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Lingua Ignota

February 25, 2023

For the musician, see Lingua Ignota (musician).

A lingua ignota (Latin for "unknown language") was described by the 12th century abbess of Rupertsberg St. Hildegard of Bingen, OSB, who apparently used it for mystical purposes. It consists of vocabulary with no known grammar; the only known text is individual words embedded in Latin. To write it, Hildegard used an alphabet of 23 letters denominated litterae ignotae.[1]

Lingua ignota
St. Hildegard's 23 litterae ignotae.
Pronunciation[ˈlinɡʷa iŋˈnoːta]
Created byHildegard of Bingen
Purpose
Language codes
ISO 639-3None (mis)
GlottologNone
IETFart-x-ignota
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.
Litterae Ignotae
Script type
alphabet
CreatorHildegard von Bingen
Time period
12th century
Statusextinct
Directionleft to right
LanguageLingua Ignota
 This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

History

St. Hildegard partially described the language in a work titled Ignota lingua per simplicem hominem Hildegardem prolata, which survived in two manuscripts, both dating to ca. 1200, the Wiesbaden Codex and a Berlin MS (Lat. Quart. 4º 674), previously Codex Cheltenhamensis 9303, collected by Sir Thomas Phillipps.[2] The text is a glossary of 1011 words in Lingua ignota, with glosses mostly in Latin, sometimes in Middle High German; the words appear to be a priori coinages, mostly nouns with a few adjectives. Grammatically it appears to be a partial relexification of Latin, that is, a language formed by substituting new vocabulary into an existing grammar.[3]

The purpose of Lingua ignota is unknown, and it is not known who, besides its creator, was familiar with it. In the 19th century some[who?] believed that Hildegard intended her language to be an ideal, universal language.[4] However, in the 21st century it is assumed that Lingua ignota was devised as a secret language; like Hildegard's "unheard music", she would have attributed it to divine inspiration. To the extent that the language was constructed by Hildegard, it may be considered one of the earliest known constructed languages.

In a letter to Hildegard, her friend and provost Wolmarus, fearing that Hildegard would soon die, asks ubi tunc vox inauditae melodiae? et vox inauditae linguae? (Descemet, p. 346; "where, then, the voice of the unheard melody? And the voice of the unheard language?"), suggesting that the existence of Hildegard's language was known, but there were no initiates who would have preserved its knowledge after her death.

Sample text

The only extant text in the language is the following short passage:

O orzchis Ecclesia, armis divinis praecincta, et hyacinto ornata, tu es caldemia stigmatum loifolum et urbs scienciarum. O, o tu es etiam crizanta in alto sono, et es chorzta gemma.

These two sentences are written mostly in Latin with five key words in Lingua ignota; as only one of these is unambiguously found in the glossary (loifol, "people"), it is clear that the vocabulary was larger than 1011 words. (Higley 2007 finds probable correspondences for two other words.)

"O orzchis Ecclesia, girded with divine arms, and adorned with hyacinth, you are the caldemia of the wounds of the loifols, and the city of sciences. O, o, and you are the crizanta in high sound, and you are the chorzta gem."

Loifol "people" is apparently inflected as a third-declension Latin noun, yielding the genitive plural loifolum "of the peoples".

Newman (1987) conjectures the translation

"O measureless Church, / girded with divine arms / and adorned with jacinth, / you are the fragrance of the wounds of nations / and the city of sciences. / O, o, and you are anointed / amid-noble sound, / and you are a sparkling gem."

Glossary

The glossary is in a hierarchical order, first giving terms for God and angels, followed by terms for human beings and terms for family relationships, followed by terms for body-parts, illnesses, religious and worldly ranks, craftsmen, days, months, clothing, household implements, plants, and a few birds and insects. Terms for mammals are lacking (except for the bat, Ualueria, listed among birds, and the gryphon, Argumzio, a half-mammal, also listed among the birds).

