"In the Land of Invented Languages," "Blissymbolics," and the new Radiolab episode, "Bliss"

The first story in a recent episode of Radiolab ("Bliss": http://www.radiolab.org/2012/dec/17/) follows a character named Charles Bliss, who is one of many subjects in this book...:

In the Land of Invented Languages: Adventures in Linguistic Creativity, Madness, and Genius (by Arika Okrent)

(Previously titled: In the Land of Invented Languages: Esperanto Rock Stars, Klingon Poets, Loglan Lovers, and the Mad Dreamers Who Tried To Build A Perfect Language)

...Charles Bliss turns out to be an incredibly interesting character who, after having experienced the Nazi propaganda machine and the concentration camps, decided to create a universal language that he thought would cure the world of all its social ills. He published his ideas and a guide to learning his universal language in this book:

Semantography (Blissymbolics): A Logical Writing for an Illogical World

"Bliss believed that war was often caused by the misuse of language, and he believed it could be overcome if we could create a way to communicate the truth without the trickery of words. Having lived through the hell of Nazi concentration camps, he set about creating the perfect language, based on symbols and logic." (Quote taken from the Radiolab website.) 

It is an extremely fascinating story that takes a bit of a sad and ironic turn. I highly recommend listening to it! http://www.radiolab.org/2012/dec/17/

I'm just about to order and read the Arika Okrent book...the Charles Bliss book is now a rare out-of-print book -- maybe I'll find a copy of it one day. Anyway, check it out!

WORDS -- by Radiolab

NEW EPISODE -- "WORDS"

It’s almost impossible to imagine a world without words. But in this hour of Radiolab, we try to do just that. We speak to a woman who taught a 27-year-old man the first words of his life, and we hear a firsthand account of what it feels like to have the language center of your brain wiped out by a stroke. Plus: a group of children invent an entirely new language in Nicaragua in the 1970s.

http://blogs.wnyc.org/radiolab/2010/08/09/words/

So I've been listening to this great radio show/podcast for about six months now and I've obsessively listened to their whole back catalogue of shows now. Now I have to be content listening to the new episodes as they come out, which is more slowly than I'd like. It is that good. Anyway, everyone should check the show out (http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/), or download the podcast on iTunes... To the point: the newest episode is called "WORDS" and it really blew my mind. Many of their episodes are appropriate for this forum. The show essentially takes a seemingly very simple question, concept, or idea, and tries to explore it in depth in a number of ways (through the sciences, math, philosophy, art, etc.). It hasn't failed to fascinate me yet. So go check out the latest episode and then I think you'll be hooked.

Making Words :: To the Best of Our Knowledge