View source for Volapük

{{short description|Constructed international auxiliary language}}
{{Infobox language
|name=Volapük
|nativename = {{lang|vo|Volapük}}, {{lang|vo-rigik|Volapꞟk}}, {{lang|vo-nulik|Volapük nulik}}
|image=Volapuk symbol.svg
|imagescale=0.7
|imagecaption=Logo of the Volapük movement (2nd phase)
|creator=[[Johann Martin Schleyer]]
|created=1879–1880
|setting=International: mostly in [[Europe]]
|speakers=20
|ref=<ref name="lafarge"/>
|date=2000
|fam2=[[International auxiliary language]]
|posteriori=vocabulary from [[English language|English]], [[German language|German]], and [[French language|French]]
|agency     = [[Kadäm Volapüka]]
|script=[[Latin script|Latin]]
|iso1=vo
|iso2=vol
|iso3=vol
|glotto=vola1234
|glottorefname=Volapük
|notice=IPA
|ietf= vo-rigik (original)<br />vo-nulik (modern)
}}
[[File:Flag of Volapük.svg|thumb|upright=0.85|Unofficial flag of Volapük]]
'''Volapük''' ({{IPAc-en|lang|ˈ|v|ɒ|l|ə|p|ʊ|k}};<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of VOLAPÜK |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Volap%C3%BCk |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> {{IPA|vo|volaˈpyk|lang}}, 'Language of the World', or {{lit|World Speak}}) is a [[constructed language]] created in 1879 and 1880 by [[Johann Martin Schleyer]], a [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] priest in [[Grand Duchy of Baden|Baden]], [[Germany]], who believed that [[God in Christianity|God]] told him to create an [[International auxiliary language|international language]].<ref name="lafarge">{{Cite web |last=Lafarge |first=Paul |date=1 August 2000 |title=Pük, Memory |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/pk-memory/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923034043/https://www.villagevoice.com/pk-memory/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 23, 2023 |website=[[The Village Voice]]}}</ref> Notable as the first major constructed international auxiliary language, the grammar comes from [[European languages]] and the vocabulary mostly from English (with some German and French). However, the roots are often distorted beyond recognition.

Volapük [[Convention (meeting)|conventions]] took place in 1884 ([[Friedrichshafen]]), 1887 ([[Munich]]) and 1889 ([[Paris]]). The first two conventions used [[German language|German]], and the last conference used only Volapük. By 1889, there were an estimated 283 clubs, 25 periodicals in or about Volapük, and 316 textbooks in 25 languages;<ref name="sprague">[http://personal.southern.edu/~caviness/Volapuk/HBoV/ Handbook of Volapük] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423175837/http://personal.southern.edu/~caviness/Volapuk/HBoV/ |date=2016-04-23 }}, [[Charles E. Sprague]] (1888)</ref> at that time the language claimed nearly a million adherents.<ref>''A History of the English Language, 5th ed.'' Albert C. Baugh and Thomas Cable. Ch.&nbsp;I ''English Present and Future''; Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River (2002)</ref> Volapük was largely displaced between the late 19th and early 20th century by [[Esperanto]].<ref>''The Loom of Language'' F.&nbsp;Bodmer and L.&nbsp;Hogben (eds.) Ch.&nbsp;XI ''Pioneers of Language Planning''; Allen & Unwin Ltd, London (1944)</ref>

==History==
[[File:Litzelstetten Volapuek.jpg|thumb|Commemorative inscription for J. M. Schleyer on the wall of the parsonage in Litzelstetten, [[Konstanz]], written in Volapük and German: <br />
{{center|Menade bal&nbsp;– püki bal<br />
Eine Menschheit&nbsp;– eine Sprache<br />
(One mankind&nbsp;– one language)}}]]
Schleyer first published a sketch of Volapük in May 1879 in ''Sionsharfe'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Collection 'Sionsharfe: Monatsblätter für katholische Poesie' {{!}} MDZ |url=https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/sionsharfe-monatsblaetter-fuer-katholische-poesie/about |access-date=2025-09-24 |website=www.digitale-sammlungen.de |language=en}}</ref> a Catholic poetry magazine of which he was editor.  This was followed in 1880 by a full-length book in German. Schleyer himself did not write books on Volapük in other languages, but other authors soon did, such as ''Comprehensive Volapük Grammar'' by Alfred A. Post,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Post |first=Alfred A. |url=http://archive.org/details/adz5790.0001.001.umich.edu |title=Comprehensive Volapük grammar |date=1890 |publisher=Mattapan, Mass. |others=University of Michigan}}</ref> ''A Complete Grammar of Volapük'' by A. K. Linderfelt, and ''A Handbook of Volapük'' by Andrew Drummond.

