Moving between Latin America and Europe, where languages like Spanish, English, and French prevail, can be a challenge due to language barriers.
However, a ‘secret’ language, Interlingua, is quietly revolutionising communication, making it easily understandable for speakers of Romance languages.
Interlingua, created between 1924 and 1954, requires minimal study for those who speak Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, or English.
Carlos Valcárcel, who has a PhD in linguistics, explains that if you speak any of these languages, understanding Interlingua comes naturally.
He said: “If you speak one of the control languages, the languages from which it is extracted, you won’t need much prior study to understand it.”
Valcárcel Riveiro, who has been studying Interlingua for 16 years, surprises social media users by speaking it on platforms like TikTok.
The roots of Interlingua lie in the mid-20th century, aiming to create a universal language to foster international understanding.
Supported by organisations like the Rockefeller Foundation, it extracts and standardises words from major European languages, making it inherently understandable without extensive study.
English speakers, with their language’s Latin inheritance, find Interlingua accessible. Valcárcel notes that educated English speakers grasp it easily.
