Charles E. Sprague

“ And have found our rest but broken "in the bivouac of life."
We are standing by the river, over on the other shore
We shall meet when taps have sounded all our comrades gone before;
And we've gathered now as pilgrims from the breadth of all the land,
Just to see old comrades' faces and to graps them by the hand,
By the flashing torch of memory smouldering campfires to relight,
Bid the fifty years to vanish and be boys again to-night.
Go revisit some old earthwork in the peaceful Southern land
Where the demon of destruction once let loose his iron hand ”

“ We have "golden" derived from "gold," but have no adjectiv
derived from "iron." But in Volapük ,,golüdik, lelik, silefik," are regularly formed from ,,golüd, lel, silef," and in translating from English we must be careful, to distinguish: in phrases like "silver watch," treating "silver " as an adjectiv ; ,,glok silefik." Whole phrases are also rendered by an adjectiv in ik or an adverb in iko the adjectiv being used if the phrase qualifies a noun, the adverb, if it qualifies a verb.
Many words are used both as nouns and as verbs in Volapük and in English. ”

“ I have not followed the ancient custom of treating each part of speech by itself, but have taken up each modification in succession, a plan which seems to me preferable, at least in a language without irregularities. ”

“ THE USE OF PREPOSITIONS In English we often use one of the common prepositions in several different meanings, which may not coincide with the meanings of any one Volapük preposition. In Volapük it is intended that each preposition should have only two meanings, the literal and the figurativ.
The following list is intended for reference in case of doubt :
It must be remembered also that there are many words in English which are used sometimes as prepositions, sometimes as adverbs : to run down the hill; to tear down the house. ”

“ The object or kimifal follows the verb, and the kimefal, being a more remote object, is placed still later.
The kimafal or possessiv follows the thing possessed. In English the possessor comes first if it is exprest by the possessiv case, but if exprest by of it comes after.
The adverb follows the verb which it modifies, but if it modifies an adjectiv then the adverb precedes the adjectiv. This is an apparent exception to the general rule of position; the adverb may, however, be considered as forming a compound word with the adjectiv ”

“ They is indicated by the ending oms ; will have been by the syllable pu at the beginning
log is the simple root-form, and means, as a noun, eye, but as a verb, to see. Pu and oms may be analyzed thus: u as a verb-prefix (or tense augment, as it is called) indicates the future-perfect ; p is the sign of the passiv voice. In oms, s denotes the plural ; m denotes the masculin third person
o is characteristic of all person endings and unites them to the verb. ”

“ The ending -ön indicates the infinitiv, and we have seen that al before the infinitiv gives it the meaning "in order to ; " altho' "in order" need not be expressed. If we look up lotad we find that it means hospitality ; but we have in English no verb "to hospitate." We are obliged to use some such phrase as "to give hospitality to," "to receive hospitably." Omis is the same word ,,om" which we have already met several times. This time it is in the kimifal, plural, like foginelis, which, in fact, it replaces. ”

“ The boy is a scholar. Dogs and sheep are animals. The day is a part of the year. Bread is food. Wine is a drink. Water is a drink. I am a merchant. You are a scholar. You are scholars. It thunders. One eats meat. ”

“ PERSONS The pronoun of the FIRST person is ob, I; plural, obs, we.
When the verb is in the first person the pronoun is united with it as a person ending, forming one word. Binob, I am;
pükob, I speak; kömobs, we come; golobs, we go.
The pronoun of the SECOND person is ol, thou or you (singular) ; ols, you, plural. ”

“ The first part of the compound may be considered as the kimafal, and usually the meaning of the compound may be expressed by placing it after the principal word either in the kimafal or in the adjectiv form; pük vola, mon potik, tidel pükas, pük flentik, dog yagik, yel nulik. But the meaning of the compound word is more specialized. Pük vola may mean a language of the world, any language of the world, while volapük means a language understood through the whole world.
In a few compounds instead of a the syllables as, i and o, are used as connectivs, tho' there seems to be no settled rule. ”

“ Kerckhoffs aroused enthusiasm, not only in France, but in other countries where his works were circulated. Spain was the next, followed by Italy and Portugal. During 1885 and 1886 the countries of the north -- Sweden, Denmark and Russia -- also received the new language. Thus, the extension of Volapük has been geographical, and the English-speaking peoples are the last of the great European races to be affected by it. In each country, as a rule, its popularization has immediately followed the publication of a grammar peculiarly suited to its people. ”

