Spoken Mandarin would be a great basis for a logical world language. Although it shares roughly zero words in common with English or other European languages (aside from the occasional loan word, like coffee or sofa), the language itself is concise, expressive and grammatically simple: no conjugation, no inflection, consistent pronunciation and minimal “politeness”. The only ”weird” parts are tonality and those darned counting words.
Too bad the written language is a disaster for learners. 10000 unique characters to learn (30000 for literary fluency), and inconsistent and often unpredictable pronunciation.
Too bad the written language is a disaster for learners. 10000 unique characters to learn (30000 for literary fluency), and inconsistent and often unpredictable pronunciation.