André Cherpillod writes of the third Volapük convention,

{{blockquote|In August 1889 the third convention was held in [[Paris]]. About two hundred people from many countries attended. And, unlike in the first two conventions, people spoke only Volapük.  For the first time in the history of mankind, sixteen years before [[Universala Kongreso de Esperanto|the Boulogne convention]], an international convention spoke an international language.<ref name="cherpillod1995">Foreword to ''Konciza Gramatiko de Volapuko'', André Cherpillod.  Courgenard, 1995.</ref>}}

The [[Netherlands|Dutch]] [[cryptographer]] [[Auguste Kerckhoffs]] was for a number of years director of the [[International Academy of Volapük|Academy of Volapük]], and introduced the movement to several countries.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Caraco |first1=Jean-Claude |last2=Géraud-Stewart |first2=Rémi |last3=Naccache |first3=David |date=May 19, 2020 |title=Kerckhoffs' Legacy |url=https://eprint.iacr.org/2020/556 |journal=Cryptology ePrint Archive |language=en}}</ref>
The French Association for the Propagation of Volapük was authorized on 8 April 1886, with A. Lourdelet as president and a central committee that included the deputy [[Edgar Raoul-Duval]].<ref>{{citation|access-date=2018-01-24|language=fr|ref={{harvid|Members du Comité Central – Le Volapük}}|title=Members du Comité Central|journal=Le Volapük|publisher=Association Français pour la propagation du Volapük|pages=2–3|url=http://volapuk.temerov.org/Volap%C3%BCkanef/Frans%C3%A4nap%C3%BCk/n%C3%BCneds/Le%20Volap%C3%BCk/06_Le_Volap%C3%BCk_Nombre_1_Juin_1886.pdf|archive-date=2017-08-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811223908/http://volapuk.temerov.org/Volap%C3%BCkanef/Frans%C3%A4nap%C3%BCk/n%C3%BCneds/Le%20Volap%C3%BCk/06_Le_Volap%C3%BCk_Nombre_1_Juin_1886.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
However, tensions arose between Kerckhoffs and others in the Academy, who wanted reforms made to the language, and Schleyer, who insisted strongly on retaining his proprietary rights. This led to schism, with much of the Academy abandoning Schleyer's Volapük in favor of [[Idiom Neutral]] and other new constructed language projects. Another reason for the decline of Volapük may have been the rise of [[Esperanto]]. In 1887 the first Esperanto book (''[[Unua Libro]]'') was published. Many Volapük clubs became Esperanto clubs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Esperanto & Esperantism |url=https://pages.ucsd.edu/~dkjordan/scriptorium/esperantism.html |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=pages.ucsd.edu}}</ref>

By 1890 the movement was in disarray, with violent arguments among the members. Schleyer resigned from the Volapük Academy and created a rival academy. Derived languages such as [[Nal Bino]], Balta, Bopal, Spelin, Dil and Orba were invented and quickly forgotten.<ref name=Pei>{{cite book|last1=Pei|first1=Mario|title=One Language for the World|date=1968|publisher=Biblo and Tannen|location=New York|page=134|url=https://www.questia.com/read/591845/one-language-for-the-world|access-date=29 April 2015|archive-date=9 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309115734/https://www.questia.com/read/591845/one-language-for-the-world|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Okrent2012>{{cite web |url=http://www.berfrois.com/2012/12/truth-beauty-volapyk-arika-okrent/ |title=Trüth, Beaüty and Volapük|last=Okrent|first=Arika|work=berfrois |date=December 15, 2012|access-date=2013-04-24}}</ref>

[[Image:Volapuk 1.gif|thumb|1898 broadsheet advertising Volapük]]
In the 1920s, [[Arie de Jong]], with the consent of the leaders of the small remnant of Volapük speakers, made a revision of Volapük which was published in 1931 (now called ''Volapük Nulik'' "New Volapük" as opposed to the '''Volapük Rigik''' 'Original Volapük' of Schleyer). This revision was accepted by the few speakers of the language. De Jong simplified the grammar, eliminating some rarely used verb forms, and eliminated some gendered pronouns and gendered verb endings. He also rehabilitated the [[phoneme]] {{IPA|/r/}} and used it to make some morphemes more recognizable. For instance, ''lömib'' "rain" became ''rein''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Robertson |first=Ed |title=Arie de Jong's Revision of Volapük (1931) |url=http://www.rickharrison.com/language/dejong.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041113010544/http://www.rickharrison.com/language/dejong.html |archive-date=13 November 2004 |access-date=11 February 2023 |website=rickharrison.com}}</ref>
Volapük enjoyed a brief renewal of popularity in the Netherlands and Germany under de Jong's leadership, but was suppressed (along with other constructed languages) in countries under Nazi rule and never recovered.

