Basic English

From Langmaker

Conlang	Basic English
Author	C. K. Ogden
Year Began	1930
Language Type	international auxiliary language
Lexicon Size	850
Etymologies	Yes
Grammar	Yes
Sample Texts	Yes
Primer	Yes

Basic English is an international language and was created by C. K. Ogden by 1930. It has been used for a translation of the Babel Text.

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Uniqueness

Basic English (Basic is an acronym for "British American Scientific International Commercial") was designed as a subset of English. Any Basic English text is also a valid English text, but Basic English has just 850 core words (not counting inflectional forms); extensions to the lexicon are permitted for specific subject domains. The Bible and other texts have been translated into Basic English. For a time, Ogden hoped Basic English would be used for teaching English as a second language, but because Basic English permits the full complexity of English grammar, this was not practical. 850 English words for everyday usage.

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Language sources

Subset of Standard English. Acknowledges international words. Special vocabularies for specific applications such as Science, Commerce.

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Design principles

Eliminate redundancy. Reduce verbs to 16. Complete compatibility with Standard English. Easy to learn. Complete language. Growth path to full English with no unlearning.

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