This work investigates the structural and lexical requirements for a functional international auxiliary language. Otto Jespersen, a renowned Danish linguist, applies his expertise in phonetics and grammar to construct a vocabulary that balances logical consistency with ease of learning. The text serves as the primary lexicon for Novial, a language designed to facilitate global communication through simplified morphology and recognizable roots.

Linguists and historians of constructed languages identify this text as a foundational reference for understanding the evolution of auxiliary language projects in the early 20th century. Readers frequently note the technical precision of the entries and the logical rigor applied to the language's development.