Regarding the success of this constructed language, the Spanish scientist [[Santiago Ramón y Cajal]] wrote in the first edition of his ''Tonics of Willingness'', in 1898:

{{blockquote|Nowadays, many scientific papers are published in more than six languages. To the likely attempt of restoring Latin or using Esperanto as the universal language of science, wise men have responded by multiplying the number of languages in which scientific works are published. We have to acknowledge that Volapük or Esperanto are practically one more language to be learnt. This result was predictable because neither the essentially popularized and democratic tendencies of modern knowledge, nor the economic views of authors and editors consent in a different way.<ref>Ramón y Cajal, S. (2009): ''Tonics of Willingness: Rules and Advices about Scientific Investigation''. Formación Alcalá: Alcalá la Real, Jaén.</ref>}}
However, some years later (1920), in the third edition of the same book, he added the following footnote to the former assertion: "As it was presumable, nowadays -1920-, the brand new Volapük has been forgotten definitively. We forecast the same for Esperanto."

Large Volapük collections are held by the [[Esperanto Museum and Collection of Planned Languages|International Esperanto Museum]]<ref>[http://www.onb.ac.at/sammlungen/plansprachen/ Collection for Planned Languages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040612032750/http://www.onb.ac.at/sammlungen/plansprachen/ |date=2004-06-12 }} (in German)</ref> in [[Vienna]], [[Austria]]; the [[Centre de documentation et d'étude sur la langue internationale|Center for Documentation and Study about the International Language]] in La Chaux-de-Fonds, [[Switzerland]]; and the [[American Philosophical Society]] in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]].<ref>[http://www.amphilsoc.org/mole/view?docId=ead/Mss.408.9.Ar7v-ead.xml Volapük Collection] - American Philosophical Society</ref>
In 2000 there were an estimated 20 Volapük speakers in the world.<ref name="lafarge"/>

In December 2007 it was reported that the [[Volapük Wikipedia|Volapük version of Wikipedia]] had recently jumped to 15th place among language editions, with more than 112,000 articles.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.pcworld.pl/artykuly/56502/MySpace.kontra.Facebook.html#t_34252|title=Ciekawe wydarzenia w Internecie|journal=PC World (Polish)|date=December 1, 2007|access-date=2013-04-26|language=pl|archive-date=2013-11-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106024950/http://www.pcworld.pl/artykuly/56502/MySpace.kontra.Facebook.html#t_34252|url-status=dead}}</ref>
A few months earlier there had been only 797 articles. The massive increase in the size of "Vükiped", bringing it ahead of the Esperanto Wikipedia, was due to an enthusiast who had used a computer program to automatically create geographical articles, many on small villages. The motive was to gain visibility for the language.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.liberafolio.org/2007/volapukapedio|language=eo |last=Nevelsteen|first=Yves|date=2007-09-15|work=Libera Folio|title=Volapuko jam superas Esperanton en Vikipedio|access-date=2013-04-26}}</ref>
By March 2013 the Esperanto Wikipedia, with a very active user community, had risen to 176,792 articles, while the [[Volapük Wikipedia]] had at that point 119,091 articles.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2013/03/languages-internet|newspaper=The Economist |title=The keenest Wikipedians|date=7 March 2013|access-date=2013-04-26}}</ref>

There has been a continuous Volapük speaker community since Schleyer's time, with an unbroken succession of ''[[Cifal]]s'' (leaders).  These were:
# [[Johann Martin Schleyer]] 1879–1912
# [[Albert Sleumer]] 1912–1948
# [[Arie de Jong]] (provisionally) 1947–1948,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.volapxn--tdak.com/kadam/Dalebud_Cifala_de_1947-01-15,_Num-_1.html|title=Dalebüd Cifala de 1947, Yanul 15, Nüm: 1|website=Vvolapük.com|access-date=24 February 2019}}</ref> 1951–1957<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.volapxn--tdak.com/kadam/Dalebud_Cifala_de_1950-12-21,_Num-_4.html|title=Dalebüd Cifala de 1950, Dekul 21, Nüm: 4|website=Vvolapük.com|access-date=24 February 2019}}</ref>
# [[Jakob Sprenger (Volapük)|Jakob Sprenger]]  1948–1950
# [[Johann Schmidt (Volapük)|Johann Schmidt]] 1950–1977
# [[Johann Krüger (Volapük)|Johann Krüger]] 1977–1983
# [[Brian Reynold Bishop|Brian Bishop]] 1984–2014
# [[Hermann Philipps]] 2014–present<ref>{{cite web|url=https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/volapuk/conversations/messages/3166|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140529163615/https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/volapuk/conversations/messages/3166|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 29, 2014|title=Yahoo! Groups|work=yahoo.com}}</ref><ref>"[http://sezonoj.ru/2014/05/volapuko/ Volapuko havas novan Cifal!]", ''La Balta Ondo'', May 29, 2014.</ref>

