Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 1 · United Nations, 1948
The most-translated document in human history — over 500 languages. This is what it reads like as the 500-and-first.
World English All human beings be born free and equal in dignity and rights. They be endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in spirit of brotherhood.
Almost nothing moves — only “are → be” (M2) and the dropped “a” before “spirit” (G2). That near-invisibility is the point: World English stays legible as English.
Show the original English
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
The Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln · November 19, 1863
Two hundred and seventy-two words of the most solemn English ever written. If the reform can carry this without losing its weight, it can carry anything.
World English Four score and seven years ago uss fathers bringed forth on this continent new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all mans be created equal.
Now we be engaged in great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We be meeted on great battlefield of that war. We comed to dedicate portion of that field, as final resting place for those who here gived thems lifes that that nation might live. It be altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave mans, living and dead, who struggled here, consecrated it, far above uss poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they doed here. It be for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fighted here thus far so nobly advanced. It be rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gived the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not die in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Every changed form follows a single rule: “brought → bringed”, “fought → fighted” (M1); “men → mans”, “lives → lifes” (M4); “our → uss”, “their → thems” (G4); the perfect collapses to the past — “have come → comed”, “have consecrated → consecrated” (G1).
Show the original English
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
The North Wind and the Sun
Aesop · the standard specimen fable of the International Phonetic Association
Linguists use this little fable to illustrate the sounds of every language on earth — it has been transcribed in hundreds of them. Here it is as a World English fable.
World English The North Wind and the Sun beed disputing which beed the stronger, when traveler comed along wrapped in warm cloak. They agreed that the one who first succeeded in making the traveler take hims cloak off should be considered stronger than the other. Then the North Wind blowed as hard as he can, but the more he blowed the more closely the traveler folded hims cloak around him; and at last the North Wind quitted the attempt. Then the Sun shined out warmly, and immediately the traveler taked off hims cloak. And so the North Wind beed obliged to confess that the Sun beed the stronger of the two.
Every verb regularizes — “were → beed”, “came → comed”, “blew → blowed”, “shone → shined”, “took → taked” (M1, M2); “gave up → quitted” (S2). The modal set shrinks — “could → can”, with the past carried by the story (G7) — and the emphatic “did … fold” loses its do-support (G6). “his → hims” (G4).
Show the original English
The North Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger, when a traveller came along wrapped in a warm cloak. They agreed that the one who first succeeded in making the traveller take his cloak off should be considered stronger than the other. Then the North Wind blew as hard as he could, but the more he blew the more closely did the traveller fold his cloak around him; and at last the North Wind gave up the attempt. Then the Sun shone out warmly, and immediately the traveller took off his cloak. And so the North Wind was obliged to confess that the Sun was the stronger of the two.