Arturo Alfandari
Encyclopedia
Arturo Alfandari was a Belgian
diplomat, known as the creator of the language Neo
.
Apart from Neo, he spoke seven languages.
, was developed in the 1930s and first presented in 1961.
Like many other constructed languages of the time, Alfandari's own was based on Esperanto
. However, he took some steps further - he reduced the use initial and final syllables, and built-in vocabulary. Root words were made as short as possible thus emphasizing rhythm and articulation, but sometimes at the expense of recognizability.
Alfandari's language has been described as "the natural and inevitable further development of Esperanto" (P. Rasquin) and as "a radical and satisfying way for a reform of Esperanto, which could have been accepted by Esperantists even as a simplification of their language." (A. Lavagnini).
His first two Neo books solely numbered 1,304 pages - the reason he put so much effort in it is ˝Whether you are Flemish
or Waloon, white or black, Americans or Russians, you all want peace. To make an attempt to understand and support each other.˝
But despite his best efforts, Neo had the same fate as the most of such other language projects - it did not survive its creator.
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
diplomat, known as the creator of the language Neo
Neo (constructed language)
Neo is an international auxiliary language created by a Belgian diplomat of Italian descent Arturo Alfandari.-History:The first draft was published in 1937 by Arturo Alfandari but attracted wider attention in 1961 when Alfandari published his books Cours Practique de Neo and The Rapid Method of Neo...
.
Life
Originally from Italy, in the First World War he served as a cipher officer for the Italian High Command. After the war he settled in Belgium where he worked as an exporter before eventually becoming a diplomat for the Belgian state.Apart from Neo, he spoke seven languages.
Neo
His proposal for the international auxiliary language, NeoNeo (constructed language)
Neo is an international auxiliary language created by a Belgian diplomat of Italian descent Arturo Alfandari.-History:The first draft was published in 1937 by Arturo Alfandari but attracted wider attention in 1961 when Alfandari published his books Cours Practique de Neo and The Rapid Method of Neo...
, was developed in the 1930s and first presented in 1961.
Like many other constructed languages of the time, Alfandari's own was based on Esperanto
Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
. However, he took some steps further - he reduced the use initial and final syllables, and built-in vocabulary. Root words were made as short as possible thus emphasizing rhythm and articulation, but sometimes at the expense of recognizability.
Alfandari's language has been described as "the natural and inevitable further development of Esperanto" (P. Rasquin) and as "a radical and satisfying way for a reform of Esperanto, which could have been accepted by Esperantists even as a simplification of their language." (A. Lavagnini).
His first two Neo books solely numbered 1,304 pages - the reason he put so much effort in it is ˝Whether you are Flemish
Flemish people
The Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...
or Waloon, white or black, Americans or Russians, you all want peace. To make an attempt to understand and support each other.˝
But despite his best efforts, Neo had the same fate as the most of such other language projects - it did not survive its creator.