Date: Fri, 31 Jul 92 22:15:23 From: hrick%genesis.uucp@gte.com (Rick Harrison) Subject: Unitario Sender: Rick Harrison To: conlang@buphy.bu.edu > anyone have any information about a conlang called Unitario asks Bruce R Gilson. As a matter of fact there will probably be an article about it in the next _Journal of Planned Languages._ The author of Unitario was unable to attract any followers, and has given up in frustration, according to the forthcoming JPL article. ===================================================================== Rick Harrison hrick@genesis.nred.ma.us = gte.com!hrick%genesis.uucp Journal of Planned Languages, Box 54-7014, Orlando FL 32854-7014, USA ================================================================================ Date: 01 Aug 92 01:44:21 EDT From: Don HARLOW <72627.2647@CompuServe.COM> Subject: RE: Unitario To: Conlang Message-id: <920801054420_72627.2647_DHJ27-1@CompuServe.COM> X-Envelope-to: knappen@VKPMZD.KPH.Uni-Mainz.de To: Conlang >INTERNET:conlang@buphy.bu.edu Dato: 920731 Bruce Gilson asks: >Does anyone have any information about a conlang called Unitario (mentioned, >with a reproduction of a page or 2, in Gopsill's book)? The little I can see >in the piece reproduced gives the impression of being very close to Esperanto >(present tense verbs ending in -as, nouns forming plurals in -oyn, though it >does not appear that that decomposes as it would in Esperanto into a plural and >accusative ending) and I suspect I would not find it very much to my liking, >but I am curious about it. Here's a copy of info I sent Rick Harrison on May 6: >The ELNA office has two pamphlets on Unitario, which I borrowed this >evening. One is "Unitario per medio de picturoyn," based on the old >"Spanish Through Pictures" book; the other is "Unitario: ^zurnalo >poliglotte de latino moderne," anno 1 numero 1 (februario 1990). The >inventor and primary promulgator seems to be one Rolf Riehm, at Box >1825, D-6140 BENSHEIM, Germany (today that would be W-6140 or >D-W-6140); the picture book is written by one "Mario Pleyer," who >may be a pseudonym of Riehm. >Sample of the language: >In generale, mija ideo in developar UNITARIO estabis, ke ego prenas >omnes reguloyn de Interlinqgua or alicuno altere linqgva universale, se >kvistos reguloyn apparamas logicale cay practicale. Ergo: ego pode usar >sine problemoyn la terminatsion de Interlinqgua '-mente'. >Por demonstrar tuja eksemplo: >'.. in unsinnnig vielen Sprachen ...' >'.. in linqgvoyn absurdamente numerose ...' >Evidente la significatsion multe differente est de kvista eksemplo: >'.. Esperanto absurde cay unlogicale est ...' >Se tuo trovas alios eksemployn de mija projecto kvejos absolumente >contra omnes reguloyn della gramatico de nostros linqgvoyn evropeja >infractar, per fawor nenio hesitas de luy-mismo indicar al mija attentsion. Hope this helps, Bruce. ============================================= Don HARLOW Redaktoro Esperanto U.S.A. tel. (1 510) 222 0187 CompuServe [72627,2647] Internet 72627.2647@compuserve.com "To discipline Esperantists is to eat soup with chopsticks." Confucius ============================================= ================================================================================ Here is some information about UNITARIO, sources are the ``Kurzgrammatik'' (dated 1989-06-06) and the Unitario journal No. 1 (2/1990). * Alphabet and phonology: Rolf Riehm invented an own alphabet for phonetic spelling. The following letters are used for Unitario: Vowels: a, "a (a-umlaut), e, i, o, "o, u, "u pronounced more or less like in german. Diphtongs: ay (ai), oy (oi, german eu), av (au), and ev (eu like in italian europa). Konsonants: b, c (pronounced k), d, f, g, h, j (like in german, engl. y in year), k, l, m, n, p, q (only in combination nq, pronounced ng), r, s (voiceless), ^s (s-circumflex, pronounced as z in zero), t, v (w in water), w (v in very), x (ch in Bach, Loch), z (sh in ship), ^z (zh, like the s in mea_s_ure). The following are used in transcribing sounds of some european languages: nj (like gn in champa_gn_er), lj (like ll in Basti_ll_e), \theta for voiceless th, \ss (scharfes s, \3) for voiced th, ^\circ (degree sign) schwa, ^x voiced ch (like g in Ar_g_entina), Diphtongs ey (ei) and uy (ui). Long vowels are denoted by duplication of the vowel, short ones by duplication of the following consonant. ck is duplicated c or k. It seems, that c occurs in front of a,o,u and most consonants, k in front of e,i,v,s. * Grammar: ,,Jede Regel des Unitario sollte mindestens eine Ausnahme haben'' (Each rule of Unitario should have at least one exception) Fixed word order, Subjet -Object -Predicat (allthough R. Riehm's own examples often deviate from this). Numbers 1 to 10: una, dua, troja, kvarta, tzinqkva (! pron. tshingkwa), seksta, septa, otta, n"owa, diksi. Articles: La /los (definite) una/unos (indefinite) Nouns: Usuallually ending in -o, plural -oyn. Adjectives: Usually ending in -e. Komparation with mas (more) and magis (most). ,,Rote W"orter'' (Red words) Pronouns end in -a, plural -os. Conjunctions and prepositions aren't changed. Verbs: infinitive ending -ar, past participle -ante, Gerund [sic, in fact present participle] -iendo Present tense: -as (singular), -amas (plural) Past tense: -abis, -abimis Future: -aros, -aromos Conjunctive: -ius, iumus Imperative: -i, imi Irregular verb estar (to be) with present tense paradigma: ego sum numos sumus tuo estas w"atos estamas ilo est loros sunt Questions: yes/no q. begin with kvod (esperanto ^cu, ido ka). All question words begin with kv- * Vocabulary: Strongly spanish based, with unexpected bits of german (lando (country)), english (apon (upon)), esperanto (cay (and)) and french (^z"usca (till)). R. Riehm tried to advertise unitario to esperantists and interlingua-ists in europe, but both groups did not give up their language in favour to unitario. It seems that he now has converted to interlingua, at least he functions as german contact of the UMI (Union Mondial pro Interlingua). (Compiled by J"org Knappen) ================================================================================