The first 30 entries are (after Roth 1880):

  • Aigonz: deus (God)
  • Aieganz: angelus (angel)
  • Zuuenz: sanctus (saint)
  • Liuionz: salvator (saviour)
  • Diueliz: diabolus (devil)
  • Ispariz: spiritus
  • Inimois: homo (human being)
  • Jur: vir (man)
  • Vanix: femina (woman)
  • Peuearrez: patriarcha
  • Korzinthio: propheta
  • Falschin: vates
  • Sonziz: apostolus
  • Linschiol: martir
  • Zanziuer: confessor
  • Vrizoil: virgo (virgin)
  • Jugiza: vidua (widow)
  • Pangizo: penitens
  • Kulzphazur: attavus (great-great-great-grandfather)
  • Phazur: avus (grandfather)
  • Peueriz: pater (father)
  • Maiz: maler (sic, for mater, mother)
  • Hilzpeueriz: nutricus (stepfather)
  • Hilzmaiz: noverca (stepmother)
  • Scirizin: filius (son)
  • Hilzscifriz: privignus (stepson)
  • Limzkil: infans (infant)
  • Zains: puer (boy)
  • Zunzial: iuvenis (youth)
  • Bischiniz: adolescens (adolescent)

Nominal composition may be observed in peueriz "father" : hilz-peueriz "stepfather", maiz "mother" : hilz-maiz "stepmother", and scirizin "son" : hilz-scifriz "stepson", as well as phazur : kulz-phazur. Suffixal derivation in peueriz "father", peuearrez "patriarch".

Editions

  • Wilhelm Grimm (1848), listing only the 291 glosses with German translations
  • Roth (1880), consisting of the 1011 glosses.
  • Descemet, Analecta of Pitra (1882), listing only the 181 glosses giving the names of plants
  • Portmann and Odermatt (1986)
  • Hildegard of Bingen's Unknown Language: An Edition, Translation, and Discussion, ed. Sarah Higley (2007) [the entire Riesencodex glossary, with additions from the Berlin MS, translations into English, and extensive commentary]

See also

  • Hiberno-Latin, a learned style of literary Latin spread by Irish monks during the period from the sixth century to the tenth century. It used unusual words and loanwords from Greek, Hebrew and Irish.
  • Hermeneutic style, a style of Latin in the later Roman and early Medieval periods characterized by the extensive use of unusual and arcane words, especially derived from Greek.
  • Glossolalia
  • Artistic language
  • Philosophical language

Literature

  • Traude Bollig / Ingrid Richter, Hildegard von Bingen, Heilwerden mit der Kraft ihrer Symbole, Aurum Verlag, ISBN 3-89901-006-X (an esoteric claim of decipherment of the litterae[1])
  • Jakob Grimm in: Haupt, Zeitschrift für deutsches Alterthum, VI, 321.
  • Hildegard of Bingen's Unknown Language: An Edition, Translation and Discussion by Sarah L. Higley. (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007)
  • Laurence Moulinier, "Un lexique trilingue du XIIe siècle : la lingua ignota de Hildegarde de Bingen", dans Lexiques bilingues dans les domaines philosophique et scientifique (Moyen Âge-Renaissance), Actes du colloque international organisé par l’Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes-Ive Section et l’Institut Supérieur de Philosophie de l’Université Catholique de Louvain, Paris, 12-14 juin 1997, éd. J. Hamesse, D. Jacquart, Turnhout, Brepols, 2001, p. 89-111. ISBN 2-503-51176-7
  • Jonathan P. Green, « A new gloss on Hildegard of Bingen's Lingua ignota », Viator, 36, 2005, p. 217-234.
  • Barbara Newman, Sister of Wisdom: St. Hildegard's Theology of the Feminine (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987).
  • Marie-Louise Portmann and Alois Odermatt (eds.), Wörterbuch der unbekannten Sprache, Basel: Verlag Basler Hildegard-Gesellschaft (1986). ISBN 3-905143-18-6
  • Roth, Friedrich Wilhelm Emil (1895). "Glossae Hildegardis". In Steinmeyer, Elias; Sievers Eduard (eds.). Die Althochdeutschen Glossen, vol. III. Berlin: Weidmannscher Buchhandlung. pp. 390–404.
  • Jeffrey Schnapp, "Virgin's words: Hildegard of Bingen's Lingua Ignota and the Development of Imaginary Languages Ancient to Modern", Exemplaria, III, 2, 1991, pp. 267–298.

References

  1. ^ Bingensis, Hildegardis (1175–1190). . pp. 934, 464v. Archived from the original on 2014-12-20. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  2. ^ Steinmayer E; Sievers, E. (1895). Sachlich geordnete Glossare. Die Althochdeutschen Glossen, Vol. III. pp. 390-404.
  3. ^ Barbara Jean Jeskalian, Hildegard of Bingen: the creative dimensions of a Medieval personality." Graduate Theological Union
  4. ^ Zui (2020-07-18). "Lingua Ignota — The Earliest Known Constructed Language?". The Language Closet. Retrieved 2022-08-29.

