[C18-L] imaginary grammars

[Paul Frank]

Hi Joel,

Your correspondent may find this book, and its many references, useful:

Umberto Eco, The Search for the Perfect Language (1995). I have the
Italian original lying around somewhere.

The table of contents can be consulted here:

http://www.amazon.com/Search-Perfect-Language-Making-Europe/dp/0631205101/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288160211&sr=8-1

Paul

Paul Frank
Translator
Chinese, German, French, Italian > English
Espace de l'Europe 16
Neuchâtel, Switzerland
paulfrank at bfs.admin.ch
paulfrank at post.harvard.edu




On Tue, Oct 26, 2010 at 9:52 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: Â  Â  Â  American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Â  Â  Â  "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject: Â  Â  Â Re: [C18-L] imaginary grammars
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On a list of 18th-century mavens and afficiondos:
>
> At 10/26/2010 02:35 PM, Ruth MENZIES wrote:
>>I was wondering whether anyone on the list could point me towards
>>imaginary voyages/utopias that present more or less detailed
>>grammars purporting to illustrate perfect languages (the kind of
>>thing Swift derides in Gulliver's Travels).
>>I am familiar with French texts of this sort (Veiras, Foigny, Tyssot
>>de Patot) but less so as regards works in English.
>
> I'll pass on any responses to the other list.
>
> Remember, the writer is almost certainly interested in the period
> before, say, 1850 -- so don't give me "Star Trek, Voyager".
>
> Joel

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