Oxford Bodleian: Artificial Language in John Aubrey Exhibit

At this 350th anniversay of the Royal Society--June 2010--I visited the brief but beautiful display of Aubrey's work, especially interested in "artificial language" vis a vis Borges on Wilkins' universal language, Wilkins having been the "architect" of the R.S. (1668), the same society that "purified" the English language a century or so later; Wilkins quoting Thomas Harriot: "He contrived an alphabet for the American language, like devils." Jonathan Swift (1726) parodied attempts at artificial (or new) languages, i.e. philosophers seeking universal communication culminating with Wilkins attempts.

A.L. failed for two basic reasons: 1) you can't reduce reality to "a series of tables"
2) you can't persuade others to adopt: freedom.
But think about this: newsspeak etc: subliminal brainwashing does indeed persuade or lull others to adopt...

sjl

The Cloisters