The Search for the Perfect Language (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Umberto Eco
- First Published: 1993
- Type of Work: Literary history
- Genres: Criticism, Nonfiction, Linguistics
- Subjects: Language or languages, Literature, Italy or Italians, Hebrew language
What is a “perfect language”? To Umberto Eco it might be one regarded as an original or mother tongue of humankind, an artificial one constructed to express ideas more precisely or to achieve universality or practical perfection, or a magical language meant for initiates only. Perfection being a relative concept whose achievement in fulfillment of one linguistic purpose, as in the case of a language intended for general communication worldwide, precludes fulfillment in another, as in that of a truly philosophical language, Eco has had to make a broad survey of notable attempts...
[The entire page is 2243 words long]
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