View source for Unish

{{Short description|Constructed language developed by Sejong University}}
{{Advert|date=April 2015}}

{{Infobox language
|name=Unish
|creator=Language Research Institute, Sejong University
|created=1996
|setting=[[International auxiliary language]]
|speakers=none
|fam2=[[International auxiliary language]]
|script=[[Latin script|Latin]]
|posteriori=Vocabulary from fifteen representative languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Russian, Arabic, Hindi, Greek, Latin, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Esperanto.
|iso3=none
|glotto=none
|ietf = [https://www.kreativekorp.com/clcr/ art-x-unish]
|notice=IPA
}}

'''Unish''' is a [[constructed language]] developed by a research team at [[Sejong University]], [[South Korea]]. The term “Unish” is used in reference to it being cast as a [[universal language]] in the [[Globalization|globalized era]].

The vocabulary of Unish is chosen from among 15 languages: [[Esperanto]] and 14 major languages that have 70 million or more native speakers or which were international languages in the past.  Decisions are based on the three principles of commonality, short-word length, and simplicity. Consequently, the core vocabulary of Unish is integrated with the simplest words of existing major languages. To date, Unish has a vocabulary of approximately 10,000 words. Sejong University has also offered Unish classes for several years.

== Linguistic properties ==

=== Classification ===
Unish is a constructed language and not genealogically related to any particular ethnic language. The [[Phonology|phonological]] and [[Grammar|grammatical]] structures are based on those of pidgins.

Typologically, in Unish, prepositions and adjectives are placed before the nouns they modify. The [[word order]] of a sentence is “subject-verb-object/complement.” This word order is always kept, regardless of a [[declarative sentence]] or an [[interrogative sentence]]. New terms are formed through the careful selection of words among the aforementioned fifteen languages by seven principles such as: [[commonality]], short word-length, diversity, distinctiveness, simplicity, cultural priority, and [[compounding]].

=== Writing system ===
The Unish alphabet consists exactly of the twenty-six letters of the [[ISO basic Latin alphabet]], which are as follows:

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; table-layout:fixed"
|+ Unish alphabet
! Number ||1||2||3||4||5||6||7||8||9||10||11||12||13||14||15||16||17||18||19||20||21||22||23||24||25||26||-||-||-
|-
![[Upper case]]
|[[A]]||[[B]]||[[C]]||[[D]]||[[E]]||[[F]]||[[G]]||[[H]]||[[I]]||[[J]]||[[K]]||[[L]]||[[M]]||[[N]]||[[O]]||[[P]]||[[Q]]||[[R]]||[[S]]||[[T]]||[[U]]||[[V]]||[[W]]||[[X]]||[[Y]]||[[Z]]||SH||CH||NG
|-
![[Lower case]]
|a||b||c||d||e||f||g||h||i||j||k||l||m||n||o||p||q||r||s||t||u||v||w||x||y||z||sh||ch||ng
|-
! [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] [[phoneme]]
|{{IPAlink|a}}
|{{IPAlink|b}}
|style="background-color:#fcc"| -
|{{IPAlink|d}}
|{{IPAlink|e}}
|{{IPAlink|f}}
|{{IPAlink|ɡ}}
|{{IPAlink|h}}
|{{IPAlink|i}}
|style="background-color:#fcc"|{{IPAlink|d͡ʒ}}
|{{IPAlink|k}}
|{{IPAlink|l}}
|{{IPAlink|m}}
|{{IPAlink|n}}
|{{IPAlink|o}}
|{{IPAlink|p}}
|style="background-color:#fcc"|kw
|{{IPAlink|r}}
|{{IPAlink|s}}
|{{IPAlink|t}}
|{{IPAlink|u}}
|{{IPAlink|v}}
|{{IPAlink|w}}
|style="background-color:#fcc"|ks
|style="background-color:#fcc"|{{IPAlink|j}}
|{{IPAlink|z}}
|style="background-color:#fcc"|{{IPAlink|ʃ}}
|style="background-color:#fcc"|{{IPAlink|t͡ʃ}}
|style="background-color:#fcc"|{{IPAlink|ŋ}}
|}

It uses three [[digraph (orthography)|digraph]]s: ⟨[[sh (digraph)|sh]]⟩, ⟨[[ch (digraph)|ch]]⟩, ⟨[[ng (digraph)|ng]]⟩

=== Phonology ===
Unish has twenty-two [[pulmonic consonant]]s, five [[vowel]]s, and two [[semi-vowel]]s. Unish also accepts commonly-used vowels and consonants that tend to be easier to pronounce.

