A Universal Language For Global Communication?

Pale is a language that was heavily based on Japanese. This language doesn't have any pronouns. If that information is important you can just use names. This language relies heavily on context. Then language has only 10 letters and 100 words, and those words can be used as compounds to make many more words.

It's intended to be used as a universal language for global communication. What do you think?

pale e pale pa pase te pone pale mo neponko pale. ate sa nome e losa se no ate nome. nome loko e losa na pale. ko pale mase mote lo mo no kote mo mote lo mo no mo no nome. mote nome pote e leka losa na pase kana nome.

Phonology (pale kote)

10 Letters (7 Consonants, 3 Vowels)

a - a (like the a in father), schwa (like the a in about)
e - e, i
k - k, g
l - l, r
m
n
o - o, u
p - p, b, v, f
s - s, z, h, sh
t - t, d

[Consonant] - Vowel - Consonant - Vowel

* No capital letters
* Adjectives before nouns
* tenpo ______ po _____ = If _____ Then ______
* day one = sunday, one day = 1 day; month one = January, one month = 1 month
* All foreign names are spelled phonetically and are adapted as adjectives
* Accent falls on the last syllable of a word
* ke is only used as an adjective (example: what person?) or at start of sentence (example: what is it?)
* ka (question mark), doesn't have to be used in a "ke" sentence, but it is allowed if wanted

Dictionary (nome leta)

good, yes, moral, help, bless, blessing, worship, support, heal, fix, peace (hello/bye), enjoyable: pona
question particle (?): ka
what, which: ke
male, masculine, masculinity, masculinize: maso
female, feminine, femininity, feminize: peme
offspring, baby, child, new, young: kana
control, law, govern, government, rule: sanpo
people, nation, country, tribe (race), network, society, social, public: pope
polite word (please, thank you, you're welcome, excuse me, I apologize): o
stupid, drunk, crazy, weird, insult word (dumb ass!), annoyance word (damn it!): paka
say, talk, speak, speech, language, mouth, oral: pale
zero, no, not, none, nothing: no
one, single, alone, lonely, solitude: lo
two, pair, couple, double, in a relationship: to
three, triple: ta
many, much, very, a lot, more, quantity, number, count: mote
and, also, plus, in addition: mo
sun, solar, date, day: sola
moon, satellite, lunar, month: luna
circle, wheel, cycle, process, system, orbit, year, age: seko
time, period, season, moment, minute: tenpo
future, will (verb), next, then, after: po
past, did (verb), before, previous: pa
tool, machine, device, computer: tole
Earth, planet, ground, land, soil, dust, sand, clay: tela
room, place, location, area: loko
medicine, drug, vitamin, mineral: mete
need, want, goal, purpose, star, desire, wish, pray, lust: nesa
neck, swallow, consume, eat, drink, meal, food: kome
sleep, dream: sone
sex, have intercourse, sexual, gender, sexual organ (penis, vagina): sesa
smoke (verb), cook, burn, heat, temperature, hot, fire: poka
cost, price, value, money, cash, currency, financial: kosa
(credit) card, paper, ticket, leaf, page, website: leta
shop, store, market, week: poteka
bread, potato, paste, rice, noodles, cereal: pane
meat, body, flesh, physical, form, shape, figure: kane
milk, dairy, breast (milk-secreting glandular organ): late
vegetable, fruit, vegetation, plant (tree, grass, herb), hair: panta
salt, sodium, salinity: sale
sweet, sugar, sweets, candy: soka
water, rain, wash, clean liquid, fluid: laka
move, travel, journey, foot: mosa
can (able), talent, skill, technique, ability, enable, allow, accept: pote
different, other, another, edit, alter, change: ate
up, above, high, beyond, go upon (climb, move up), superior, formal, sky, heaven: sopa
speed, quick, fast, hurry, rush: lape
home, house, family, building: pamela
hold, carry, have, keep, maintain, to book (reserve), hand, pause, wait, halt: mase
front, ahead, face, head: kape
this, here, now, current, present, modern: ko
person, human, individual: mana
weather, air, wind, breeze, gas, fog, cloud: kase
big, main, important, major, grand, great: kopa
mountain, hill, bump, button, lump: monte
path, way, method, road, street, direction: paso
image, picture, drawing, symbol, character, draw, write, inscribe: poto
root, seed, semen, egg, nut, begin, start, source, primal: sato
animal, organism: tonko
skin, peel, mask, cloth, clothing, shell, bark: pele
bone, rock, stone, spike, thorn, spine: peta
fat, thick, heavy, weigh, mass: pesa
ear, hear, listen, obey, listening (music, melody, sound, tone): kote
eye, see, view, show (exhibition, TV program, video, movie), visual, watch, look at: oko
nose, lung, smell, scent, breathe, breath: naso
tongue, taste, flavor, pattern, style: sapo
belly, stomach, container, holder, box, cart, bag: sako
heart, feel, emotion: sente
suck, attract, take, pull, obtain, bring, capture: toma
detract (repel), explode (throw), waste (pollution), trash, release (free), send (give), to pee, to doodoo: lansa
brain, mind, think, thought, opinion, belief: pensa
know, logic, science, wisdom: sape
live, life, health, experience: sana
kill, dead, delete, destroy, erase, remove, get rid of, subtract: mata
fight, battle, conflict, argument, war, problem, trouble: sota
hit, attack, strike, beat, smash, mash, tap, press: pate
piece, part, cut, split, fraction, divide: kata
fun, play, game, amusement, entertainment: lota
white, light, color, bright, shine, day time: lome
all, every, each, full, total, complete (whole), entire, universe, universal: tota
straight, narrow, direct, exact, accurate, strict, line, linear, string, rope, thread, chord, wire: lena
at, to, for (in the direction of): na
in, inside, inner, internal, interior: ne
outside, foreign, alien, out, of, from: te
strong, strength, energy, power, force, spirit, encourage, inspire, charge (with energy): tama
opening, hole, orifice, door, gate, portal, window: pota
side, next to, beside, near, nearby, about (approximately): lato
do, make, act, behave, deed, work, labor, job, cause, create: pase
happen, news, effect (result): pasa
connect, join, marry, link, relationship, relate, mix, with, together: leka
true, real, exist, prove, make true, validate: e
love, care for: lama
some, plural: ma
name, title, concept, to name, idea: nome
because: sa
but, however: se
use, apply, utilize, usage, application: losa
or, nor, else, otherwise, or else: a
so, thus, therefore, that's why: so
rear-end, butt, bottom, buttocks, ass, anus, anal: ponta

