Statement of Purpose

Conlanging, the art of constructing artificial languages, has been a passion of mine since high school. I wanted to use this blog as some sort of platform on which to collect ideas about a specific project I've been contemplating - an artificial language based heavily on Latin and Greek.

I can't say how much I've benefited from trying to learn Latin and Greek. Latin, the foundational language of Western Europe, pervades much of literature and science. Greek, too, plays a major role in our everyday lives especially through its influence on the Romans. Though Greek vocabulary may be a little more distant for English speakers, we can't minimize the historical importance of Greek and let that slip away from us.

Unfortunately, we've seen a decline in the study of Latin and Greek and the importance our society pays to the two languages. We've come to see the two languages as being extremely difficult, not something one can easily pick up. And as such, I feel so many people maybe missing out on a tremendous benefit to their lives. Some would say that these languages need to be more commonplace and down to earth - vulgar to use the Latin term.

So here's the goal of this blog: to play about with a simplified language with a working name of Vulgare that would introduce busy people to a wealth of Latin and Greek vocabulary. Projects like this have been done before, and one of the best known is Giuseppe Peano's "Latino Sine Flexione," Latin completely stripped of its grammar. Peano's model has had a powerful influence on me and I will use many of his ideas, but I feel that it is important to learn at least some grammar in order to not be completely lost with many of the Latin-based phrases used in everyday speech. Thus Vulgare will be more conservative in its reduction of grammar - the trick is to find that happy medium between usefulness and simplicity.