you learn something of positive value, even if you never have to write in Occidental.

The Extraordinary Scope of Occidental.

Occidental is not simply a theoretical project; it has users in numerous countries. Its scope is much vaster than that of Esperanto, since it can be understood by any educated person while Esperanto can only be understood by its initiates. You can write in Occidental in my country, to people who have never learnt Occidental and who are not even aware of its existence. You will be understood without difficulty. It has been done very often.

An Occidental text is an agreeable surprise because the words preserve their natural aspect and are not deformed or made unrecognisable as in Esperanto and other IAL's. And yet, the grammar of Occidental is easier than that of Esperanto, even for Orientals. E. de Wahl achieved this result after 40 years' study of the European vocabulary and comparison of grammars.

Occidental Grammar...

Is so simple that it can be written on one page. In fact, it can be written on a postcard. It can be learned in a few hours. The vocabulary can be learned in a few days because it is composed entirely of international words which an educated person would know already.

Why Not Esperanto?

Esperanto, invented in 1887 by a Polish Occulist, Dr. Zamenhof, was at the time a remarkable achievement. But 120 years ago research into the problem of an international language had hardly begun. The hundreds of projects published since have permitted the presentation of a solution very nearly indeed, since it neglects no condition of success.

In 1887 Dr. Zamenhof could not have made his language regular without giving it an archaic and artificial aspect which displeased the public.

We do hommage to the disinterestedness of the Esperantists but we cannot support them when they persist in trying to impose an obsolete system. There exist a large number of people convinced of the usefulness of an international language but who will not use Esperanto because of its artificiality. It is to these, who are the great majority, that Occidental is addressed.

Thus for over 120 years the Esperantists have been wasting their energy trying to propagate a language which is repugnant to all cultured people. With the money they sacrifice annually Occidental would have definitely triumphed long ago.

The Name - Why "Occidental"?

The name does not mean that the language is only intended for the Western peoples! The author of Occidental only adopted it as a reminder that most of the international words come from the occidental languages (English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, etc.). But other systems might be called occidental equally well since the majority of their wordroots come from the same languages.

The Documents of The Occidental Language.

The problem of an international language is too complex to be expounded in a few paragraphs. No doubt you have questions you would like to ask, or objections you would like to make. Therefore, please consider joining this International Auxlang Community where your answers can be answered. And, where complete information about the use of Occidental can be studied and learned.

Every idealistic movement has first to overcome public prejudice and apathy. Our first task it to overcome that prejudice and apathy by demonstrating the soundness, utility, ease of learning and viability of Occidental. That is the purpose of this site, and others you can find on the Internet.