Volapük

Volapük is a constructed language that was created between 1879 and 1880, by the German Roman Catholic priest Johann Martin Schleyer. He claims God told him in a dream to create an international language. Volapük's vocabulary is derived mostly from English, with some derived from German and French. Volapük literally means "World Speech".

Volapük was very popular for around a decade, but it was eventually displaced by Esperanto, as it was considered easier to learn. In 1889, there were around 1 million speakers, but today, an estimated 20-30 people speak Volapuk, and the language is largely kept alive by the internet. The language is often regarded as a historical failure, and has been ridiculed in several languages. For example, volapukaĵo means "Gibberish" in Esperanto and volapyk means gibberish in Danish.

Phrases

• Welcome: Vekömö
• Hello: Glidis
• How are you doing: Lio stadol-li
• Good morning: Gödi gudik
• Good afternoon: Poszedeli gudik
• Good evening: Soari gudik
• Good night: Neiti gudik
• Goodbye: Adyö
• Yes: Si
• No: Ne
• Maybe: Ba
• I don't know: No nolob
• Thank you: Danö
• Do you speak English: Spikol-li Linglänapüki
• Do you speak Volapük: Spikol-li Volapüki