==Orthography and phonology==
[[Image:VolapukAOU.svg|thumb|Schleyer proposed alternate forms for the [[Umlaut (diacritic)|umlaut]] vowels, but they were rarely used.]]The phonology of Volapük is as follows:<ref>Sprague (1888)</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=A Quick Look at Volapük |url=http://xn--volapk-7ya.com/quick-look-at-volapuk.html |access-date=2015-11-12 |website=Volapük.com}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web |last1=Ager |first1=Simon |title=Volapük alphabet |url=http://omniglot.com/writing/volapuk.htm |access-date=2014-08-31 |website=Omniglot |publisher=Kualo}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Vowels
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |[[Front vowel|Front]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Back vowel|Back]]
|- class="small"
![[Roundedness|Unrounded]]
![[Roundedness|Rounded]]
|-
![[Close vowel|Close]]
|{{IPAlink|i}}
|ü (ꞟ) {{IPAslink|y}}
|{{IPAlink|u}}
|-
![[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
|{{IPAlink|e}}
|ö (ꞝ) /{{IPA link|ø}}/
| rowspan="2" |o /{{IPA link|o}}~{{IPA link|ɔ}}/
|-
![[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
| rowspan="2" |ä (ꞛ) /{{IPA link|ɛ}}~{{IPA link|æ}}/
| rowspan="2" |
|-
![[Open-mid vowel|Near-open]]
|
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
| colspan="3" |a /{{IPA link|a}}~{{IPA link|ɑ}}/
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Consonants
! colspan="2" |
![[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
![[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
![[Postalveolar consonant|Post-alveolar]]
![[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
![[Velar consonant|Velar]]
![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
|{{IPA link|m}}
|{{IPA link|n}}
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|- style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;" |[[Plosive]]
!{{small|Voiced}}
|{{IPA link|b}}
|{{IPA link|d}}
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|{{IPA link|ɡ}}
|&nbsp;
|- style="text-align:center;"
!{{small|Voiceless}}
|{{IPA link|p}}
|{{IPA link|t}}
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|{{IPA link|k}}
|&nbsp;
|- style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;" |[[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
!{{small|Voiced}}
|&nbsp;
| rowspan="2" |z /{{IPA link|t͡s}}~{{IPA link|d͡z}}/
| rowspan="2" |c /{{IPA link|t͡ʃ}}~{{IPA link|d͡ʒ}}/
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|-
!{{small|Voiceless}}
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|- style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;" |[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
!{{small|Voiced}}
|{{IPA link|v}}
| rowspan="2" |s /[[Voiceless alveolar fricative|s]]~[[Voiced alveolar fricative|z]]/
| rowspan="2" |j /[[Voiceless postalveolar fricative|ʃ]]~[[Voiced postalveolar fricative|ʒ]]/
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|- style="text-align:center;"
!{{small|Voiceless}}
|{{IPA link|f}}
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|{{IPA link|h}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" |[[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
|{{IPAlink|w}}{{Efn-lr|W and R were not included in the original version of Volpük.|name=wandr}}
|{{IPA link|l}}
|&nbsp;
|y {{IPAslink|j}}
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|- style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" |Trill
|&nbsp;
|{{IPA link|r}}{{Efn-lr|name=wandr}}
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|}
{{Notelist-lr}}
Additionally, ⟨x⟩ represents the sequence /{{IPA link|k}}{{IPA link|s}}/. The letters C, J, S and Z are pronounced voiced after voiced consonants and unvoiced otherwise.<ref name=":0" />

There are no diphthongs; each vowel letter is pronounced separately.

The letters ''ä'', ''ö'', and ''ü'' do not have alternative forms such as the ''ae'', ''oe'', and ''ue'' of [[German language|German]], but Schleyer proposed alternate forms ''ꞛ'', ''ꞝ'', and ''ꞟ'' for them, all of which are part of [[Unicode]] since version 7.0 released in June 2014:<ref>{{cite web|title=Latin Extended-D Range: A720–A7FF|url=https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/UA720.pdf|website=Unicode.org|access-date=4 May 2015|date=June 2014}}</ref>
* {{unichar|A79A|LATIN CAPITAL LETTER VOLAPUK AE}}
* {{unichar|A79B|LATIN SMALL LETTER VOLAPUK AE}}
* {{unichar|A79C|LATIN CAPITAL LETTER VOLAPUK OE}}
* {{unichar|A79D|LATIN SMALL LETTER VOLAPUK OE}}
* {{unichar|A79E|LATIN CAPITAL LETTER VOLAPUK UE}}
* {{unichar|A79F|LATIN SMALL LETTER VOLAPUK UE}}

<gallery heights=100>
Unicode U+A79A.svg
Unicode U+A79B.svg
Unicode U+A79C.svg
Unicode U+A79D.svg
Unicode U+A79E.svg
Unicode U+A79F.svg
</gallery>
===Special consonantal letters===
[[Image:Schleyer Volapük letters.png|thumb|The author Alfred A. Post mentions in his ''Comprehensive Volapük Grammar'' some additional letters created by Schleyer.]]

