<p>The simple answer is Asian languages don't share a common ancestor like Slavic languages do, and don't have the same degree of mutual intelligibility. Knowing Ukrainian will help you understand Polish; knowing Korean won't help you understand Vietnamese in the same way.</p>
<p>Many African languages do share a common ancestor (they're part of the Bantu family) but they've also diversified much more than the Slavic languages have since that era. I wouldn't be surprised if someone's tried to create a pan-Bantu conlang, but it's also not surprising if they haven't. It's a much harder task than making Interslavic.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-15T04:28:26.087Z
2023-05-15T04:28:26.087Z
Draconis
<p>There is the case of Union Ibo, a version of Igbo created by missionaries and used in the Igbo Bible translation. It is a rather inconsistent make-up of different Igbo dialects/languages of Nigeria and it is termed <em>an Igbo Esperanto</em>, for a reference see e.g., this paper <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233577100_An_Igbo_Esperanto_A_history_of_the_Union_Ibo_Bible_1900-1950" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ben Filford (2002). An Igbo Esperanto: A history of the Union Ibo Bible 1900-1950</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-16T07:55:25.230Z
2023-05-16T07:55:25.230Z
Sir Cornflakes
<p>What are examples of African and Asian auxlangs like Interslavic?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-15T11:38:05.347Z
This answer to another question gives a link to a Central Semitic zonal conlang (as far as I know, never marketed as an auxlang): https://conlang.stackexchange.com/a/1016/142
Sir Cornflakes
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-15T17:31:12.420Z
Arabic comes close for North Africa, and Swahili comes similarly close for the EAC countries. Most lingua francas (which is what auxlangs try to be) are natural languages though. The concept of a constructed language being used as an auxlang is a relatively recent thing.
Austin Hemmelgarn
<list-of-languages><zonal-languages>
Asian and African auxlangs like Interslavic?
# Asian and African auxlangs like Interslavic?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-05-15)

What are examples of African and Asian auxlangs like Interslavic?

**Tags:** list-of-languages, zonal-languages

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This answer to another question gives a link to a Central Semitic zonal conlang (as far as I know, never marketed as an auxlang): https://conlang.stackexchange.com/a/1016/142  
> **username_2**: Arabic comes close for North Africa, and Swahili comes similarly close for the EAC countries. Most lingua francas (which is what auxlangs try to be) are natural languages though. The concept of a constructed language being used as an auxlang is a relatively recent thing.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2023-05-15. Score: 4

The simple answer is Asian languages don't share a common ancestor like Slavic languages do, and don't have the same degree of mutual intelligibility. Knowing Ukrainian will help you understand Polish; knowing Korean won't help you understand Vietnamese in the same way.

Many African languages do share a common ancestor (they're part of the Bantu family) but they've also diversified much more than the Slavic languages have since that era. I wouldn't be surprised if someone's tried to create a pan-Bantu conlang, but it's also not surprising if they haven't. It's a much harder task than making Interslavic.


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### Answer by username_1 on 2023-05-16. Score: 1

There is the case of Union Ibo, a version of Igbo created by missionaries and used in the Igbo Bible translation. It is a rather inconsistent make-up of different Igbo dialects/languages of Nigeria and it is termed *an Igbo Esperanto*, for a reference see e.g., this paper [Ben Filford (2002). An Igbo Esperanto: A history of the Union Ibo Bible 1900-1950](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233577100_An_Igbo_Esperanto_A_history_of_the_Union_Ibo_Bible_1900-1950).


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