donaldboozer
Case 6: Esperanto & Other Auxlangs, left
(Top) International Conlangs: Esperanto & Other Auxiliary Languages
The dream of creating a language understandable by the entire world has been around for centuries. Many early proponents of these universal languages advocated a return to the days before the Tower of Babel; others see their calling as a purely modern phenomenon. Providing the world with a neutral, universal language free of national and ethnic partisanship, in these people’s view, would alleviate much suffering and misunderstanding in the world. The most well-known international auxiliary language is Esperanto but many others have been (and are still being) proposed. The dream lives on...
(Zamenhof caption) Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof
“Dr. Esperanto”
L. L. Zamenhof was born in Bialystok (in what is now Poland) on Dec. 15, 1859. A Russian-speaking Jew living in an area of ethnic and national tension, Zamenhof saw first-hand the trouble that competing languages could create. His theory was that tolerance could be fostered by use of an international language unencumbered by a connection to a specific country, and Zamenhof dedicated himself to creating just such a language. Along with a group of friends in school, the young idealist created a workable language. His father, uneasy about the reaction to a “secret” language in the contemporary political climate, burned all of Zamenhof’s notebooks while Ludwik was away at the University of Warsaw. The dream of a universal language was widespread at this time, and, in 1880, Johann Martin Schleyer created Volapük, which attracted a sizable number of users and even held several conventions.
Undaunted by this competition, Zamenhof by 1887 had reconstituted his work from the burned notebooks and published a textbook entitled Lingvo Internacia under the pseudonym Dr. Esperanto (“Dr. Hopeful” in his new language). The book included a pledge to use the new language for people to sign and send back to Zamenhof. Lingvo Internacia quickly acquired the name of its founder, and Esperanto was born. Encouraged by the significant (albeit less than hoped for) return of pledges, the first Esperanto magazine, La Esperantisto, appeared in 1889. A number of Volapük clubs switched “allegiances” to Esperanto, due in large part to the fact that it was easier to learn than Volapük. Leo Tolstoy himself became an early supporter of Esperanto.
The first Esperanto World Congress was held in 1905 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, with over 600 people attending. The same year, Zamenhof published his Fundamento de Esperanto, which would become the canon for the language. The Universala Esperanto-Asocio or “Universal Esperanto Association” was established in 1908. Over the years, the language has ebbed and flowed, and, today, there are an estimated two million Esperanto speakers worldwide. The Internet has also opened up unlimited possibilities with lively online communities and informational websites using Esperanto. Google (www.google.com/intl/eo/) and Wikipedia (Vikipedio - eo.wikipedia.org) are even available in the language.
The first feature-length movie entirely in Esperanto was the 1965 film Incubus starring William Shatner, who would later go on to play Capt. James T. Kirk in Star Trek. The 1997 sci-fi thriller Gattaca included announcements in the corporate headquarters in Esperanto.
Zamenhof's birthday is celebrated as Esperanto Day or Esperanto-Tago.
(Bottom left) Schisms in a Perfect World
Originally viewed as a means of bringing the world closer, Esperanto underwent a fracture early on when, in 1907, a group of Esperanto enthusiasts attempted to “correct” flaws they perceived in that language’s design. In fact, Zamenhof proposed most of the changes himself, but they were rejected by a poll of La Esperantisto readers. Zamenhof did not pursue instituting the changes, fearing a schism (which ended up happening anyway). The result of the revisionists was the language known as Ido, which is actually an Esperanto suffix meaning “derived from.”
One of the early advocates of Ido was Danish linguist Otto Jespersen. Jespersen continued to have difficulties with the revised-Esperanto grammar of Ido and set about creating an entirely new international auxiliary language. The result, in 1928, was Novial, a compromise between a completely regular language like Esperanto and Ido and a natural language. Novial also drew on more Germanic and Western European sources for its words than either of its predecessors.
Johann Martin Schleyer’s Volapük was not immune to splintering as well. In 1887, the International Academy of Volapük or Kadem Bevünetik Volapüka set out to perfect the language. The result was called Idiom Neutral. In recognition of the major change, the name of the Academy was changed to Akademi Internasional de Lingu Universal in 1898. There are still speakers of Volapük, and Vükiped is the community’s version of Wikipedia.
(Bottom right) The Esperanto Flag
Green has been the color associated with Esperanto since its very beginnings. In an article published in La Esperantisto in 1893, the Green Star (verda stelo) was proposed as a symbol to recognize fellow speakers with the star representing the traditional five continents.
