Kenneth Searight (born Arthur Kenneth Searight) (15 November 1883–28 February 1957) was the creator of the international auxiliary language Sona. His book ''Sona; an auxiliary neutral language'' outlines the language's grammar and vocabulary. Encounters with Searight also influenced English author

E.M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly '' A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stor ...

's world-view, particularly with regard to soldiers. Searight was born in Kensington, England in 1883. He attended Charterhouse School (a boarding school) for his childhood and teenage years. In 1904 he received a commission into the Queen's Own Western Kent Regiment, and was stationed for several years in India. It was here that he befriended English author

(''A Passage to India'') and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

don G.L. Dickinson. His regiment was later reassigned to Iraq, and then to Egypt. Searight also enjoyed leave time around the Mediterranean Sea—especially in Italy. It was during this extensive travel that Searight developed his interest in linguistics and his familiarity with Middle Eastern and Far Eastern languages and cultures. At one point in his military career he was classified as an interpreter competent in "Arabic, Baluchi, Persian and Pushtu." Searight retired to Rome in 1926. In 1934 he contacted

Charles Kay Ogden Charles Kay Ogden (; 1 June 1889 – 20 March 1957) was an English linguist, philosopher, and writer. Described as a polymath but also an eccentric and outsider, he took part in many ventures related to literature, politics, the arts, and philos ...

to discuss publishing the Sona book. Ogden was the creator of a modified version of English known as "

Basic English Basic English (British American Scientific International and Commercial English) is an English-based controlled language created by the linguist and philosopher Charles Kay Ogden as an international auxiliary language, and as an aid for teach ...

", which consisted of a reduced vocabulary (only 850 words) and simplified grammar. Ogden was also the editor of the Psyche Miniatures series at Cambridge University, and he approved and published the Sona book, as well as writing an introduction for it. Searight engaged in

pederasty Pederasty or paederasty ( or ) is a sexual relationship between an adult man and a pubescent or adolescent boy. The term ''pederasty'' is primarily used to refer to historical practices of certain cultures, particularly ancient Greece and an ...

. He was also the author of six unpublished volumes of erotica, five of which were destroyed by a later owner in a moment of panic. The sixth survives: a 600-page manuscript work called the . It was made up of homoerotic stories, a detailed listing of his sexual conquests with a total of 129 boysWhite, Chris. ''Nineteenth-century writings on homosexuality: a sourcebook''. Londono: Routledge, 1999, p. 328 — the "Paidiology"— and a 137-page verse autobiography entitled "The Furnace". There is some reason to believe that Searight was the model for the hero of Forster's novel ''

Maurice Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr * Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...

''. Searight Ogden originally received the ''Paidikion'', but it was later retrieved from a used bookstore for half a

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

. Excerpts were published in the ''International Journal of Greek Love'' in 1966. The original manuscript is now kept in the Human Sexuality Collection at Cornell University (Rare Books Division, 7745 Bd. Ms. 1). Searight died in 1957.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Searight, Kenneth Constructed language creators E. M. Forster English male non-fiction writers British gay writers English LGBT writers People educated at Charterhouse School People from Folkestone People from Kensington 1883 births 1957 deaths