Chapter 1352: Tower of Babel Project
The so-called Esperanto may be very unfamiliar to modern people, but when it comes to the "new language of all nations" mentioned by Mr. Shu Ren, we can know its influence at its peak.
Esperanto almost became an international diplomatic language, but it was opposed by the French at a critical moment and failed to take effect.
In fact, before World War II, at least before the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, French had always been the first language in the diplomatic field.
However, it was World War II that really dealt a fatal blow to Esperanto. The major powers unanimously banned it and it was unable to recover.
Franz naturally did not have such great ambitions, nor was he so naive to pursue world peace, but it was still necessary to unify the languages of the Austrian Empire and the surrounding areas.
A Polish ophthalmologist who changed his career halfway could create a language, not to mention the language experts of the Austrian Empire.
Generally speaking, only those who mastered more than three foreign languages could be called language experts, but in the Austrian Empire, scholars who mastered less than eight foreign languages were embarrassed to say that they were linguistics majors.
As language experts, it is rare to find someone willing to provide them with funding, and this is much safer than going to the jungles of South America, crossing the death zone of Africa, polar exploration, and going to ancient tombs.
(In fact, there were not many pure linguists at that time. Generally, they played multiple roles such as historians, archaeologists, explorers, exorcists, etc., and often died in some strange places, so this stereotype was left.)
It is not difficult for them to invent a language. The difficulty lies in how to retain the dominant position of the German-speaking people.
After several years of discussion, hundreds of experts finally came to the conclusion that they should just improve the German language. At this time, German was also divided into many language families:
For example, High German (Bavarian dialect), Middle German (Saxony and Rhine dialect), Low German (Hamburg, Hanover region), Mountain German (Swiss and North Tyrol dialect), Court German (Viennese dialect).
(Dutch is also a Low German, but it is slightly different from the Low German in the German region, but it hardly affects communication in the 19th century.)
Prussia is more special. Traditionally, it is believed that the Pomeranian language they speak is a type of Low German, but because it occupies a large area of Saxony and the Rhine region, there are also a large number of Middle German people.
The vocabulary, grammar, and even some pronunciations of these Germans are different, and they cannot communicate effectively with each other. In fact, these problems have been plaguing Germany to this day, and the Swabian dialect is as terrible to most Germans as Wenzhou dialect.
It’s okay to have many dialects, but the key is that experts from various countries speak their own language, and the people are determined not to change under the wave of democracy.
The so-called standard German is based on a dialect of German translated by Martin Luther into the Bible, but Martin Luther was born a commoner and a Protestant.
Therefore, the nobles and Catholics in the German region could not accept the so-called standard German. As a result, the Grimm brothers began to compile the "German Dictionary" in 1852, and it took four generations to complete it in 1960.
"The same writing, the same track, the same system, the same ethics, and the same territory", this step will be very difficult, but someone will always take this step.
Franz's actions have already carried a lot of sins, and this one is not bad.
Of course, Franz would not be so stupid as to force everyone in the German region to change their behavior habits immediately. He would find a reason that is reasonable and noble enough.
In fact, Franz had thought of the whole plan more than ten years ago and informed the top leaders of the Vienna Church, so Archbishop Rauscher regarded himself as a so-called natural saint and supported himself with all his strength.
All this is just one page of the Babel Tower Plan. Not long ago, the Pope handed him the key to Rome, which made the prerequisites of this plan possible.
Franz wanted to revise the Bible, and this time he used the improved German.
The improved German, while retaining the rigorous characteristics of German, simplified and split it to make it simpler and more efficient, and most importantly, lowered the threshold for learners.
In addition, I don’t know if there are artists mixed in with linguists, or because of the characteristics of Vienna, the original standard German’s fierce and violent feeling like the roar of a ferocious beast has disappeared, and there is no longer the soft and artificial feeling of court German.
Instead, it was replaced by a feeling similar to music or poetry. It sounded good, but for some reason it always felt funny.
(According to the Bible, Old Testament, Genesis, in ancient times, humans united to build a tower that could lead to heaven.
In order to stop the human plan, God gave humans different languages, making it impossible for humans to communicate with each other, and the Tower of Babel plan eventually became a bubble.
The church used this to explain why there are different races and different languages in the world.)
At the same time, Franz also wanted to revise the "German Dictionary". In name, it was naturally for the benefit of brothers in various states, but in fact, it was still promoting the Austrian version of standard German.
At this time, both the monarchists and the republicans in the German Confederation were completely subdued by Franz, and the so-called National Assembly was uprooted by Franz.
As for those nationalists, they were so happy to hear that Franz was going to revise the "German Dictionary", so how could they oppose it?
Especially for those great Germanists, this was simply their glorious moment and the first step towards their ultimate goal.
Nationalism is a powerful placebo. Although it cannot cure diseases, it can minimize the negative emotions that a unified language brings to the people, and even urge the people to learn "German".
As for the real lower class, they have already done their best to have enough food in this era. How can anyone be so full that they want to fight with Franz for such a thing?
Of course, Franz is also ready to make necessary sacrifices when necessary. Without the courage to kill, how can there be the determination to save people?
Franz is not the kind of person who can only draw big cakes. He will make more big cakes and let people feel the benefits personally.
The lower-level education of the Austrian Empire just needs a large number of teachers, and Franz can just improve the treatment and status of teachers.
Franz is also ready to introduce women into the basic education industry, which can compensate for the loss of women's employment caused by equal pay for equal work in some industries on the one hand, and optimize the allocation of labor resources on the other hand.
With the development of the economy and the establishment of the Austrian Empire's economic self-circulation system, the service industry will also usher in a new life. At least in the short term, the Austrian Empire will not be affected by the economic crisis.
Of course, with the establishment of the Europa Monetary Union, once an economic crisis occurs, the consequences will be more serious than in history.
The same dictionary is called the "German Dictionary" in the German Confederation, but it is the "Common Language Dictionary" in the Austrian Empire.
In addition, the Austrian Empire also published a book "Two Hundred Words for Everyday Life of Imperial Citizens" which was widely praised within the empire.