Poliespo
Encyclopedia
Poliespo is an extension of Esperanto
using Cherokee
words, created by Billy Ray Waldon
(also known as Nvwtohiyada Idehesdi Sequoyah).
, English
, Esperanto
, and Spanish
, the languages that Nvwtohiyada could speak.
The philosophy behind the language is reminiscent of sound symbolism
or phonosemantics, and therefore radically differs from the principles of Esperanto.
The sound values of these are not well explained. It appears that the vowel
s a, e, i, o, u are as in Esperanto. A circumflex vowel is nasal. Ĭ is [ɪ] as in English 'ship', î is nasal ĭ. The vowel q sounds "like the ir of English 'girl'". W is "like the sound in awful, law", and ŵ is nasal w. X is schwa
; its nasal form is written 2, because 2 resembles, according to Waldon, a nose. Acute accents mark a rising tone.
The consonant
s are as in Esperanto, plus b, k, m, n breve, which are perhaps pre-aspirated with a nasal h. T̂ is voiceless th [θ], ť is voiced th [ð]. Pʷ is 'pw'. Z̑ is [kts], z̆ is [gdz]. Y is perhaps [ç]. Glottal stop is phonemic but not written.
than to Esperanto
, since radicals are inflected (it is a polysynthetic language
); therefore, the language is not perfectly agglutinative. Unlike Ido, it has only one prefix in addition to those of Esperanto: pe-, which is used to indicate the "neutral" gender. Besides the accusative, there is also a subject suffix, as in Korean
and Japanese
.
Since Waldon asked for donations from interested people, he has been accused of having dishonest intentions.
Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
using Cherokee
Cherokee language
Cherokee is an Iroquoian language spoken by the Cherokee people which uses a unique syllabary writing system. It is the only Southern Iroquoian language that remains spoken. Cherokee is a polysynthetic language.-North American etymology:...
words, created by Billy Ray Waldon
Billy Ray Waldon
Billy Ray Waldon , aka Billy Joe Waldon and Nvwtohiyada Idehesdi Sequoyah, is the creator of the constructed language Poliespo . Born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, he is on Death Row in California for murder. On May 16, 1986 he became the 399th fugitive listed by the FBI on the Ten Most Wanted List...
(also known as Nvwtohiyada Idehesdi Sequoyah).
Principle of Creation
Nvwtohiyada believed that certain languages contained (to use his term) "lightning words," or phrases that speed up or clarify thought. Poliespo was an attempt to combine these 'lightning words' into one language. Most of Poliespo comes from CherokeeCherokee language
Cherokee is an Iroquoian language spoken by the Cherokee people which uses a unique syllabary writing system. It is the only Southern Iroquoian language that remains spoken. Cherokee is a polysynthetic language.-North American etymology:...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Esperanto
Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
, and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, the languages that Nvwtohiyada could speak.
The philosophy behind the language is reminiscent of sound symbolism
Sound symbolism
Sound symbolism or phonosemantics is a branch of linguistics and refers to the idea that vocal sounds have meaning. In particular, sound symbolism is the idea that phonemes carry meaning in and of themselves.-Origin:...
or phonosemantics, and therefore radically differs from the principles of Esperanto.
Pronunciation
Alphabet:The sound values of these are not well explained. It appears that the vowel
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
s a, e, i, o, u are as in Esperanto. A circumflex vowel is nasal. Ĭ is [ɪ] as in English 'ship', î is nasal ĭ. The vowel q sounds "like the ir of English 'girl'". W is "like the sound in awful, law", and ŵ is nasal w. X is schwa
Schwa
In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa can mean the following:*An unstressed and toneless neutral vowel sound in some languages, often but not necessarily a mid-central vowel...
; its nasal form is written 2, because 2 resembles, according to Waldon, a nose. Acute accents mark a rising tone.
The consonant
Consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
s are as in Esperanto, plus b, k, m, n breve, which are perhaps pre-aspirated with a nasal h. T̂ is voiceless th [θ], ť is voiced th [ð]. Pʷ is 'pw'. Z̑ is [kts], z̆ is [gdz]. Y is perhaps [ç]. Glottal stop is phonemic but not written.
Structure
The structure is more similar to IdoIdo
Ido is a constructed language created with the goal of becoming a universal second language for speakers of different linguistic backgrounds as a language easier to learn than ethnic languages...
than to Esperanto
Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
, since radicals are inflected (it is a polysynthetic language
Polysynthetic language
In linguistic typology, polysynthetic languages are highly synthetic languages, i.e., languages in which words are composed of many morphemes. Whereas isolating languages have a low morpheme-to-word ratio, polysynthetic languages have extremely high morpheme-to-word ratios.Not all languages can be...
); therefore, the language is not perfectly agglutinative. Unlike Ido, it has only one prefix in addition to those of Esperanto: pe-, which is used to indicate the "neutral" gender. Besides the accusative, there is also a subject suffix, as in Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
and Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
.
Goal
The suggested goal is to give the western U.S., and mainly the native peoples, the opportunity to acquire the "Cherokee Spirit". According to its speakers, one cannot speak Poliespo (or Po, as it is often called) well unless one speaks Esperanto.Since Waldon asked for donations from interested people, he has been accused of having dishonest intentions.
External links
- Pli kaj pli malfacila la situacio de Sequoyah - Heroldo Komunikas n-ro 247, text of the article.
- Pli kaj pli malfacila la situacio de Sequoyahx - Radio 3ZZZ, 2004-09-27, the article is read aloud.