The following letters were constructed by the inventor to designate sounds which occasionally occur:
* [[Å]] /{{IPA link|ɔː}}/{{Disputed inline|Special consonants section?|for=correct?|date=March 2025}}
* [[Ħ]] /{{IPA link|ð}}/
* [[L]]{{Disputed inline|Special consonants section?|for=handwriting|date=March 2025}} /{{IPA link|j}}/
* [[Circumflex#Diacritic_on_consonants|M̂]] /{{IPA link|ɑ̃}}/{{Disputed inline|Special consonants section?|for=French|date=March 2025}}
* [[Circumflex#Diacritic_on_consonants|N̂]] /{{IPA link|õ}}/{{Disputed inline|Special consonants section?|for=French|date=March 2025}}
* [[Ŋ]]{{Disputed inline|Special consonants section?|for=is this the right letter?|date=March 2025}} /{{IPA link|ŋ}}/
* [[J]]{{Disputed inline|Special consonants section?|for=extremely unclear handwriting|date=March 2025}} /{{IPA link|ʒ}}/
* [[Ƈ]]{{Disputed inline|Special consonants section?|for=is it a C or O?|date=March 2025}} /{{IPA link|t͡ʃ}}/
* [[Long_s|ſ]]{{Disputed inline|Special consonants section?|for=is this the right letter?|date=March 2025}} /{{IPA link|s}}/
* [[Rr_(digraph)|Rr]] /{{IPA link|r}}/{{Disputed inline|Special consonants section?|for=Spanish|date=March 2025}}

===Letter ''r''===

Modern Volapük has [[minimal pair|minimal ''l–r'' pairs]] such as {{Lang|vol|rel}} "religion" versus {{Lang|vol|lel}} "iron".{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

===Stress===
Polysyllabic words are always [[lexical stress|stressed]] on the final vowel; for example, {{Lang|vol|neai}} "never" is pronounced {{IPA|[ne.a.ˈi]}}. Exceptionally, the question clitic "-li" does not shift the stress of the word it attaches to. When words are compounded together, secondary stress is retained on the final syllables of the compounded elements, as long as that does not result in adjacent stressed syllables.<ref name=":0" />

==Vocabulary==
Schleyer adapted the [[vocabulary]] mostly from [[English language|English]], with a smattering of [[German language|German]] and [[French language|French]].  Some words remain readily recognizable for a speaker of one of the source languages, but many others are modified beyond easy recognition.<ref name="alexander2005">"For example, while it is true that words like vol and pük don't really look like world and speak, but the whole language is not like that.  Scores of words are very obvious as what they mean&nbsp;– if, fasilik, gudik/badik, smalik, jerik (pronounced sherík&nbsp;– expensive), bank, bäk (back), deadik".&nbsp;– [https://listserv.brown.edu/archives/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0511C&L=AUXLANG&P=R231&D=0&T=0 "What the L!"], AUXLANG list posting by Thomas Alexander, 15 November 2005.</ref> For instance, ''vol'' and ''pük'' are derived from the English words ''world'' and ''speak''. Although unimportant linguistically, and regardless of the simplicity and consistency of the stress rule, these deformations were greatly mocked by the language's detractors. It seems to have been Schleyer's intention, however, to alter its loan words in such a way that they would be hard to recognise, thus losing their ties to the languages (and, by extension, nations) from which they came. Conversely, [[Esperanto]] and [[Interlingua]] are commonly criticized as being much easier to learn for [[European ethnic groups|European]]s than for those with non-European native languages.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fiedler |first1=Sabine |title=The topic of planned languages (Esperanto) in the current literature |journal=Language Problems and Language Planning |date=2015 |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=84–104|doi=10.1075/lplp.39.1.05fie }}</ref>

==Grammar==
The [[grammar]] is based on that of typical European languages, but with an [[agglutinative language|agglutinative]] character: grammatical inflections are indicated by stringing together separate [[affix]]es for each element of meaning.

===Nouns===
Nouns inflect for case and number, but not for gender.

