Ro
From Langmaker
| Conlang | Ro |
| Author | Rev. and Mrs. Edward Powell Foster |
| Year Began | 1906 |
| Language Type | philosophical language |
| Lexicon Size | N/A |
| Etymologies | No |
| Grammar | Yes |
| Sample Texts | Yes |
| Primer | No |
Ro was created in 1906 by Rev. and Mrs. Edward Powell Foster. It is a philosophical language.
Uniqueness
Like Solresol, Ro is an a priori philosophical language, with a vocabulary derived not from natural languages but from a classification structure. The sense of a word is indicated by its initial letters; for instance, in Ro, bo- is the category of "sense-affecting matter", and color words (falling under this category) begin with bofo-: bofoc means "red", bofod means "orange" and bofof means "yellow". Unfortunately, if you make a typo in Ro, you've probably just spelled another word, and your spell checker is not going to catch the mistake... Because most words used in speech are general, the language tends to flow in short two or three letter morphemes.
Both a dictionary and an introductory text are still available. Check with interlibrary loan. Two dictionaries have been scanned into PDF files and are available online.
Language sources
The vocabulary is a priori.
Design principles
All of the language is stretched across the alphabet. Pronouns begin with A and mathematical words begin with Z, living things with L and M: mu are animals, mul are birds, mulca are swimming birds, mulcam is a duck.
Interest of others
The language was approved by the U. S. Congress as an American entry into the auxiliary language effort. Also, his wife wrote the dictionary, and commandeered his imprimatur for it. However, she used it for her own comments; for instance, the word for "torture" glossed over to "cooking".
External links
| Site | Broken Link | Author | Site Languages |
| http://www.dengo.org/ro/ro.html | No | Rick Harrison | English |
| http://www.langmaker.com/outpost/ro.htm | No | NA | English |