“ A fair knowledge of English grammar is presupposed; therefore I have not wasted space in explaining the ordinary technical terms.
There are excellent works on the subject in French, German and other languages, but translations of such works are very unsatisfactory to an American learner. He finds things taken for granted which are quite unknown, and things explained which to him are self-evident. I have tried to place myself in the attitude of such a learner, and to give him just the help he needs, and just at the point where he needs it. ”

“ Man, a man ; plural, mans, men. (Man may also be translated, the man, or simply, man. The articles an, a, and the are always omitted.) Vom, the woman ; voms, the women. Ob, I ; obs, we. Om, he ; oms, they.
Ol, thou or you ; ols, ye or you. In English, you is sometimes singular and sometimes plural. In addressing one person, ol should be used ; while ols is used for two or more.
The numerals are always placed after the thing numbered.
Man bal, one man. Mans tel, two men, Voms kil, three women.
The first nine numerals end in l, preceded by the vowels in regular order. ”

“ The doctor's wife knows the man who is the author of the book. What is a merchant ? A merchant is a man who buys and sells things. Who is that woman ? That woman is a teacher, who teaches boys and girls. ”

“ I am more healthy than you. I have larger hands than you. The dog has larget than the cat. What book is the best in the whole world ? I have not so many books as you, but I read more [books] . What is the easiest languain the whole world ? ”

“ THE FREQUENTATIV FORM OR AORIST When a verb refers to the habitual performance of an action, this may be indicated by adding the letter i (pronounced as a separate syllable) to the tense augment. Thus,
In English we have no special form for habitual action , but, on the other hand, we use the verb to be with the participle in -ing to express action continuing temporarily. ”

“ What shall be the monument o'er gallant Ellsworth's grave?
How shall we commemorate the life he freely gave,
Resolved that o'er our country no disloyal flag shall wave
As his soul goes marching on? ”

“ In the next sentence, seeking first the verb, we recognise it in ifenoms by the personal ending oms, they and the tense prefix i. I we find in the series a, ‰, e, i, o, u (present, imperfect, perfect, pluperfect, future, future perfect) ; its English equivalent is "had;" oms is third person, plural, they; therefore we have only to look for the meaning of fen to know what "they had" done. Fen being to weary, ifenoms must be they had wearied. We now look back for the subject which must be plural. Tˆbs has the plural-sign and is in the kimfal. ”

“ You give books to the boys. You speak to me. I give money to you. You give money to me. He comes. She goes. He gives money to the man. She has the book. He brings a dog to the boy. She speaks. He sees the man and the boy. He gives me money. ”

“ To read is better than to play. We ought to buy a house if we can buy it cheap. This man can read six languages and speak three; he likes to study and he has time to study. It is better to have loved and lost than not to have loved. ”

“ In our language we print
In this book, we print Volapük words and sentences in heavier type.
In learning to pronounce Volapük, the first difficulty is to avoid sounding the vowels a e i o u like their English names A E I O U.
Always think of them and speak of them by their Volapük names. Originally they had the same sounds in English.
Read them over carefully seyeral times, then drop the p sound and repeat
The adding of another consonant at the end does not change the vowel sound ; therefore, pet is pronounced pate (not pet) ; pit is pronounced pete (not pit) ”

“ All good men have good hearts, and love good things. God is the father of all men [human beings] . All men who love God are good. God is the author of all good things. I am your cordial friend, who hopes that you are well. ”

“ Vatükoboks, or vatükobsok, we wash ourselvs. Vatükomoks, they wash themselvs. If the object is exprest by a separate pronoun in the plural it is translated "each other." Löfomoks, they love themselvs; Löfoms okis, they love each other. Löfobsok, we love ourselvs; Löfobs obis, we love each other. ”

“ The word "do" is used in English as an auxiliary denoting emphasis, as, "I do believe." In Volapük this cannot be translated otherwise than "I believe."
The same tense-vowels,
a, ä, e, i, o, u,
are used with some words other than verbs, when time is to be distinguished. ”

“ In such phrases as "there is, there are," there, as already stated, is untranslatable. Yet it has a value; it shows that the verb to be has its meaning to exist, and that it is not a mere copula. For example :
There is a Volapük society in Constance ”

“ Who sees the two sheep ? To whom does the man give money ? (Literally, to whom man gives money ? "Does" is untranslatable.) To whom does the boy bring money ? The boy brings five dollars to the father. ”

“ The Academy is expected to edit the standard dictionary and grammar, to authorise new words, to adopt any necessary changes, and to give their sanction to approved works of instruction.
The most obvious application of Volapük is for international correspondence, especially commercial correspondence, which is numerically the most important. It will require no argument to convince the business world that a common language, if easily learned, and once established, will be an immense facilitation of commerce. ”