(Others in this case are a basic Esperanto grammar and phrases)
Case 6: Esperanto & Other Auxlangs, left
(Top) International Conlangs: Esperanto & Other Auxiliary Languages
The dream of creating a language understandable by the entire world has been around for centuries. Many early proponents of these universal languages advocated a return to the days before the Tower of Babel; others see their calling as a purely modern phenomenon. Providing the world with a neutral, universal language free of national and ethnic partisanship, in these people’s view, would alleviate much suffering and misunderstanding in the world. The most well-known international auxiliary language is Esperanto but many others have been (and are still being) proposed. The dream lives on...
(Zamenhof caption) Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof
“Dr. Esperanto”
L. L. Zamenhof was born in Bialystok (in what is now Poland) on Dec. 15, 1859. A Russian-speaking Jew living in an area of ethnic and national tension, Zamenhof saw first-hand the trouble that competing languages could create. His theory was that tolerance could be fostered by use of an international language unencumbered by a connection to a specific country, and Zamenhof dedicated himself to creating just such a language. Along with a group of friends in school, the young idealist created a workable language. His father, uneasy about the reaction to a “secret” language in the contemporary political climate, burned all of Zamenhof’s notebooks while Ludwik was away at the University of Warsaw. The dream of a universal language was widespread at this time, and, in 1880, Johann Martin Schleyer created Volapük, which attracted a sizable number of users and even held several conventions.
Undaunted by this competition, Zamenhof by 1887 had reconstituted his work from the burned notebooks and published a textbook entitled Lingvo Internacia under the pseudonym Dr. Esperanto (“Dr. Hopeful” in his new language). The book included a pledge to use the new language for people to sign and send back to Zamenhof. Lingvo Internacia quickly acquired the name of its founder, and Esperanto was born. Encouraged by the significant (albeit less than hoped for) return of pledges, the first Esperanto magazine, La Esperantisto, appeared in 1889. A number of Volapük clubs switched “allegiances” to Esperanto, due in large part to the fact that it was easier to learn than Volapük. Leo Tolstoy himself became an early supporter of Esperanto.
The first Esperanto World Congress was held in 1905 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, with over 600 people attending. The same year, Zamenhof published his Fundamento de Esperanto, which would become the canon for the language. The Universala Esperanto-Asocio or “Universal Esperanto Association” was established in 1908. Over the years, the language has ebbed and flowed, and, today, there are an estimated two million Esperanto speakers worldwide. The Internet has also opened up unlimited possibilities with lively online communities and informational websites using Esperanto. Google (www.google.com/intl/eo/) and Wikipedia (Vikipedio - eo.wikipedia.org) are even available in the language.
The first feature-length movie entirely in Esperanto was the 1965 film Incubus starring William Shatner, who would later go on to play Capt. James T. Kirk in Star Trek. The 1997 sci-fi thriller Gattaca included announcements in the corporate headquarters in Esperanto.
Zamenhof's birthday is celebrated as Esperanto Day or Esperanto-Tago.
(Bottom left) Schisms in a Perfect World
Originally viewed as a means of bringing the world closer, Esperanto underwent a fracture early on when, in 1907, a group of Esperanto enthusiasts attempted to “correct” flaws they perceived in that language’s design. In fact, Zamenhof proposed most of the changes himself, but they were rejected by a poll of La Esperantisto readers. Zamenhof did not pursue instituting the changes, fearing a schism (which ended up happening anyway). The result of the revisionists was the language known as Ido, which is actually an Esperanto suffix meaning “derived from.”
One of the early advocates of Ido was Danish linguist Otto Jespersen. Jespersen continued to have difficulties with the revised-Esperanto grammar of Ido and set about creating an entirely new international auxiliary language. The result, in 1928, was Novial, a compromise between a completely regular language like Esperanto and Ido and a natural language. Novial also drew on more Germanic and Western European sources for its words than either of its predecessors.
Johann Martin Schleyer’s Volapük was not immune to splintering as well. In 1887, the International Academy of Volapük or Kadem Bevünetik Volapüka set out to perfect the language. The result was called Idiom Neutral. In recognition of the major change, the name of the Academy was changed to Akademi Internasional de Lingu Universal in 1898. There are still speakers of Volapük, and Vükiped is the community’s version of Wikipedia.
(Bottom right) The Esperanto Flag
Green has been the color associated with Esperanto since its very beginnings. In an article published in La Esperantisto in 1893, the Green Star (verda stelo) was proposed as a symbol to recognize fellow speakers with the star representing the traditional five continents.
(Others in this case are a basic Esperanto grammar and phrases)