What is Interlingua?
Q: What is Interlingua?
A: Interlingua is a constructed language that uses words found in most West-European languages. It was created by IALA, and it was based on English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. The name Interlingua comes from the Latin root word "inter", which means "between" or "to each other", and lingua meaning "language".
Q: Who created Interlingua?
A: Interlingua was created by IALA - a group of people led by Alexander Gode who worked on it for more than 20 years. They published the first dictionary in 1951.
Q: How many people speak Interlingua?
A: In the year 2000, there were 1,500 people who spoke Interlingua. However, speakers say that millions can understand it without having to learn it first.
Q: Are there any other constructed languages with more than 1000 speakers?
A: Yes, Esperanto and Ido are two other constructed languages with more than 1000 speakers. They were both made before Interlingua.
Q: Is Interlingua easier to learn than natural languages?
A: Yes, because it was made to be easy for people of different countries to talk to each other easily without having to learn a new language first. It is simpler and modernized compared to natural languages like Latin which used to be spoken in Rome a long time ago.
Q: Why do some people think Esperanto or Ido are easier to learn than Interlingua?
A: Some people think Esperanto or Ido are easier because they have no exceptions (words that break the rules). Others think that since all the words chosen for Interlingua were easy for those who know English, French, Spanish, Portuguese or Italian plus Occitan and Romanian (languages that used Latin), then this makes learning the language easier as well.
