Esperanto? What Is That?

Esperanto? What is that? Esperanto was proposed in the world know. Some of them 1887 as a neutral international have joined organised groups. language by Dr. L. L. Zamen- The Universal Esperanto Asso- hof, a Jewish ophthalmologist ciation (UEA = Universala Es- living in the (now Polish) west- peranto-Asocio) has members ern part of the Russian Empire. in 114 countries. The smaller His aim was to develop an eas- World Anational Association ily accessible, regular language (SAT = Sennacieca Asocio Tut- and try it out with colleagues, monda) has around 1000 mem- so that it might eventually be bers. It is a meeting-place for introduced as an international left-wing (mainly socialist, second language for everybody. anarchist and antinationalist), Zamenhof considered a neutral trade-unionist and ecologically language, one that would be- Esperanto has achieved one active Esperanto speakers. Es- long to all equally, to be not initial breakthrough: it has peranto continuously demon- only a practical matter, but a become a living language that strates its viability. It provides way to resolve conflicts and spans generations and which many practical services to its promote peace as well. tens of thousands throughout speakers. Democratic Communication on a World Scale The world dominance of just a few languages brought up lately and a response to relentless derives primarily from the power of the states capitalist globalisation from above, can only be that use them. Members of non-privileged put into practice by people who can talk to each linguistic communities communicate "uphill" other. internationally – to the extent they have a Esperanto is egalitarian. It was meant to command of one or more hegemonistic enable broad strata of society in all countries to languages. Those that don't know any "major" communicate directly – over and beyond language are for the most part excluded from linguistic and political boundaries. English, international communication. thought by many to be the de facto world International use of just a few national language, fails to do this job even in the small languages distorts cultural exchanges and skews group of comparatively wealthy nations with the flow of information in favour of the developed systems of public education. Even economic, political and opinion-making elites in though power is and will remain for the time the linguistically privileged countries. An easier- being in the hands of those naturally hostile to to-learn and neutral language could create more the general introduction of Esperanto, practical equity and balance. experience shows that Esperanto even today Some people are fatalistic about the language enables some of the linguistically disadvantaged problem and some profit from it, because their to become bilingual, and that it is a means by personal command of foreign languages is a which all can engage in equitable communica- career asset or a source of prestige. But it is tion across language boundaries. especially the ruling classes of many countries that have every reason to maintain the status Further Information: quo. It is very much in their interest that the Workers' Esperanto Movement of Great working masses and generally most of society Britain (SATEB): remain monolingual or have only limited pro- http://www.geocities.com/satebejo/index.html ficiency in foreign languages, because that way e-mail: [email protected] they have less direct access to opinions and World Anational Association (SAT): information from abroad that haven't passed http://satesperanto.free.fr/ through the filter of the domestic mass media Multilingual Esperanto Information Centre: that are dominated by those ruling classes, just http://www.esperanto.net/ as they have less direct exchange with their Lernu (instructional material): social counterparts in foreign countries. "Glo- http://www.lernu.net/ balisation from below", a concept frequently A Functioning Language Esperanto can be learned in around a third of been held, at which Esperanto is spoken. There the time needed to learn the most commonly are tens of thousands of books and several studied foreign languages. It is written phon- hundred regularly published, albeit often small emically (one sound = one letter) and has a very periodicals in Esperanto. Esperanto frequently regular grammar. Its phonology is as inter- becomes the everyday family language for national as possible. Spoken Esperanto sounds couples of different origin (and their children). a little like Spanish or Italian. Esperanto evolves just as other languages do Esperanto is an agglutinating language, in – by borrowing lexical items and forging new which a large amount of vocabulary is com- vocabulary from its own resources, yet it does pounded from smaller elements. This reduces not lose its relative simplicity and regularity. the number of lexical elements that need to be learned separately. Items of vocabulary were selected in accordance with the principle of maximum international familiarity. A language suited to all purposes can only develop in a collective process. For almost 100 years congresses and informal meetings have Where Is Esperanto Going? The community of speakers in Europe is publish tourist and other information in Esper- stable, while it has grown substantially over the anto, while international broadcasting services last few decades in some areas outside of Eu- in several countries broadcast daily or weekly rope (China, Iran, Africa). Esperanto has re- Esperanto programs on short-wave and by ceived a greater measure of official recognition satellite. than is commonly known, though not nearly The increasingly dense network of world enough to have it introduced throughout the communication, along with capitalist globalisa- world as a universally used second language. In tion, are creating an increasing challenge to the 1954 a UNESCO resolution acknowledged "the working class as time goes on – the challenge of results attained by Esperanto in the field of deliberately fomenting globalisation from international intellectual relations and in the below. Esperanto is well-suited to providing rapprochement of the peoples of the world". The people initial – and extendable – proficiency in Universal Esperanto Association collaborates a foreign language. Its community of users con- with other non-governmental organisations in a stitutes a milieu, in which questions relating to number of UNESCO working groups. That or- language politics are constantly reflected. In ganisation even recommended in 1985 that the these ways Esperanto makes its contribution to- language problem and Esperanto be given more ward the necessary improvement of the ling- attention in schools and universities of the uistic culture of underprivileged strata of soci- member-states. ety. Regardless of the uncertainty of Esperanto In some countries Esperanto is allowed as an elective subject in schools. The University of ever being pushed through politically, as a Budapest has an Esperanto department, and language it has for many decades proved viable other universities offer courses in and about and capable of continuously attracting new Esperanto. Local authorities in a few countries users. Many Put Esperanto to Practical Use Many have made world-wide contacts which contains the addresses of 1364 people in through Esperanto in return for a modest in- 89 countries who are willing to lodge travelling vestment of time to learn it. Some become active or vacationing Esperanto-speakers for a limited in organisations. Most Esperanto-speakers em- time. There are dozens of international meet- phasise the practical aspects more than the ings, conferences and recreational activities the political: they use their language skills on year round, often dealing with social, political vacation trips, by contacting acquaintances or and cultural questions of current interest. making new contacts through one of the address books such as the popular Pasporta Servo, [V.i.S.d.P.: Gary Mickle].

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