Introduction

Abstract

Among the many novelties in the history of ideas that emerged in the seventeenth century, a widespread concern with language planning belongs to the most conspicuous ones. The history of linguistic ideas had known extended episodes of intensive language study before that period, but it had never been usual for scholars to be engaged in the construction of artificial writing systems or the invention of fully-fledged universal and philosophical languages. In the seventeenth century, a large number of proposals and schemes appeared, which were all meant to provide a universal means of communication, and most of which were supposed to be suited to the tasks normally performed by means of natural languages. Indeed, it was often claimed that the artificial systems greatly improved on existing languages, not only for the purpose of communication, but also for accurate representation of knowledge. There were even some who believed that an artificial language could be a miraculous instrument for thinking, which would advance scientific knowledge with otherwise impossible and incredible speed.