Note 21 — Chapter VI · THE MARTIAN CYCLE (CONTINUED)—THE MARTIAN LANGUAGE

If it is objected that the Martian lacks the essential character of a language—that is to say, a practical sanction by use; by the fact of its serving as a means of communication between living beings—I will not answer, like Mlle. Smith, that after all we know nothing about that, but will simply say that the social side of the question does not concern us here. Even if Volapük and Esperanto are not used, they are none the less languages, and the Martian has, in regard to its artificial construction, the psychological superiority of being a natural language, spontaneously created, without the conscious participation, reflective or willing, of a normal personality.