Ro: Difference between revisions

Unexpectedly came the thought: "How strange it is that there is nothing in the appearance of a written or printed word that gives the slightest hint of its meaning. Why should a word not be a picture? A new word, never seen before would then, like a painting seen for the first time, convey at least some of the meaning to the eye."<ref name="Dict">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC02613756|via=Google Books|title=Dictionary of Ro: The World Language|page=3|author=Rev. Edward Powell Foster|publisher=ROIA|location=Waverly, West Virginia|year=1928}}</ref>}}

After working on the language for about two years, Foster published the first booklet about Ro in 1906.  The publication of Ro periodicals was supported by several American sponsors, especially from the Marietta, Ohio area, including Melvil Dewey<!-- Foster spells it Melvil -->,<ref name="Dict 6">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC02613756|via=Google Books|title=Dictionary of Ro: The World Language|page=6|author=Rev. Edward Powell Foster|publisher=ROIA|location=Waverly, West Virginia|year=1928}}</ref> inventor of the [[w:Dewey Decimal Classification|Dewey Decimal Classification]] (another attempt to categorize human knowledge), Vice President Charles G. Dawes,<ref name="Dict 6"/> [[w:George White (Ohio politician)|George White]],<ref name="Dict 6"/> who mentioned Ro in the Congressional Record,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://library.conlang.org/about/Conlang_Exhibit_Master_File_Text_rev.pdf|title=Esperanto, Elvish, and Beyond: The World of Constructed Languages}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://conlang.org/resources/conlangers-calendar/?start=20180301&months=1|title=A Conlanger's Calendar {{!}} Language Creation Society (Month set to March)}}</ref> and Alice Vanderbilt Morris of [[w:International Auxiliary Language Association|IALA]].<ref name="Dict 6"/>  Several more books about Ro by Foster and his wife appeared over the years, as late as 1932.

A common criticism of Ro is that it can be difficult to hear the difference between two words; usually one consonant makes the word different in meaning, but still similar enough that the intended meaning often cannot be guessed from context. This characteristic is common among [[philosophical language|philosophical languages]], which are characterized by vocabulary developed taxonomically, independently of natural languages. ''A posteriori'' languages, such as [[Esperanto]] and [[Interlingua]], are more popular than the ''a priori'' type, perhaps partly because their familiar vocabulary makes them easy to learn and recognize. Conversely, a priori languages are seen as being more neutral because there are so many languages and root words used in different languages may be completely different.