External links

  • Transliterate text to St. Hildegard's litteræ ignotæ alphabet.
  • Eclecticify: Lingua Ignota: a partial English glossary of the Lingua Ignota by an amateur translator.

February 25, 2023
lingua, ignota, musician, musician, lingua, ignota, latin, unknown, language, described, 12th, century, abbess, rupertsberg, hildegard, bingen, apparently, used, mystical, purposes, consists, vocabulary, with, known, grammar, only, known, text, individual, wor. For the musician see Lingua Ignota musician A lingua ignota Latin for unknown language was described by the 12th century abbess of Rupertsberg St Hildegard of Bingen OSB who apparently used it for mystical purposes It consists of vocabulary with no known grammar the only known text is individual words embedded in Latin To write it Hildegard used an alphabet of 23 letters denominated litterae ignotae 1 Lingua ignotaSt Hildegard s 23 litterae ignotae Pronunciation ˈlinɡʷa iŋˈnoːta Created byHildegard of BingenPurposeConstructed language artistic languageLingua ignotaLanguage codesISO 639 3None mis GlottologNoneIETFart x ignotaThis article contains IPA phonetic symbols Without proper rendering support you may see question marks boxes or other symbols instead of Unicode characters For an introductory guide on IPA symbols see Help IPA Litterae IgnotaeScript typealphabetCreatorHildegard von BingenTime period12th centuryStatusextinctDirectionleft to rightLanguageLingua Ignota This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet IPA For an introductory guide on IPA symbols see Help IPA For the distinction between and see IPA Brackets and transcription delimiters Contents 1 History 2 Sample text 3 Glossary 4 Editions 5 See also 6 Literature 7 References 8 External linksHistory EditSt Hildegard partially described the language in a work titled Ignota lingua per simplicem hominem Hildegardem prolata which survived in two manuscripts both dating to ca 1200 the Wiesbaden Codex and a Berlin MS Lat Quart 4º 674 previously Codex Cheltenhamensis 9303 collected by Sir Thomas Phillipps 2 The text is a glossary of 1011 words in Lingua ignota with glosses mostly in Latin sometimes in Middle High German the words appear to be a priori coinages mostly nouns with a few adjectives Grammatically it appears to be a partial relexification of Latin that is a language formed by substituting new vocabulary into an existing grammar 3 The purpose of Lingua ignota is unknown and it is not known who besides its creator was familiar with it In the 19th century some who believed that Hildegard intended her language to be an ideal universal language 4 However in the 21st century it is assumed that Lingua ignota was devised as a secret language like Hildegard s unheard music she would have attributed it to divine inspiration To the extent that the language was constructed by Hildegard it may be considered one of the earliest known constructed languages In a letter to Hildegard her friend and provost Wolmarus fearing that Hildegard would soon die asks ubi tunc vox inauditae melodiae et vox inauditae linguae Descemet p 346 where then the voice of the unheard melody And the voice of the unheard language suggesting that the existence of Hildegard s language was known but there were no initiates who would have preserved its knowledge after her death Sample text EditThe only extant text in the language is the following short passage O orzchis Ecclesia armis divinis praecincta et hyacinto ornata tu es caldemia stigmatum loifolum et urbs scienciarum O o tu es etiam crizanta in alto sono et es chorzta gemma These two sentences are written mostly in Latin with five key words in Lingua ignota as only one of these is unambiguously found in the glossary loifol people it is clear that the vocabulary was larger than 1011 words Higley 2007 finds probable correspondences for two other words O orzchis Ecclesia girded with divine arms and adorned with hyacinth you are the caldemia of the wounds of the loifols and the city of sciences O o and you are the crizanta in high sound and you are the chorzta gem Loifol people is apparently inflected as a third declension Latin noun yielding the genitive plural loifolum of the peoples Newman 1987 conjectures the translation O measureless Church girded with divine arms and adorned with jacinth you are the fragrance of the wounds of nations and the city of sciences O o and you are anointed amid noble sound and you are a sparkling gem Glossary EditThe glossary is in a hierarchical order first giving terms for God and angels followed by terms for human beings and