aUI (language)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

aUI
Created by: John W. Weilgart  1962 
Setting and usage: Designed so that ideally, the meaning of each phoneme would tie into its properties
Total speakers:
Category (purpose): constructed language
 logical or philosophical language
  aUI
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: art
ISO 639-3:


aUI is a constructed language credited to John W. Weilgart, created in the beginning of the 1960s. Because of its structure it is clasified as a logical language or philosophical language.

[edit] History

aUI first appeared in the 1962 publication "aUI: The Language of Space: Pentecostal Logos of Love & Peace" and is described by Weilgart to be a purely logical and rational language.

John W. Weilgart, a psychiatrist from Iowa of Austrian origin claims to have learned the language from a being of outer space. The word "aUI" means (in aUI) "mind-space-sound". Other books by the same author analyzing this language more deeply are "aUI: The Language of Space: For the First Time Represented and Adapted to the Needs of This Planet" (1967) and "Cosmic Elements of Meaning: Symbols of the Spirit's Life: A Cosmology for Mankind's Survival in the Atomic Age of Space" (1975).

[edit] Characteristics

aUI has 42 phonemes (including nasalized variations on the vowels for numbers), each with an associated meaning:

  • a (pronounced like a in about): 'space'
  • e (pronounced like e in bend): 'movement'
  • i (pronounced like i in win): 'light'
  • u (pronounced like u in bush): 'human'
  • o (pronounced like o in port): 'life'
  • y (pronounced like ü in German fünf): 'negative'
  • q (pronounced like eu in French jeune): 'condition'
  • A (pronounced like a in water): 'time'
  • E (pronounced like ai in hair): 'matter'
  • I (pronounced like ee in sleep): 'sound'
  • U (pronounced like oo in soon): 'mind'
  • O (pronounced like o in go): 'feeling'
  • a*: 1 (asterisk indicates that the sound is short, nasal and stands for a numeral)
  • e*: 2
  • i*: 3
  • u*: 4
  • o*: 5
  • A*: 6
  • E*: 7
  • I*: 8
  • U*: 9
  • O*: 10
  • y*: 0
  • b: 'together'
  • c (pronounced like sh in short): 'being'
  • d: 'through'
  • f: 'this'
  • g: 'inside'
  • h: 'question'
  • j (pronounced like s in television): 'equal'
  • k: 'above'
  • l: 'round'
  • m: 'quality'
  • n: 'quantity'
  • p: 'before'
  • r: 'positive'
  • s: 'thing'
  • t: 'toward'
  • v: 'active'
  • w: 'power'
  • x (pronounced like ch in Bach): 'relation'
  • z: 'part'

The language was designed so that ideally, the meaning of each phoneme would tie into its properties. The phoneme /b/, for instance, meaning "together", is pronounced with the lips pressed together. The short i, which means "light", takes the brightest, highest-frequency sound, while the long I, which means "sound", takes longer to say, because sound travels more slowly than light.

Each phoneme also has a character that represents its meaning. The symbol for a, meaning "space", for instance, is a circle to enclose an open space. The symbol for e, meaning "movement", follows the movement of a spiral nebula. The u, meaning "human", is a caret shape, suggesting two legs. The o, meaning "life", is represented by the shape of a leaf, plants and photosynthesis forming the basis of all life. The v, meaning "active", is represented by a lightning bolt, the most active thing in nature. The character for g, meaning "inside", is a dot inside a circle. The character for t, meaning "toward", is a split arrow shape pointing towards the right.

aUI attempts oligosynthesis.

[edit] External links and references