==== Vowels ====
The vowel structure of Unish consists of five vowels that are most commonly used in [[pidgin]]s as well as in natural languages: [i, e, a, o, u].

==== Semi-vowels ====
In addition to the five vowels, Unish also accepts the semi-vowels [j] and [w] in making more elaborate sounds.

==== Consonants ====
Unish accepts consonants that are easy to pronounce and common to natural languages. For example, the dental sounds of [θ] and [ð] are not generally easy to acquire and pronounce. Hence, these sounds are not included in the consonant system of Unish. Moreover, the correspondence between sounds and spellings are as straightforward as possible, as listed below. The aim is such that anyone with a basic knowledge of the [[Latin script]] will find the relations between consonants and letters quite accessible.

==== List ====
{| class="wikitable sortable IPA"
|-
! IPA name
! IPA symbol
! Relation between <br>IPA and Unish <br>representation
! Spelling 
! Unish classification
|-
| [[Close front unrounded vowel]] || [i] || same || i || vowel 
|-
| [[Close-mid front unrounded vowel]] || [e] || same || e || vowel 
|-
| [[Open front unrounded vowel]] || [a] || same || a || vowel 
|-
| [[Close-mid back rounded vowel]] || [o] || same || o || vowel 
|-
| [[Close back rounded vowel]] || [u] || same || u || vowel 
|-
| [[Voiced palatal approximant]] || [j] || different || y || semi-vowel
|-
| [[Voiced labio-velar approximant]] || [w] || same || w || semi-vowel
|-
| [[Voiced bilabial stop]] || [b] || same || b || consonant
|-
| [[Voiceless palato-alveolar affricate]] || [t͜ʃ] || different || ch || consonant
|-
| [[Voiced alveolar stop]] || [d] || same || d || consonant
|-
| [[Voiceless labiodental fricative]]  || [f] || same || f || consonant
|-
| [[Voiced velar stop]] || [ɡ] || different || g || consonant
|-
| [[Voiceless glottal fricative]] || [h] || same || h || consonant
|-
| [[Voiced palato-alveolar affricate]] || [d͜ʒ] || different || j || consonant
|-
| [[Voiceless velar stop]] || [k] || same || k || consonant
|-
| [[Voiced alveolar lateral approximant]] || [l] || same || l || consonant
|-
| [[Voiced bilabial nasal]] || [m] || same || m || consonant
|-
| [[Voiced alveolar nasal]] || [n] || same || n || consonant
|-
| [[Voiced velar nasal]] || [ŋ] || different || ng || consonant
|-
| [[Voiceless bilabial stop]] || [p] || same || p || consonant
|-
| – |[[Labialized]] [[voiceless velar stop]] || [kʷ] || different || q || consonant
|-
| [[Voiced alveolar trill]] || [r] || same || r || consonant
|-
| [[Voiceless alveolar sibilant]] || [s] || same || s || consonant
|-
| [[Voiceless palato-alveolar sibilant]] || [ʃ] || different || sh || consonant
|-
| [[Voiceless alveolar stop]] || [t] || same || t || consonant
|-
| [[Voiced labiodental fricative]] || [v] || same || v || consonant
|-
| – || [ks] || different || x || consonant
|-
| [[Voiced alveolar sibilant]] || [z] || same || z || consonant
|}

=== Grammar ===

The grammar of Unish was constructed on the basis of the principles of simplicity, logicality, and regularity. For example, irrespective of number (plural or singular) or person (first-person, second-person, or third-person) of a subject, the form of the [[verb]] corresponding to the subject does not vary.  Nouns have only one marked case, the genitive, which is identical to the plural, following the principles of simplicity and logicality.

'''Interrogative Sentence'''

Unish sentences consist of a subject (S), a verb (V), and an object (O)—ordered (S-V-O). This word order is preserved in declarative sentences (DS) as well as in interrogative sentences (IS). In Unish, the difference between a declarative sentence and an interrogative sentence is that the former ends with a period and falling [[Intonation (linguistics)|intonation]], while the latter ends with a [[question mark]] and rising intonation.

