Un altere limitation sur le linguage es que cata
lingua pote commentar sur le realitate solmente
de su proprie maniera.  Un asseveration como "Le
feminas coceva le torta in un forno" es acceptabile
e coherente in interlingua.  Ma le usatores de multe
altere linguas demandarea informationes plus exacte,
como

(1) si exactmente duo feminas o plus que duo coceva
(stava a cocer) le torta,

(2) si iste feminas esseva circa le persona que
faceva iste asseveration o distante de ille/illa,

(3) si le torta esseva circular o quadrate, e/o

(4) si le persona qui faceva iste observation poteva
vider le torta durante que le feminas lo coceva.

E le forma "coceva" non es sufficiente pro multe
linguas.  Mesmo le linguas romanic ha duo formas
passate.

In espaniol, pro exemplo, si on diceva "Mi hermano
leyó el libro esta mañana" (Mi fratre legeva le libro
iste matino), isto significarea que mi fratre legeva
le libro e finiva su lectura de illo.  E si on diceva
"Mi hermano leía el libro esta mañana", isto
significarea que ille non habeva finite iste
activitate, possibilemente proque in le narration
ille debeva comenciar un altere activitate.  On
anque pote indicar le aspecto progressive plus
specificamente in le espaniol con "Mi hermano estaba
leyendo el libro esta mañana."

Io crede que il anque esserea avantagiose haber
un tal forma facultative in interlingua proque omne
su linguas fonte vivente con le exception del
francese,
sovente exprime le aspecto progressive, ma non con
le mesme frequentia e probabilemente non in le mesme
contextos de communication.  Un bon maniera de facer
isto sin adaptar nove formas verbal in -ndo esserea
adoptar ex portugese le expression "star a facer
alique" (Mi hermano stava a leger le libro iste
matino).

Le major parte de nos, qui ha studiate al minus
un ex le linguas romanic, jam cognosce iste formas
del passato.  Ma il ha linguas con systemas etiam
plus complicate.  Le systema temporal del verbos
de diverse linguas aboriginal in le parte nordwest
de continente nordamerican, pro exemplo, divide
le passato de interlingua a in le passato recente,
le passato remote, e le passato mythologic.

Le categorias semantic que on debe exprimer in le
grammaticas del linguas del mundo es multe diverse.
A vices illos complica multo le problema de traduction
inter illos.

Ma le linguas del mundo anque es multo plastic,
e on anque pote facer los exprimer nove conceptos,
ben que solmente post un periodo de adaptation
experimental, que a vices pote esser un question
de annos de provas e rejectiones.  Iste processo
anque occurre in interlingua e sovente provoca
responsas hostile--un condition que pare esser normal
in le evolution de ulle lingua.

Un exemplo de un lingua que ha cambiate multo in
un periodo de unes 150 annos es le japonese post
le restauration Meiji.  Le japonese es multo
differente
del linguas indoeuropee, in le quales le conceptos
del scientia e del technologia ha essite disveloppate.

Ma le japonese, durante iste periodo de transition,
ha devenite completemente adequate a exprimer iste
conceptos.  E usque nunc on non ha trovate un lingua
incapabile de cambiar se pro exprimer eventualmente
nove categorias semantic e cultural que deveni
importante al personas qui los usa.

---

Another limitation on language is that each language
can comment on reality only in its own way.  A
statement like "The women baked a cake in an oven"
is acceptable and coherent in English.  But the
users of many other languages would demand more
exact information, such as

(1) if exactly two women or more than two were baking
the cake,

(2) if these women were near the person making this
statement or far away from him or her,

(3) if the cake was round or square, or

(4) if the person making the observation could see
the cake while the woman were baking it.

And the form "baked" is not enough for many languages.

Even the Romance languages have two forms for the
past.

In Spanish, for example, if a person said "Mi hermano
leyó el libro esta mañana (My brother read the book
this morning)," this would mean that my brother read
the book and finished reading it.  And if a person
said "Mi hermano leía el libro esta mañana," this
would mean that he hadn't finished this activity,
possibly because in the narration he had to start
doing something else.  The progressive aspect can
be indicated more specifically in Spanish with "Mi
hermano estaba leyendo el libro esta mañana."

I think it would be advantageous to have such a
form for optional use in Interlingua because all
its living source languages, except for French,
often express the progressive aspect, but not with
equal frequency and probably not in the same contexts
of communication.  A good way of doing this without
adopting new verbal forms in -ndo would be to adopt
from Portuguese the expression "star a facer alique"
(to be doing something), producing "mi fratre stava
a leger le libro iste matino."

Most of us, who have studied at least one of the
Romance languages, are already aware of these
past-tense forms.  But there are languages with
even more complicated systems.  The temporal system
in the verbs of various aboriginal languages in
the northwest part of the North American continent,
for example, divide the English past into the recent
past, the remote past, and the mythological past.

The semantic categories that must be expressed in
the grammars of the languages of the world are very
diverse.  At times they greatly complicate the problem
of translating from one of them to another.

But the languages of the world are also very plastic,
and they also can also be made to express new
concepts,
though only after a period of experimental adaptation,
which at times can be a question of years of trial
and rejection.  This process is also occurring in
Interlingua and often provokes hostile responses--a
condition that seems to be normal in the evolution
of any language.

An example of a language that has changed a lot
in a period of 150 years is Japanese after the Meiji
restoration.  Japanese is very different from the
Indo-European languages, in which the concepts of
science and technology have been developed.  But
Japanese, during this transition period, has become
completely adequate for the expression of these
concepts.  And up to now no language has been found
that is incapable of eventually expressing new
semantic
and cultural concepts that become important to the
people using them.

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