Volapük

Lore & Background

Volapük was created by Johann Martin Schleyer, a Roman Catholic priest, after he met an old German peasant who could not write to his son due to a linguistic barrier. Schleyer first developed a 'National alphabet' that failed to gain recognition, leading to insomnia; during a sleepless night, he believed God called him to create an international language. The language's grammar was inspired largely by German and heavily regularized, while its lexicon was rooted mostly in English, with additional influence from German, Romance languages, and Russian. Many words were altered beyond recognition to make vocabulary monosyllabic. The first two used German, but the last conference used only Volapük. The language spread first to France and then elsewhere, but tensions arose between Auguste Kerckhoffs, director of the Academy of Volapük, and Schleyer over reforms, leading to schism. Volapük experienced a small revival in the 1930s due to Arie de Jong's reforms, which simplified the language and became known as Volapük nulik. This revision eliminated some verb forms and gendered pronouns, and rehabilitated the phoneme /r/. The language was suppressed in countries under Nazi rule and never fully recovered. It still maintains a small userbase, with a revival in the 21st century, often as a hobby language.

Reader's Guide

Volapük holds significance as the first major constructed international auxiliary language, setting the stage for later projects like Esperanto. However, internal conflicts over reforms and the rise of Esperanto led to its decline, as many Volapükists switched to the simpler, less centrally controlled Esperanto. The language's legacy includes its influence on the Esperanto movement and its role in demonstrating both the potential and challenges of constructed languages. Arie de Jong's reforms in the 1930s briefly revived interest, but Nazi suppression hindered recovery. In the 21st century, Volapük has seen a small revival, notably through the Volapük Wikipedia, which grew rapidly via automated article creation, though it remains a hobby language. The language's continuous speaker community, with an unbroken succession of leaders (Cifals) from Schleyer to the present, underscores its enduring niche.

Did You Know?

• Volapük was created by Johann Martin Schleyer, a Roman Catholic priest, after he met an old German peasant who could not write to his son due to a linguistic barrier.