{{interlinear|number=[DS]
|Tim lov beisbol game.
|{} love baseball game
|"Tim loves {the baseball} game."
|}}

{{interlinear|number=[IS]
|Tim lov beisbol game?
|"Does Tim love the baseball game?"}}

As a result of this rule, interrogative [[pronoun]]s (who, what, when, where, why, and how) appear ''in situ'', as opposed to always being placed initially within a [[sentence (linguistics)|sentence]].

{{interlinear|indent=3
|Sarah lov wu? / cf. Wu lov Sarah?
|{} love who {} {} who love {}
|"Who does Sarah love?" / "Who loves Sarah?"}}

'''Passive Sentence'''

In Unish, the [[passive voice]], which tells the story with the object's voice, presents the verb in the form of ‘be + [verb]ed’. To present the person or object performing the action, ‘by + person or object performing the action’ is used in the objective form after the verb or at the end of the sentence.

{{interlinear|indent=3
|I lov Susan. / Susan be loved (by i).
|I love {}   →    {} be loved by me
|"I love Susan." / "Susan is loved (by me)."}}

'''Personal Pronoun'''

In Unish, there is no [[gender]] distinction in pronouns., and the [[plural]] form of a pronoun is created by attaching an “-s” to its [[singular number|singular]] form.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!             !! Singular!!Plural
|-
| 1st-person || i      || we
|-
| 2nd-person || u      || ue
|-
| 3rd-person ||  he/she/it     || dey
|}

A plural [[personal pronoun]] is obtained by attaching the [[suffix]] “–s” to a singular pronoun. The plural forms of all nouns are made simply by attaching that suffix to their singular forms. 

== Vocabulary ==

The Research Team at Sejong University claims that, as the number of developed [[lexical item]]s has exceeded 9,600, the lexical inventory of Unish provides a sufficient base for everyday conversation. New words are also under constant development for utilization within the context of various speaking and writing topics.

Unish vocabulary is derived from fifteen languages: [[English language|English]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[French language|French]], [[German language|German]], [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Korean language|Korean]], [[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[Japanese language|Japanese]], [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Hindi]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Latin]] and [[Esperanto]].<ref>Haitao Liu 2006 - http://www.lingviko.net/Neutrality.pdf</ref> Words are selected from among multiple terms borrowed from these languages, in accordance with seven criteria: commonality, short word-length, diversity, distinctiveness, simplicity, cultural priority, compounding.

== Sample Text ==

The following short story—with an accompanying Unish translation—is extracted from [[Aesop's Fables]].

'''English'''

The Geese and the Cranes.
Some geese and cranes were feeding together in the same field, when a bird-catcher suddenly came to them. Since the cranes were slim and light, they could fly right off and escape the bird-catcher’s nets. The geese, however, weighed down by their fat, could not take off so easily and were all captured.

'''Unish Translation'''

Guss e krans.
{{lang|mis|Som guss e krans beed fiding junt in same fild, when tori-kachor sudnli komed to dey. Koz krans beed slim e lite, dey kaned flai skoro e eskaped tori-kachor’s nets. But guss non kaned eskap izli e al es kaptur koz dey es overpeso.|italic=no}}

==Further reading==
{{Portal|Constructed languages}}
* Young-Hee Jung. (2004) English, Unish, and an Ideal International Language: From a Perspective of Speech Sound and Writing System. 
* Purev Jaimai & Hyun Seok Park. (2003) Representing Unish Grammars Based on Tree Adjoining Grammar Formalisms. 
* Stuart Read. (2001) Like WTO, Why not WCO? 
* Young-Hee Jung. (2004) Borrowing for a Universal Language. 
* Andrew Large. (1996) The Prospects for an International Language.
* Kwak, E. 2003. Comparison between Pidgins and ‘Unish’. Journal of Universal Language 4, 17-31.

==External links==
* [http://www.unish.net/e_index.jsp Unish official site] {{in lang|en}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151227142715/http://203.250.148.79/search/e_unish_Dic_Search.jsp Unish Dictionary Search]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151227153203/http://203.250.148.79/part_Plaza/e_word_Recommand.jsp Unish Vocabulary Recommendation]
* [http://www.unish.net/upload/word/Basic+Unish+2021+%28E%29.pdf]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Constructed languages}}

[[Category:Constructed languages introduced in the 1990s]]
[[Category:International auxiliary languages]]
[[Category:1996 establishments in South Korea]]
[[Category:Sejong University]]
[[Category:Constructed languages]]