56 INTEENATIONAL LANGUAGE AND SCIENCE 



languages, and although, according to its whole nature, it 

 appeared to be modelled very closely on natural languages, 

 nevertheless the abbreviations which Schleyer introduced 

 so often into the words he took over (for example, vol for 

 world, piik for speak, Mclop for America) produced the same 

 psychological effect as if his word-formations had been 

 a priori. Man is, in fact, a psychological as well as a 

 logical being. If there is to be any practical outcome, we 

 must, therefore, under all circumstances base our work on 

 the psychological principle of internationality. It is only 

 this which confers on the auxiliary language the quality of 

 being easily learnt and spoken, which is unconditionally 

 necessary for its practical use in science, as in other depart- 

 ments of life. Such systems are called a posterori, and 

 experience shows that the more a posteriori elements 

 are contained in an international language the more it con- 

 forms to Jesperaen's fundamental principle of the greatest 

 ease for the greatest number of people. But, one may argue, 

 does it not follow from this that the best solution would be 

 the introduction of a national language into science ? 

 Certainly not, for this would not offer the greatest facility 

 to the greatest number of people, because the formation of 

 the so-called idioms, which, apart from grammatical diffi- 

 culties, hinder the learning and use of a language, would 

 in the case of many national languages interfere with the 

 internationality of the vocabulary. These idioms have a 

 very similar effect to the d priori word formations, and 

 diminish the intelligibility, lucidity, and facility of logical 

 expression. The only international auxiliary language 

 which will be of practical use in science will be constructed 

 according to the a posteriori principle of maximum 

 internationality, and will be almost or entirely free from 

 idioms. If we add to this that it must possess that logical 

 clearness of expression which we have described above as 

 the second criterion, we have the general conditions which 