The following is the declension of the Volapük word {{Lang|vol|vol}} "world":

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Case!! Singular !! Plural
|-
!Nominative
| ''vol'' (world)||| ''vols'' (worlds)
|-
!Genitive
| ''vola'' (of the world)|| ''volas'' (of the worlds)
|-
!Dative
| ''vole'' (to the world) || ''voles'' (to the worlds)
|-
!Accusative
| ''voli'' (world) || ''volis'' (worlds)
|}

As in [[German language|German]], the Volapük noun has four cases: [[nominative case|nominative]], [[genitive case|genitive]], [[dative case|dative]] and [[accusative case|accusative]]. In compound words, the first part of the compound is usually separated from the second by the genitive termination ''-a'', e.g.&nbsp;''Vola-pük'', "of-world language": "language of the world".  However, the other case endings (''-e'' dative, ''-i'' accusative) are sometimes used if applicable, or the roots may be agglutinated in the nominative, with no separating vowel.

===Adjectives and adverbs===
[[Adjective]]s, formed by the suffix ''-ik'', normally follow the noun they qualify.  They do not agree with the noun in number and case in that position, but they do if they precede the noun, are separated from it by intervening words, or stand alone.  [[Adverb]]s are formed by suffixing ''-o'', either to the root or to the adjectival ''-ik'' ({{Lang|vol|gudik}} "good", {{Lang|vol|gudiko}} "well"); they normally follow the verb or adjective they modify.

===Pronouns===
The pronouns begin with ''o-.'' In the singular, they are {{Lang|vol|ob}} "I", {{Lang|vol|ol}} "[[thou]]", {{Lang|vol|om}} "he/it", {{Lang|vol|of}} "she", {{Lang|vol|os}} (impersonal),<ref>{{Lang|vol|Os}} is used for cases where the pronoun has no obvious antecedent, such as "I swear it", and perhaps with [[impersonal verb]]s.  {{Lang|vol|Om}} is used for abstract things such as {{Lang|vol|lit}} "light".</ref> {{Lang|vol|on}} "one", {{Lang|vol|ok}} "oneself". They are pluralized with ''-s'': {{Lang|vol|obs}} "we", {{Lang|vol|ols}} "ye", {{Lang|vol|oms}}  "they". The possessive may be formed with either the genitive ''-a'' or with adjectival ''-ik'': {{Lang|vol|oba}} or {{Lang|vol|obik}} "my". Prepositions, conjunctions and interjections are also formed from noun roots by appending appropriate suffixes. In later, reformed Volapük, {{Lang|vol|om}} was narrowed down to males only, whereas {{Lang|vol|on}} got the meaning of 'it' as well as impersonal 'they'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://xn--volapk-7ya.com/foms-gramatik.html|title=Volapük.com|website=xn--volapk-7ya.com}}</ref>

===Verbs===
The [[verb]] carries a fine degree of detail, with [[morpheme]]s marking [[grammatical tense|tense]], [[grammatical aspect|aspect]], [[grammatical voice|voice]], [[grammatical person|person]], [[grammatical number|number]] and (in the third person) the subject's [[grammatical gender|gender]]. However, many of these categories are optional, and a verb can stand in an unmarked state. A Volapük verb can be conjugated in 1,584 ways (including infinitives and reflexives).<ref>{{Cite book|title = A Dictionary of Made-Up Languages: From Adunaic to Elvish, Zaum to Klingon-- the Anwa (Real) Origins of Invented Lexicons|last = Rogers|first = Stephen D.|publisher = Adams Media Corporation|year = 2011|isbn = 978-1440528170|location = Avon|pages = 238|url = https://www.questia.com/read/121836205/a-dictionary-of-made-up-languages-from-adunaic-to|archive-date = 2016-03-07|access-date = 2017-09-17|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160307225819/https://www.questia.com/read/121836205/a-dictionary-of-made-up-languages-from-adunaic-to|url-status = dead}}</ref>

;Person
For the simple present, the pronouns are suffixed to the verb stem:
:''binob'' I am, ''binol'' thou art,
etc. The present passive takes the prefix ''pa-'':
:''palöfons'' they are loved.

;Tense, aspect, and voice
The three tenses in the [[indicative]], and the three [[perfect (grammar)|perfect]] aspects, each take a characteristic vowel prefix:

{|class="wikitable"
!Tense !!Prefix
|-
!Past
|ä-
|-
!Past perfect
|i-
|-
!Present
|a-
|-
!Present perfect
|e-
|-
!Future
|o-
|-
!Future perfect
|u-
|}

The present-tense prefix is omitted in the active voice, so:
:''binob'' I am, ''äbinol'' you were, ''ebinom'' he has been, ''ibinof'' she had been, ''obinos'' it will be, ''ubinon'' one will have been.

