Houman Barekat

A universal language will always be an unattainable dream

For centuries, idealists and crackpots tried to invent a global tongue, but even Esperanto never took off. Marina Yaguello explains why

‘Joyfully the hope caresses us, because the future goal becomes apparent, that the international language progresses, finding friends everywhere’. [Getty Images] 
issue 23 April 2022
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  • Imaginary Languages: Myths, Utopias, Fantasies,Illusions and Linguistic Fictions

    Marina Yaguello,translated by Eric Butler

    MIT, pp. 352, £25

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