terms for family relationships followed by terms for body parts illnesses religious and worldly ranks craftsmen days months clothing household implements plants and a few birds and insects Terms for mammals are lacking except for the bat Ualueria listed among birds and the gryphon Argumzio a half mammal also listed among the birds The first 30 entries are after Roth 1880 Aigonz deus God Aieganz angelus angel Zuuenz sanctus saint Liuionz salvator saviour Diueliz diabolus devil Ispariz spiritus Inimois homo human being Jur vir man Vanix femina woman Peuearrez patriarcha Korzinthio propheta Falschin vates Sonziz apostolus Linschiol martir Zanziuer confessor Vrizoil virgo virgin Jugiza vidua widow Pangizo penitens Kulzphazur attavus great great great grandfather Phazur avus grandfather Peueriz pater father Maiz maler sic for mater mother Hilzpeueriz nutricus stepfather Hilzmaiz noverca stepmother Scirizin filius son Hilzscifriz privignus stepson Limzkil infans infant Zains puer boy Zunzial iuvenis youth Bischiniz adolescens adolescent Nominal composition may be observed in peueriz father hilz peueriz stepfather maiz mother hilz maiz stepmother and scirizin son hilz scifriz stepson as well as phazur kulz phazur Suffixal derivation in peueriz father peuearrez patriarch Editions EditWilhelm Grimm 1848 listing only the 291 glosses with German translations Roth 1880 consisting of the 1011 glosses Descemet Analecta of Pitra 1882 listing only the 181 glosses giving the names of plants Portmann and Odermatt 1986 Hildegard of Bingen s Unknown Language An Edition Translation and Discussion ed Sarah Higley 2007 the entire Riesencodex glossary with additions from the Berlin MS translations into English and extensive commentary See also EditHiberno Latin a learned style of literary Latin spread by Irish monks during the period from the sixth century to the tenth century It used unusual words and loanwords from Greek Hebrew and Irish Hermeneutic style a style of Latin in the later Roman and early Medieval periods characterized by the extensive use of unusual and arcane words especially derived from Greek Glossolalia Artistic language Philosophical languageLiterature EditTraude Bollig Ingrid Richter Hildegard von Bingen Heilwerden mit der Kraft ihrer Symbole Aurum Verlag ISBN 3 89901 006 X an esoteric claim of decipherment of the litterae 1 Jakob Grimm in Haupt Zeitschrift fur deutsches Alterthum VI 321 Hildegard of Bingen s Unknown Language An Edition Translation and Discussion by Sarah L Higley Palgrave Macmillan 2007 Laurence Moulinier Un lexique trilingue du XIIe siecle la lingua ignota de Hildegarde de Bingen dans Lexiques bilingues dans les domaines philosophique et scientifique Moyen Age Renaissance Actes du colloque international organise par l Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes Ive Section et l Institut Superieur de Philosophie de l Universite Catholique de Louvain Paris 12 14 juin 1997 ed J Hamesse D Jacquart Turnhout Brepols 2001 p 89 111 ISBN 2 503 51176 7 Jonathan P Green A new gloss on Hildegard of Bingen s Lingua ignota Viator 36 2005 p 217 234 Barbara Newman Sister of Wisdom St Hildegard s Theology of the Feminine Berkeley University of California Press 1987 Marie Louise Portmann and Alois Odermatt eds Worterbuch der unbekannten Sprache Basel Verlag Basler Hildegard Gesellschaft 1986 ISBN 3 905143 18 6 Roth Friedrich Wilhelm Emil 1895 Glossae Hildegardis In Steinmeyer Elias Sievers Eduard eds Die Althochdeutschen Glossen vol III Berlin Weidmannscher Buchhandlung pp 390 404 Jeffrey Schnapp Virgin s words Hildegard of Bingen s Lingua Ignota and the Development of Imaginary Languages Ancient to Modern Exemplaria III 2 1991 pp 267 298 References Edit Bingensis Hildegardis 1175 1190 Riesencodex pp 934 464v Archived from the original on 2014 12 20 Retrieved 2014 08 26 Steinmayer E Sievers E 1895 Sachlich geordnete Glossare Die Althochdeutschen Glossen Vol III pp 390 404 Barbara Jean Jeskalian Hildegard of Bingen the creative dimensions of a Medieval personality Graduate Theological Union Zui 2020 07 18 Lingua Ignota The Earliest Known Constructed Language The Language Closet Retrieved 2022 08 29 External links EditTransliterate text to St Hildegard s litterae ignotae alphabet Langmaker profile of Lingua Ignota Eclecticify Lingua Ignota a partial English glossary of the Lingua Ignota by an amateur translator Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lingua Ignota amp oldid 1137353205, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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