Spokil is a

constructed language A constructed language (sometimes called a conlang) is a language whose phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, instead of having developed naturally, are consciously devised for some purpose, which may include being devised for a work of fiction ...

created by the Frenchman Adolphe Nicolas. During the 1880s, the most popular international auxiliary language was undeniably

Volapük Volapük (; , "Language of the World", or lit. "World Speak") is a constructed language created between 1879 and 1880 by Johann Martin Schleyer, a Catholic priest in Baden, Germany, who believed that God had told him in a dream to create an ...

. However, after a brief period of overwhelming success, rivalry on the part of the more practical and less complicated Esperanto (published in 1887) led to a rapid decline of the Volapük movement. Many who had previously supported Volapük switched to the Esperanto camp, while others tried their best to improve or reform Volapük itself. Partially due to the inflexible attitude of Johann Martin Schleyer, the creator of Volapük, himself, this led to several schisms in the Volapük movement. As a result, a number of so-called "Volapükids" emerged, most notably Idiom Neutral, first published in 1902, and Spokil. Spokil was created by Adolphe Charles Antoine Marie Nicolas (1833-?), a French ship's doctor from

La Bourboule La Bourboule (; Auvergnat: ''La Borbola'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department The following is a list of the 464 communes of t ...

. A former partisan of Volapük, he started working on Spokil in 1890 (though some sources mention 1887 instead). In 1904, he published a book about it: ''Spokil. Language internationale. Grammaire, exercise, les deux dictionnaires.'' At a conference in Paris, held in June 1907, Nicolas was allowed to defend his language in person; among the other languages discussed at the conference were

Parla Parla () is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. It is located in the southern part of the region, approximately 20 km from the capital, Madrid. History Origins Earliest evidence of human occupation includes stone tools m ...

, Bolak (La Langue Bleue), Idiom Neutral, and Esperanto. At the same meeting,

Ido Ido () is a constructed language derived from Reformed Esperanto, and similarly designed with the goal of being a universal second language for people of diverse backgrounds. To function as an effective ''international auxiliary language'', I ...

was first presented. Spokil never gained much support, however, and nowadays is largely forgotten. Like Volapük, Spokil is most often qualified as an ''

a priori ("from the earlier") and ("from the later") are Latin phrases used in philosophy to distinguish types of knowledge, justification, or argument by their reliance on empirical evidence or experience. knowledge is independent from current ...

/a posteriori'' hybrid. Some authors, including Nicolas himself, consider it a purely ''a priori'' language.

Phonology

Consonants

Vowels

Text samples

Spokil-specimeno-kaj-autografo-de-A Nicolas

The

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

Mael nio, kui vai o les zeal;
Aepseno lezai tio mita.
Veze lezai tio tsaeleda.
Feleno lezai tio bela,
uti o zeal itu o geol.
Demai da ni itu ebilai da gelenelas nio.
E no apidai ni o fismena.
Stu nibai ni le sfail. Amen.

The numbers 1-10:

ba, ge, di, vo, mu, fa, te, ki, po, nu.

References

External links