Solresol (Solfège: Sol-Re-Sol), originally called Langue universelle (lit. 'Universal language') and then Langue musicale universelle ('Universal musical language'), is a musical constructed language devised by French music teacher and composer Jean-François Sudre (1787–1862), beginning in 1817. His book defining it, Langue Musicale Universelle, was published posthumously in 1866, though he had already been publicizing it for some years. Solresol enjoyed a brief spell of popularity in the latter half of the 19th century and was sponsored by such figures as Victor Hugo, Alphonse de Lamartine, Alexander von Humboldt and Napoleon III, culminating with Boleslas Gajewski's publication of Grammaire du Solresol in 1902. Today, there exist small communities of Solresol enthusiasts scattered across the world.
Evolution There are multiple versions of Solresol, each with minor differences. The three primary variations still in circulation—Sudre, Gajewski and "Modern"—mostly differ in various vocabulary elements, while agreeing largely on the grammar. Sudre created the language, and thus his version deserves the title of being the original version of Solresol. Vincent Gajewski, a Parisian professor, popularized the language as the president of the Central Committee for the Study and Advancement of Solresol, which was founded in 1869 by Sudre's widow, Joséphine, to further promote his work. Boleslas Gajewski, Vincent's son and himself a professor, formalized the grammar and authored the definitive work on the language: Grammaire du Solrésol (French for 'Grammar of Solresol'). This is the most publicised version of Solresol, thanks to the translation to English by Stephen L. Rice from 1997, with a sizable amount of the vocabulary changed from the original, as well as some of the grammar. One example is the word fasol, defined as "here" in Sudre's dictionary, but "why?" in Gajewski's. The third is an unofficial version developed over time by the community, dubbed "Modern Solresol". It uses Sudre's version as a base, with tweaks to the grammar and vocabulary, such as changing the definitions of sisol and sila from meaning "Sir" and "Young man", to an honorifics system inspired by what is used in Japanese; both are gender-neutral titles, one to be respectful, and one to be affectionate. Gajewski's publication brought various additions that don't conflict with the original version of the language, such as various new methods of communication, including:
a set of symbols using the seven colours of the rainbow, and using tonic sol-fa to sign the language
Phonology
Solresol can be communicated by using any seven distinct items, with a maximum of five per word. Statistically, these combinations yield seven one-syllable words, 49 of two syllables, 336 of three, 2,268 of four and 9,072 of five, for a total of 11,732 possible primary words. The main method of communication is by using the seven solfège syllables (a form of solmization), which may be accented, lengthened or repeated. The simplest way to use these syllables is to speak them as if they were regular syllables. Due to predating the IPA, there are no specific pronunciation rules beyond the standard readings of the solfège. Due to each syllable being fairly distinct, they may be pronounced in almost any way the reader prefers. Sudre outlined a way of transcribing the phonetics of French (and thus many other languages) into Solresol, primarily used for proper nouns. Using common pronunciations as given by the likes of Wiktionary, it is possible to reconstruct a table of sounds using the modern IPA. Due to the paucity of syllables, it is necessary to leave a brief pause between words so that each word remains clearly separate. As noted by Boleslas Gajewski: "one should take great care to pause after every word; this slight pause is necessary to separate the words, so that the listener does not become confused".
Vocabulary In Solresol morphology, each word is divided into categories of either meaning or function, where longer words are generally more specific. Words are differentiated by three main characteristics: the initial syllable, word length, and whether it has a pair of repeated syllables. Words that are one and two syllables long are used for pronouns and common particles, and those with repeated syllables are tenses. Words that are one syllable long are devoted to words used frequently (at the time of Solresol's creation). The ones which include repeating syllables are reserved for "numbers, the months of the year, the days of the week, and temperature [weather conditions]", e.g. redodo "one", remimi "two" (according to Gajewski). Words that are four syllables long fall into various themed categories. For example, words beginning with 'sol', which include no repeating syllables, have meanings related to arts or sciences (e.g. soldoredo, "art"; solmiredo, "acoustic"). However, if words that are four syllables long have a pair of repeated syllables, their meanings relate to sickness or medicine (e.g. solsolredo, "migraine"; solreresol, "smallpox"). More specifically, the classes without repeating syllables, are:
do: man, his body and spirit, intellectual faculties, qualities and nourishment; re: clothing, the house, housekeeping and the family mi: man's actions and his flaws fa: the countryside, travel, war, the sea sol: fine arts and sciences la: industry and commerce si: the city, government and administration With repeating syllables, the same syllables yield:
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