“ Other words, if relating to men, are masculin without any prefix; if relating to animals, the unprefixed word is common (indifferent) gender, the name or the male animal has the preflx om-, and the name of the female the prefix ji-. ”

“ Vifik, quick ; vifiko, quickly. Neit, night ; neitiko, nocturnally. When the adverb ending in iko immediately follows the verb, o is sometimes omitted ;
gonom vifik (vifiko) , he runs fast (swiftly) . ”

“ In our vocabulary
we frequently give the radical only or one of these derivativs, leaving the others to be inferred.
From any radical denoting a quality may be formed, by adding ik, an adjectiv attributing that quality, as gud, goodness, gudik, good; jap, sharpness, japik, sharp. Thus dropping ness is equivalent to adding ik, or vice versa. In this case we usually give the adjectiv only, leaving the student to drop the ik and add the ness or we give the noun only, leaving him to drop the ness and add the ik. ”

“ After a preposition we use in English the form in -ing; nes sagön -- without saying. The ending -i shows that pleki is the object of the verb sagön. Nes sagön pleki == without saying a prayer.
This participial clause is placed at the beginning of the sentence because it qualifies the subject, which is the -om in äsäkom, he asked. Ome is another form of om; the kimefal or indirect object. In English the person of whom anything is asked is put in the objectiv, but in Volapük the thing asked is considered as the direct object; "he asked [to] him." ”

“ No mutobs lifön al fidön, sod fidön al lifön, we must not live to eat, but eat to live.
The English verb-noun in -ing must be translated by the infinitiv. Fidön zesüdos al lifön, eating is necessary for living. ”

“ Fat mana; the man's father or the father of the man. The kimafal is sometimes called the genitiv.
3. The kimefal, or to-whom-case, ends in e and answers the question "to whom ?" It is usually translated by to with the objectiv; but frequently we omit the to ; thus we say "I gave an apple to the boy," or "I gave the boy an apple." "Boy " would be in the kimefal as expressing the indirect object of the action. The kimefal is sometimes called the dativ case.
4. The kimifal, or whom-case, ends in i, answers to the question "Whom ?" ”

“ In the THIRD person there are four pronouns: om for masculins and neuters, he, it; of for feminins, she; os, neuter impersonal or abstract; on, collectiv, one (as "one says") , people, "they." In the plural, oms and ofs, they. ”

“ Please visit us in our new house. Please answer this letter soon. Kill that snake! Remain in the house. Please mail me three copies of your new book. Accept my cordial salutations. Let each boy take his book and read. ”

“ The dog eats fast. You write well [goodly] . We speak Volapük badly. I write three letters twice in a week. We buy books cheaply ["cheaply" after "buy"] . we buy cheap boks. The merchant buys cheap and sells dear. ”

“ Da is a prefix, and log is the real root. Log, as a noun. means eye ; log-ön, the verb, is to see. Da, as a prefix, denotes the completion of an action or the attainment of the object sought.
ädalogom, being a transitiv verb, should have an object, in the kimifal, of course. We readily find this object in the next word bäledani. This we find to mean an "old-man ," but even if bäledan were omitted from the vocabulary we could discover its meaning from the root bäled, age, and the ending an (an echo of man) , which is applied to persons. ”

“ Voms penofs penedis manes.
The dogs see the sheep. The sheep see the dog. The sheep sees the grass. The men write letters. The boys see the letters (a, b, c,) . The women drink (not -oms) water. The men drink wine. ”

“ They must learn to suffer hunger, laugh at labor and privation,
They must stand and take their chances, whether death or mutiliation,
Of the prison worse that either with its torture and starvation. ”

“ COMPOUND WORDS In forming compound words the rule of word placing is exactly reversed, and the determinant precedes the determined.
A compound noun is formed by inserting the vowel a between the determining word and the principal word. ”

“ I have five books. We give money to the man. I give five dollars to the boy. We bring a dog to the man. I bring the books. I bring the boys' books. I bring books to the boys. We give books to the boys. ”

“ The Latin root man- will not help us here, because man is already appropriated. Therefore, the transposed form nam is adopted, slightly assisting the memory.
As to grammar, the first requisite is regularity, and the second is simplicity. There was before the inventor a choice between the inflectional and the analytical modes ; whether to express the relations between words by modifications in form, or by separate words as connectivs. He inclined to the former, and his language is rather inflectional than analytical. ”