nothing beats binary but this sounds very interesting.

reply to post by arpgme


This is very interesting. i have always wanted to learn a new language but was always intimidated by the extent and diversity, i suppose if this were to be instituted as a global language everyone should learn it. Who created this and is there a source for this where i can here how these are pronounced?

reply to post by RadicalRebel


To keep it simple, all of the letter are pronounced like in English, except there is no silent e in this language. So in the word "pote " for example, it doesn't sound similar to "boat" but it sounds similar to "boaty" or "boatay", Of course since it's a "p" you can pronounce it with a "p" sound instead of a "b" sound.

I dunno. As efficient as that sounds, a lot of cultural information is bound to be lost.

I know a very little German, and am trying to learn German and French right now. There are a lot of cultural differences demonstrated by their language, and it makes me wonder if their languages themselves are partly responsible for their respective cultures.


For example in French, when they say the day of the week, they don't say "It is ____," but rather "We are ____." So saying that it's Sunday in French would literally translate to "We are Sunday."

Little things like that make subtle differences in the way we think of the world around us.


Many/most Europeans are at least bi-lingual. I think people make it out to be harder than it actually is. Just divide it up into types of words -- pronouns, articles, verbs, nouns, adjectives. Focus on one at a time, while simultaneously immersing yourself in documentaries, games, and other media using the language of your choice. It's like working out, for your brain.



One reason I like French and German so much is how similar they are to English already in many ways. The word "orange" is spelled the same in all 3 languages. Just pronounced slightly differently, but accents are fun too.

reply to post by arpgme


That's fascinating! Although it's been tried before (Esperanto and others.) Thank you for posting this.
Vicky

Originally posted by bsbray11
I dunno. As efficient as that sounds, a lot of cultural information is bound to be lost.

I know a very little German, and am trying to learn German and French right now. There are a lot of cultural differences demonstrated by their language, and it makes me wonder if their languages themselves are partly responsible for their respective cultures.


For example in French, when they say the day of the week, they don't say "It is ____," but rather "We are ____." So saying that it's Sunday in French would literally translate to "We are Sunday."

Little things like that make subtle differences in the way we think of the world around us.


Many/most Europeans are at least bi-lingual. I think people make it out to be harder than it actually is. Just divide it up into types of words -- pronouns, articles, verbs, nouns, adjectives. Focus on one at a time, while simultaneously immersing yourself in documentaries, games, and other media using the language of your choice. It's like working out, for your brain.



One reason I like French and German so much is how similar they are to English already in many ways. The word "orange" is spelled the same in all 3 languages. Just pronounced slightly differently, but accents are fun too.

That's true of course, that cultural information would be lost - however, it might do as lingua franca!
I speak Italian, and German, I've studied French, Spanish and Russian and I am learning Japanese (which is simply mind-blowing of course!)
Vicky

reply to post by bsbray11


But in English, we don't say "We are Sunday" so that cultural aspect of French is lost anyway when translated into English... so what's the problem about it being lost when translated into Pale?

