Whatever Happened to Esperanto?
17 February 2005
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Have you ever thought to yourself 'wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone in the world spoke the same language?' or wouldn't it be almost as good if everyone could speak their own language at home but agreee to learn the same second language for international communication? What if there were languages that did not belong to any one country; a language so easy you could learn it quickly, like a few weeks or months.
Well, if you like that idea, you're in good company. Starting as early as the 17-th century, there have been hundreds of proposals for an international language and they still keep coming. But for a variety of reasons only one of them had much success, and that was Esperanto.
It was invented in Poland in the late 19-th century by a man named Ludwig Zamenhof. He wasn't actually a linguist or a language teacher, only a man that dreamed of a universal language. And he created a pretty good one. I have friends who have heard of Esperanto, but have never heard it spoken, say to me 'Isn't it mostly Spanish?' Well, no. The name Esperanto has a Spanish flavor, but the vocabulary of the language is a mix of words from Eastern and Central Europe. Some of it comes from Latin, and the romance languages. Some of it comes from Germanic languages like English. And it has a sprinkling of Slavic. It uses a Latin alphabet like ours, slightly modified with phonetic spelling and very simple grammar. It's beauty above all is that it's deliciously predictable. There are no irregularities, none of those pesky exceptions that make natural languages so slippery and so natural.
To me, Esperanto has kind of an eerie sound. Let's listen to a few lines from the 1965 classic film "Incubus", the only feature lengtth film ever made in Esperanto. Here's the young William Shatner, shortly before he became Captain Kirk of Star Trek. I am told that his pronunciation could be improved, but here he is, talking Esperanto with a beautiful and innocent-looking succubus who, unknown to him, has come to seduce him and steal his soul.
[ Sound clip from movie ]
So let's go back to the question of what happened to Esperanto. It was created in 1887. It got a big boost in popularity from the war weariness of the 1920's but then seems to have faded away. But it didn't die out. Though it had ups and downs in the 20-th century, the language is now alive and well and gaining in popularity, in part, because of the internet. Esperanto speakers are dispersed so it's hard to get an exact count on them, but most estimates put the number at more than a million speakers world-wide. There are Esperanto novels and magazines, a translation of the Bible, and the Lord of the Rings. There is Esperanto poetry, an International Esperanto Museum, and, best of all, there are online chat rooms where you can talk to people all over the world. And you can hear broadcasts in Esperanto on over twenty radio stations, like Radio Beijing or even Vatican Radio. There's an internet station that plays nothing but music with vocals in Esperanto twenty-four hours a day. And the language has moved into places it was never heard before; places like Mongolia, Indonesia, and the Congo. And how about hungary? Esperanto is the third most popular foreign language in Hungarian high schools. And I should add that there are Esperanto clubs popping up on college campuses all over the US, including here at the College of Charleston.
The year of languages is a time to reach out beyond the English-speaking world. So let me challenge you. Why not learn Esperanto? It's quick, it's easy, and thanks to the internet, you can use it worldwide. Talk to someone in Shanghai or Romosabiersk? If you want to learn more about it, check the website of my colleague, Donald Harland, one the the country's leading Esperantists and contributor to this program. Go to www.esperanto.net.
That's the linguistic thought for today. And this is the Five Minute Lingust at the College of Charleston in cooperation with the National Museum of Languages. If you would like to ask a question about languages, go to our website at www.cofc.edu/linguist. In the meantime, keep in mind that wherever you are, and whatever you do, Language makes a difference.
Comments
See anything wrong with this sentence from the item on Esperanto?
It's beauty above all is that it's deliciously predictable.
Posted by: Jack Wilkerson at March 16, 2005 08:20 PM
Saluton! Where did you come up with the name Zelnorf? The creator of Esperanto was Dr. L. L. Zamenhof.
Posted by: Henry V. Janoski at March 26, 2005 01:37 AM
Thanks for the correction. We hope you enjoy the program and the site.
Posted by: Linguist at March 26, 2005 11:40 AM
Hi, again: Thanks for your interesting article on Esperanto. I plan to attend the 90th World Congress of Esperanto July 23-30, 2005 in Vilnius, Lithuania. There are already more than 1,600 people from 55 countries signed up and more are expected. Usually there are between 2,000 and 3,000 people from 60 to 70 different countries. The first World Congress was held in 1905 and it has been held each year since then, except for the years of World Wars I and II. That is why this congress has only the number 90, even though it is 100 years since the first congress. I look forward to being able to meet and speak with people from Mongolia, Nepal, Congo, Cuba, Iran, Finland, Slovenia, China, Japan, Russia, etc. without the need for an interpreter! I taught myself Esperanto when I was 12 years old, but this will be my first congress.
Posted by: Henry V. Janoski at March 26, 2005 10:12 PM
I think the beauty of the DESIGN of Esperanto comes in part from its predictability; the beauty of its speech and poetry comes from what you can DO with it!
Posted by: Ted Alper at October 24, 2005 01:15 PM
(Oops -- meant to include this in the last comment).
but I do see a grammatical error in writing "it's beauty" -- it should be "its beauty"]
[not really a natural error to arise in Esperanto, by the way!]
Posted by: Ted Alper at October 24, 2005 01:17 PM
Very interesting! Maybe I will try to learn Esperanto. -- Terry
Posted by: Terry Deneen at January 20, 2006 11:48 AM
Saluton. Mi jam studis Esperanton dum du jaroj. Mi komencis lerni la lingvon, por povi interparoli kun homoj en la tuta mondo. Mi estas 62 jaragxa, kaj mi kredas, ke Esperanto estas la vojo antauxen, por internacia komuniko. Mi esperas, ke multaj aliaj homoj,sentos la saman. Gxis.
Hello. I have studied Esperanto for two years. I began to learn Esperanto,in order to be able to converse with people throughout the whole world. I am 62 years old, and I believe that Esperanto is the way forward for International communication. I hope that many other people will feel the same. Bye.
Posted by: Allan Rockett at February 16, 2006 03:19 PM