These are seen as being more distant from the present tense the further the vowel is from {{IPA|[a]}} in [[vowel space]], and they can be used with temporal words to indicate distance in the past or future. For example, from ''del'' 'day',
:''adelo'' today, ''odelo'' tomorrow, ''udelo'' the day after tomorrow, ''ädelo'' yesterday, ''edelo'' the day before yesterday, ''idelo'' three days ago.

The [[passive voice]] is formed with ''p-'', and here the ''a'' is required for the present tense:
:''palöfob'' I am loved, ''pälogol'' you were seen, ''pologobs'' we will be seen.

;Infinitive mood
The infinitive is formed with the suffix ''-ön''.  It can be combined with tense/aspect prefixes:
:''Logön'' to see, ''elogön'' to have seen.

;Interrogative mood
Yes–no questions are indicated with the particle ''li'':
:''Pälogom-li'' was he seen?
The hyphen indicates that the syllable ''li'' does not take stress. It occurs before the verb to avoid a sequence of three consonants or a double el:  ''li-pälogol?  li-binoms?''

;Participles and the habitual aspect
Participles, both active and passive, are formed with ''-öl'':
:''Logöl'' seeing, ''elogöl'' having seen, ''ologöl'' being about to see, ''palogöl'' seen (being seen), ''pelogöl'' seen (having been seen), ''pologöl'' about to be seen.
''Binob penöl'' is literally 'I am writing', though ''penob'' is also used.  For "I write" as habitual action, the [[habitual aspect]] is used.  This is formed by adding ''-i-'' after the tense prefix, and here again the present-tense ''a-'' is required. The forms are thus active ''ai-, äi-, ei-, ii-, oi-, ui-,'' passive ''pai-, päi-, pei-, pii-, poi-, pui-.''  All are pronounced as two syllables.
:''Aifidob bodi'' I eat bread (as a daily occurrence), ''äipenob penedis'' I used to write letters.
With temporal words,
:''aidelo'' daily (at the present time)

;Imperative mood
The imperative ''-öd'' follows the subject suffix:
:''Gololöd!'' Go! (to one person), ''gololsöd!'' go! (to more than one person)

[[Optative mood|Optative]] ''-ös'' is used for courteous requests, and [[jussive mood|jussive]] ''-öz'' an emphatic command.

;Conditional mood
Conditionals are formed with ''-la'' for the [[protasis]] (''if''-clause) and ''-öv'' for the apodosis (''then''-clause):
: ''If äbinob-la liegik, äbinoböv givik''&nbsp;– if I were rich I would be generous.
: ''Ibinomöv givik, if ibinom-la liegik''&nbsp;– he would have been generous if he had been rich.

Note that the tense changes as well, so that in the first example the past tense is used even though the present tense is intended. Like the question particle, the ''-la'' is written with a hyphen to indicate that it is not stressed in speech.

;Potential mood
A [[potential mood]] is formed with ''-öx'':
:''Pelomöx'' he might pay.

;Reflexive verbs
Reflexive forms are made from the active voice and the pronoun ''ok'':
:''Vatükob'' I wash, ''vatükobok'' (or  ''vatükob obi'') I wash myself.
In the third person, the periphrastic form of ''vatükomok'' (he washes himself) must use the reflexive pronoun, ''vatükom oki'', as ''vatükom omi'' would mean "he washes him (someone else)".

The plural ''-s'' may precede or follow the reflexive, as the speaker chooses:
:''vatükomoks'' or ''vatükomsok'' they wash themselves.
Here there is a meaningful distinction between joining the pronoun to the verb, and inflecting it independently:
:''Löfobsok'' we love ourselves, ''löfobs obis'' we love each other.

;Gerundive
The [[gerundive]] arguments{{clarify|date=February 2014}} are active ''ö-'', passive ''pö-''.

==Examples==
===The Lord's Prayer===
{| lang="vo"
|-
!|1880 Schleyer Volapük
!|1930 de Jong Volapük
|-
||''O Fat obas, kel binol in süls,''
||''O Fat obas, kel binol in süls!''
|-
||''paisaludomöz nem ola!''
||''Nem olik pasalüdükonöd!''
|-
||''Kömomöd monargän ola!''
||''Regän ola kömonöd!''
|-
||''Jenomöz vil olik, äs in sül, i su tal!''
||''Vil olik jenonöd, äsä in sül, i su tal!''
|-
||''Bodi obsik vädeliki givolös obes adelo!''
||''Givolös obes adelo bodi aldelik obsik!''
|-
||''E pardolös obes debis obsik,''
||''E pardolös obes döbotis obsik,''
|-
||''äs id obs aipardobs debeles obas.''
||''äsä i obs pardobs utanes, kels edöbons kol obs.''
|-
||''E no obis nindukolös in tendadi;''
||''E no blufodolös obis,''
|-
||''sod aidalivolös obis de bad.''
||''ab livükolös obis de bad!''
|-
||
||(''Ibä dutons lü ol regän, e nämäd e glor jü ün laidüp.'')
|-
||''Jenosöd!''
||''So binosös!''
|}