Originally posted by arpgme
Phonology (pale kote)

10 Letters (7 Consonants, 3 Vowels)

a - a (like the a in father), schwa (like the a in about)
e - e, i
k - k, g
l - l, r
m
n
o - o, u
p - p, b, v, f
s - s, z, h, sh
t - t, d

I don't understand. Does that mean there is allophonic variation, and if so, under what conditions would s be pronounced as z, h, or sh?

[Consonant] - Vowel - Consonant - Vowel

* No capital letters
* Adjectives before nouns
* tenpo ______ po _____ = If _____ Then ______
* day one = sunday, one day = 1 day; month one = January, one month = 1 month
* All foreign names are spelled phonetically and are adapted as adjectives
* Accent falls on the last syllable of a word
* ke is only used as an adjective (example: what person?) or at start of sentence (example: what is it?)
* ka (question mark), doesn't have to be used in a "ke" sentence, but it is allowed if wanted

You say adjectives before nouns, but I think the syntax you have created ("day one" for Sunday) goes against the adjective before noun rule. In this construction, one is describing the day.

How would you mark possession? Would the name of the possessor follow or lead? Would there be a linkage word to mark "X of Y" and would this format be extended to material make-up of things (wool sweater, wooden chair, etc.).

As a whole, the lexicon looks like a mix between Japanese, Haitian Creole and Latin.

As far as any conlang, I always take the same position. If a language is to be used by its speakers in a natural way, it will naturally be susceptible to language change and will follow the whims and restrictions of its speech community. Once you unleash your new language, it will change with the speakers.

reply to post by Sphota


The letter can be pronounced anyway. Which ever way is easier for you. There are no conditions for this, it was just designed this way to make speaking easier.


Because there are 7 days and if you just say "one, two, three, etc." that would be too ambiguous, and if you say "one day, two day, three day" that would mean that amount of days since adjectives come before nouns. To get around this we say "day (number) one" (Sunday), "day (number) two" (Monday), and so on.


For possession, it works just like adjectives.

Sort of like how in English "Orange Juice" means "Juice of (the) Orange).

Originally posted by arpgme
But in English, we don't say "We are Sunday" so that cultural aspect of French is lost anyway when translated into English... so what's the problem about it being lost when translated into Pale?

Because if I'm going to learn another language, I'd rather learn one that actually has historical and cultural significance, and is already more widely spoken, first.

I'm not knocking anyone who wants to learn Pale. That's just my preference.

Originally posted by Vicky32
That's true of course, that cultural information would be lost - however, it might do as lingua franca!
I speak Italian, and German, I've studied French, Spanish and Russian and I am learning Japanese (which is simply mind-blowing of course!)

After you posted this I looked up a little about the Japanese language, and I believe you. They have kinds of words and grammar that don't even have equivalents in English. You're right about it being mind-blowing. Plus when you take into account learning to read their characters, it's almost like trying to learn two languages at once.

reply to post by bsbray11


It's not just Japanese. Any speech community encodes culture in minute detail into their everyday language (the grammar and syntax). The two-way street approach (that both language and culture mutually affect each other) is called linguistic relativism. We don't perceive it so greatly with other western languages (German, French, Spanish) because of their affinity to English and our shared history of Greco-Latin technical borrowings.

We might think Japanese is strange because of it's use of, for example, "ka" to mark questions. But English marks its questions with an initial "Do you...? / Does it...? / Is it...? / Can she...?" inversion. We also do it with our intonation, which not all languages do. And there are always tag questions, "you know?", "isn't it?", "don't you?"

Polish can use an initial "Czy (pronounced "chih")..." or just intonation.
Chinese uses a "X, not X" formula, like "Ni chi bu chi...?" Literally "You eat not eat...?" meaning "Do you eat...?"
French inverts its subject and verb like English or uses an initial Est-ce que...? (is it that...?)
Written Spanish uses an upside down question mark because the spoken language tends not to use any specific strategy other than intonation to denote a question. It's hard to write intonation...

reply to post by arpgme


I hope you didn't take my comments as pushy, just constructive criticism / curiosity. I used to create constructed languages when I was younger...as a hobby.

The only problem with restricted vocabulary is that the language as it is learned by new generations (parent to child) will always change and if the language is too restricted some form of strategy will be undertaken by subsequent generations to make it more natural. This is why Newspeak would never have lasted (just like any other formal control mechanism imposed by authoritative governments).

reply to post by Sphota


Thanks for that response. You just taught me like at least 5 things about various foreign languages.

The day is coming, where the world will be 1 language, its a matter of time and when is the time to change.

The day is also coming where we will live forever, and when that happens, its likely that we would already have a global language, if not way before..

Hmm I always thought music was the global language. Either way great read!