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ON AN INTERNATIONAL AUXILIARY LANGUAGE. 391 
Dr. F. G. Cottrell, formerly Director of the United States Bureau of Mines and 
now Chairman of the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Technology of the National 
Research Council, was appointed Chairman of the International Committee, and 
among the other members appointed were :—Prof. Charles Moureu, of the Collége de 
France, Prof. R. Nasini, University of Pisa, Prof. A. Tanakadate, University of Tokyo, 
and Dr. Paul Otlet, of the Institut International de Bibliographie, Brussels. The 
above-named were subsequently appointed chairmen of their respective national 
committees. At the suggestion of Prof. H. H. Turner it was left to the British 
Association to nominate the British representatives, and the committee was given 
power to add to its number. As an outcome of this, the present committee was 
appointed at the Bournemouth Meeting of the Association (1919), with the intent 
that its chairman, at least, should represent Great Britain on the committee of the 
International Research Council. 
This Committee has been assisted in its deliberations by a special committee of 
the Classical Association. In the United States a joint committee has been set up 
by the National Academy of Science, the American Association for the Advancement 
of Science, and the National Research Council. In addition, the following bodies 
have appointed, or authorised the appointment of, similar committees :—The 
American Council on Education (including the Modern Language Association) ; the 
American Philological Association ; the American Council of Learned Societies ; the 
American Classical League ; and study-groups have been organised at a number of 
universities. As Commerce is regarded as one of the most important fields for an 
international auxiliary language, steps have been taken to awaken the interest and 
secure the collaboration of Chambers of Commerce as well as of individual business 
men. 
It will thus be seen that efforts are being made to enlist the sympathy and 
co-operation of very diverse interests, in order that the problem may be approached 
in a broad and comprehensive manner. The aim of the International Committee is 
gradually to build up a large and competent group of investigators, having both 
theoretical and practical knowledge of the subject, from which a number will be 
selected to form a central international organisation, preferably under the League 
of Nations, which shall be empowered to make the final selection of the international 
auxiliary language, if feasible, and to take measures to secure for it the greatest 
possible degree of stability. 
Having approved unanimously of the desirability of an I.A.L. (International 
Auxiliary Language), the Committee turned its attention to the advantages and 
disadvantages of the following three types :— 
(A) A dead language, e.g., Latin. 
(B) A nationai language, e.g., English. 
(C) An invented or artificial language, e.g., Esperanto and Ido. 
Tn considering the claims of Latin, the Committee received much assistance from 
the special committee of the Classical Association, and also information and advice 
from a number of Latin scholars, including Monsignor W. F. Brown (of the Catholic 
Church, Vauxhall, §.E.), Prof. R. 8. Conway, Father A. L. Cortie, the late Prof. 
L. C. Miall, F.R.S., Prof. J. P. Postgate, Dr. W. H. D. Rouse, and Dr. L. Storr-Best. 
The claims of English have been ably brought before the Committee by one of its 
members, Prof. W. Ripman, and also in the form of literature published by the 
Northern Peace Union and the English Language Union. Information concerning 
invented languages has been supplied mainly by the British Esperanto Association 
and the International Language (Ido) Society of Great Britain. To all of these the 
Committee wishes to express its thanks and indebtedness. 
In order to confine the inquiry within moderate limits, Latin, English, Esperanto, 
and Ido were selected for consideration, and it was unanimously agreed that, for the 
purpose of this Report, specialists should be asked to present their respective claims as 
concisely as possible. These claims are set out below. 
II. The Claims of Latin. 
The two essential requirements of an international auxiliary language seem 
to be :—(a) that it should be easily understood ; (6) that it should not be easily 
misunderstood. In both these respects, for use by any communities which share, 
or desire to share, the civilisation of Hurope, Latin has advantages which may well 
be thought decisive, over any artificial ‘language’ such as Esperanto, over all the 
Romance languages, over German, and over English, 