==Usage as common noun==
The word ''Volapük'' or a variation thereof means "nonsense, gibberish" in certain languages, such as Danish<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Arnold L. |title=The Hardest Natural Languages |journal=Lingvisticæ Investigationes |date=1979 |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=323, 334-335 |url=https://people.cs.umass.edu/~rsnbrg/hardest.pdf |access-date=2025-06-08}}</ref> ''[[wikt:volapyk|volapyk]]'' and [[Esperanto]] ''[[wikt:volapukaĵo|volapukaĵo]]''.<ref>Burger, Harald, et al. ''Phraseologie.'' {{ISBN|978-3-11-019076-2}}.</ref>

In Russian, the term ''Volapuk encoding'' refers to writing Cyrillic letters with the Latin alphabet based on what they look like, for example writing {{nowrap|"BOJTATTI-OK"}} instead of волапюк.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Languages|Constructed languages}}
*''[[Kosmopolan]]''
*[[Volapükologist]]
*[[Volapük Wikipedia]]
*[[Esperanto]]
*[[Ido]]
*[[Interlingua]]
*[[International Volapük Academy]]

{{-}}

==References==

{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|auto=1|d=Q36986|s=category:Volapük|iw=vo}}
* [[:vo:Cifapad|The Volapük-language Wikipedia's page on Volapük]]
* [http://volapük.com A Volapük portal, with links to grammar, vocabulary, exercises etc]
<!--* Charles Sprague, 1888, [http://personal.southern.edu/~caviness/volapuk/hbov/hbv.htm ''Hand-Book of Volapük'']-->
* [http://volapük.com/kadam/ Description and history of the Volapük Academy]
* [https://www.andydrummond.net/volapukmaterials.html Links to sundry background materials]

===Summaries===
* [http://interlanguages.net/AILvol.html  Chapter on Volapük] in [[Otto Jespersen]]'s pro [[Novial]] ''An International Language'' (1928)
* {{cite EB1911 |last=Sweet  |first=Henry|wstitle=Volapük |volume=28 |page=178|short=x}}
* [http://cals.conlang.org/language/volapuk/ Volapuk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215070132/http://cals.conlang.org/language/volapuk/ |date=2018-12-15 }}  at the Conlang Atlas of Language Structures.

===Tutorials===
<!--* [http://personal.southern.edu/~caviness/Volapuk/VolVifik/volvif00.html A ten-lesson course] in modern Volapük-->
* [http://volapük.com/volapuk-vifik-01.html (First of) a ten-lesson course in modern Volapük]  (Follow the 'next' link at the foot of each page for each succeeding lesson...)

===Handbooks, grammars and dictionaries===
<!--* [http://personal.southern.edu/~caviness/Volapuk/Misc/eng-vol.htm English–Volapük dictionary]&nbsp;– Compiled by Ralph Midgley (1998)&nbsp;– Volapük Nulik -->
* [http://volapük.com/ Ralph Midgley's web-page - grammar, lessons, vocabulary, examples]
* [http://glossopoete.pagesperso-orange.fr/vol/malgranda_gramatiko_de_volapuko_2015.pdf Malgranda gramatiko de Volapuko per Esperanto] by the ex-''Cifal'' Brian Bishop (2015)&nbsp;- Volapük Nulik
<!--* [http://personal.southern.edu/~caviness/Volapuk/HBoV/hbvvocab.htm Vocabulary] – Volapük Rigik-->
* [http://volapük.com/VoEnDictionary-20100830.pdf  Volapük to English dictionary]
* [http://volapük.com/EnVoDictionary-20100830.pdf  English to Volapük dictionary]
* [https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Hand_book_of_Volap%C3%BCk/_FoKAAAAIAAJ  Charles Sprague's Grammar of Volapük, 1888 ]

===Fictional treatments===
* {{Cite book | last=Drummond| first=Andrew| title=A Handbook of Volapük| publisher=Polygon |location=Edinburgh | date=2006 |isbn= 978-1-9045-9867-1}}.  Reprinted 2019 [https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1717926096/  (Amazon)]

{{Constructed languages}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Volapuk}}
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[[Category:1879 introductions]]
[[Category:Constructed languages]]
[[Category:Endangered languages]]
[[Category:Agglutinative languages]]
[[Category:International auxiliary languages introduced in the 1880s]]
[[Category:Languages attested from the 1870s]]