A review of the "Interlingua flag" at Amazon
This is the proposed but yet unofficial
flag of Interlingua, a constructed language first made public in 1951. Intended
to become an international auxillary language, Interlingua seems to be the most
serious conlang project hitherto. The language was developed over an extended
period by a team (the IALA), rather than being sucked out of the thumb by an
individual genius (as is the case with virtually all other conlangs, most
notably Esperanto and Volapük). The vocabulary of Interlingua is mostly based
on the Romance languages. To all intents and purposes, Interlingua is really a
modern form of Latin (the term "Interlingua" was originally used by a
proposed reform version of Latin, Peano's Latino sine flexione).
Lacking the romantic appeal of Esperanto (or the sheer kookishness of Volapük), Interlingua never became a mass movement. However, it has been used in scientific publications as the language of resumés, and is still being promoted by small groups of enthusiasts regrouped in the Union Mondial por Interlingua.
In the Soviet bloc, Interlingua was considered "reactionary" and "colonialist", with the Soviets favouring Esperanto instead. Apparently, the Czechoslovak Interlinguist Julius Tomin was even persecuted for supporting Interlingua. My guess is that Alexander Gode, the foremost American promoter of Interlingua, was a right-wing anti-Communist. He once translated a book titled "The Case Against Bertolt Brecht" (!) and another celebrating the founder of Zionism, Theodor Herzl. It's interesting to note that the Interlingua flag seen on this product page has been proposed by a Czech, Karel Podrazil, and spouts the colours of the Czechoslovak (and Czech) flag...
Lacking the romantic appeal of Esperanto (or the sheer kookishness of Volapük), Interlingua never became a mass movement. However, it has been used in scientific publications as the language of resumés, and is still being promoted by small groups of enthusiasts regrouped in the Union Mondial por Interlingua.
In the Soviet bloc, Interlingua was considered "reactionary" and "colonialist", with the Soviets favouring Esperanto instead. Apparently, the Czechoslovak Interlinguist Julius Tomin was even persecuted for supporting Interlingua. My guess is that Alexander Gode, the foremost American promoter of Interlingua, was a right-wing anti-Communist. He once translated a book titled "The Case Against Bertolt Brecht" (!) and another celebrating the founder of Zionism, Theodor Herzl. It's interesting to note that the Interlingua flag seen on this product page has been proposed by a Czech, Karel Podrazil, and spouts the colours of the Czechoslovak (and Czech) flag...
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