Interlingue literature

Literature in Interlingue has existed since the language's creation in 1922 by Edgar de Wahl in 1922. Although largely composed of original short stories and translations published in the central magazine of the language, Cosmoglotta, full length novels and poetry anthologies also exist, in particular those by authors such as Vicente Costalago, Jan Amos Kajš, and Jaroslav Podobský.

A large part of literature in Interlingue was originally published in the magazine Cosmoglotta.

According to Spanish Occidentalist Vicente Costalago, the history of literature in the language can be broadly divided into four sections:[1]

  • First period (1921—1927): Early literature from the creation of the language until the relocation of the language's central authority to Vienna.
  • Vienna era (1927—1949): Literature from the relocation to Vienna until the language's name change from Occidental to Interlingue.
  • Period of stagnation (1950—1999): From Interlingue's name change until the creation of the first Yahoo! Group.
  • Internet Revival (1999—): Literature from the first Yahoo! Group onwards.

Early literature (1921—1927)

The first known publication in Interlingue is the book Transcendent algebra, mathematical ideography, experiment of a philosophical language (Interlingue: Transcendent algebra, ideografie matematical, experiment de un lingue filosofic) by Estonian linguist Jakob Linzbach,[1] a proposal for a pasigraphy.[2] However, due to it being a work of non-fiction, it was not the first example of literature in Interlingue.

Instead, the first work of literature was "Hymn" ("Hymne") by the Finnish journalist and write Kaarlo Hammar, which was translated from the Finnish by K. J. Saarinen in Kosmoglott 1925.[1]

The following work of literature appeared in the supplement to Kosmoglott 1 (1926). This edition had the scope of publishing both scientific and literary texts. In the first issue were translations of two works by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, translated by A. Toman: the 48th verse[lower-alpha 1] of Vier Jahreszeiten (English: Four Seasons), and both of the Wanderer's Nightsong poems.

Toman also translated poems by the Czech Nobel Laureate poet Jaroslav Vrchlický. In 1926 Toman published Nationalism in Occidente, the first chapter of the 1918 book Nationalism by Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore.[1]

Vienna era (1927-1949)

The second period of the history of Interlingue literature was that beginning in Vienna, starting in 1927 and ending in 1949 when the language's name was changed to Interlingue. In Supplement al Cosmoglotta 7 (1927), a translation of work by Persian poet Saadi Shirazi was presented, alongside work by Hermann Keyserling in the following edition in 1927.

A series of translations were published in the 1930s, including Konstantin Balmont's Where is my home?, Manuel Menendez by Edmondo De Amicis, and A Descent into the Maelström by Edgar Allan Poe. Additionally, several original works were published, such as a poetry anthology, Li Astres del Verne (The Planets of Spring), by Podobský, Krasina, raconta del subterrania del Moravian carst by Kajš, and several works by A. E. Cortinas and P. Dimitriev. A short story collection, Historiettes in Occidental, was published in 1930 by Ric Berger.[1]

Stagnation (1950—1999)
Un Adío (A Goodbye), by Arvid Brenner, translated in 1958 by Eric Ahlström.

The period of stagnation began in 1950, when the Occidental-Union voted to change the name Occidental to Interlingue, with 91% support, ending in 1999 when the first Interlingue-language Yahoo! Group was created.

In 1951, with the creation of Interlingua, many occidentalists, including Berger, one of the most important figures of the Interlingue movement, began to support this new IALA language. This led to a large destabilisation of the movement, and while Cosmoglotta continued to be published, it did so with dimishing frequency, ceasing publication in 1985. According to Esperantist author Don Harlow, the editor of Cosmoglotta in this period, Adrian Pilgrim stated that Interlingue could be described as a "dead language".

However, publications of new literature in Interlingue continued throughout the 1950s and the early 1960s, with translations including "A Mother Speaks" by Czech Jiří Marek in 1954, Multatuli's "The alocution to the bosses of Lebak", and "Wedding Shirt" by Karel Jaromír Erben, translated by Josef Křesina.

Other translated books included Arvid Brenner's Un Adío (A Farewell) and Bo Bergman's A Desertor by Eric Ahlström in 1958. In 1964, Francis R. Pope published Poemas (Poems), an anthology consisting of poems translated from German, French, and English.[1]

Internet revival (1999—)
A modern edition of Cosmoglotta.

The revival of Interlingue began in 1999 with the creation of a Yahoo! group for the language, after a decade of decay in the 1980s and 1990s. In the early 2000s, Interlingue Wikipedia was created, which had over 5000 articles in 2020.[1]

Many original Interlingue texts as well as translations have been published since 2000, with the first being Stendhal's The Charterhouse of Parma (Li Cartusie de Parma), translated by Robert Winter in 2011. In 2012, Thomas Schmidt published Li Munde de Sandra in an online magazine, Posta Mundi, which contains material published in constructed languages. This was followed with a translation of The Little Prince in 2014.

Between 2021 and 2023, Spanish author Vicente Costalago wrote several poetry anthologies, short story collections, and novellas in Interlingue, including Li sercha in li castelle Dewahl e altri racontas, Li tresor de Fluvglant, Antologie hispan, and Fabules, racontas e mites.[1]

Authors
  • Jan Amos Kajš
  • Jaroslav Podobský
  • Engelbert Pigal
  • Abram Kofman
  • A.E. Cortinas
  • Ilmari Federn
  • Thomas Schmidt
  • Dorlota Burdon
  • Vicente Costalago

See also

References

Notes
  1. Although in the article it was mistakenly printed as the 54th chapter , it was the 48th verse of the text.

References
  1. Costalago, Vicente (July 2022). "Literatura in Interlingue". Cosmoglotta (329): 2–15.
  2. Moret, Sébastien (2019). "Jakob Linzbach on his life and work". Sign Systems Studies. 47 (1/2): 305. ISSN 1736-7409.
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