Hey there!

My name is Tia and I'm currently doing an Extended Project Qualification as part of my second year at college and my chosen topic is Esperanto.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could answer some of the following questions and send them back to me so that I can feature your answers in my essay. I understand that you may not have much time to answer all of the questions in extensive detail though I would appreciate even the shortest of answers to use as primary source in my investigation. All answers are valuable to me!

Please answer the following questions in as much detail as possible.

What separates Esperanto from other constructed languages such as Interlingua and Ido (a variation of Esperanto)?

Do you consider Esperanto an easy alternative language to learn? If so, why?

To what extent do you believe that Esperanto has achieved its original aims? Have any of these aims altered in recent years?

There are many other invented languages (e.g Klingon, Dothraki, Pig Latin), why don't these qualify as possible alternative languages when they each have an extensive vocabulary, grammar rules and other important aspects of language?

What, in your opinion, has influenced the success of Esperanto in comparison to other constructed languages?

Thank you in advance,
Tia.

The students' choice of topic is free, although they must show that it is academically useful, either related to their current course of study, or their future career.

Extended Project Qualification

Are you foreseeing studying languages? I'm not into that (things such as linguistic)... To me esperanto was aimed to be the universal second language. Like to be learned in high school by you guys! So, so far it failed ...

Maybe you should try and learn yourself a bit of Esperanto (e.g. by Duolingo). This would help a lot!

tj_98:What separates Esperanto from other constructed languages such as Interlingua and Ido (a variation of Esperanto)?

Each constructed language has its own criteria. It is not possible to give one answer for all differences.

Generally, all constructed languages share a few claims: (a) that a constructed language can be more simple than national languages; (b) that it can provide fairer interaction between different countries; (c) that it is not strange to use a constructed language in everyday speech and in all kinds of specialized speeches.

tj_98:Do you consider Esperanto an easy alternative language to learn? If so, why?

Yes, absolutely. Of course, even Esperanto requires some time to be learnt. Anyway, experiences show that the amount of time needed to learn Esperanto is several times less than for natural languages.

Main reasons:
* easy spelling and pronunciation
* easy grammar
* no exceptions in grammar
* simple derivation rules; e.g. compare the pairs good-goodness, strong-strength, high-height, beautyful-beauty with the corresponding Esperanto pairs bona-boneco, forta-forteco, alta-alteco, bela-beleco (fixed rule)

tj_98:To what extent do you believe that Esperanto has achieved its original aims? Have any of these aims altered in recent years?

The creator of Esperanto had ambitious aims. I think they have not been achieved entirely, but even so the partial results achieved have a great value.

tj_98:There are many other invented languages (e.g Klingon, Dothraki, Pig Latin), why don't these qualify as possible alternative languages when they each have an extensive vocabulary, grammar rules and other important aspects of language?

Some of these languages do not have extensive vocabulary, some have strange or difficult rules, some are clearly meant for specific purposes. Only a few actually have the complete set of language tools for common and specialized uses.

Esperanto currently overcomes even the most complete ones because it is no longer just a constructed language; it also includes its own cultural heritage (original literature, philosophical / political declarations, courageous experiments etc.)

tj_98:What, in your opinion, has influenced the success of Esperanto in comparison to other constructed languages?

Historically, Esperanto arrived in a special time frame, when nationalistic attitudes were driving Europe toward the First World War. Many people who did not agree with this trend looked for an international language not bound to any country. In fact, the first speakers of Esperanto had often been speakers of Volapuk; but Volapuk was too difficult and they switched quickly to a language that retained the same aims but was also significantly easier.

Later, in a different historical context, other factors became as important as the first ones: the number of speakers, the meetings, the strength of the so-called "movado" (movement), the cultural side that grew year after year.

Recently, the Internet has offered more chances to a language scattered worldwide with a sufficiently large number of speakers, but nowhere very dense.

All your questions, in my opinion, are legitimate. However, for a survey or research, I think it would be better and more efficient (and more private) if you would set up a site and/or email address external to lernu! in which responders could answer your inquiry. Also please note that lernu!, and all of the rest of the internet, is by no means the sum total of the users of auxiliary languages. There could be many users of Esperanto (or any other auxiliary language) who are not active on this forum, so any sample here could be statistically skewed. Thank you.

bartlett22183:All your questions, in my opinion, are legitimate. However, for a survey or research, I think it would be better and more efficient (and more private) if you would set up a site and/or email address external to lernu! in which responders could answer your inquiry. Also please note that lernu!, and all of the rest of the internet, is by no means the sum total of the users of auxiliary languages. There could be many users of Esperanto (or any other auxiliary language) who are not active on this forum, so any sample here could be statistically skewed. Thank you.

That's a good idea, I'll set one up and edit my post later to incorporate this, hopefully it will encourage more participation here and also allow me to get answers from other places. Do you have any suggests of other place I can get this information from?

I myself have limited resources as to where you might get further information. Sorry. However, there is a traditional, old-fashioned mailing list, AUxLANG (the 'X' is majuscule, but lernu! obstinately persists in not letting me capitalize it without conversion to U-breve), hosted at Brown University in the USA. (Disclosure: I am listowner.) It is a general discussion group for auxiliary languages, although volume of posts varies, and occasionally over the years there have been some acrimonious disputes. However, it might be a secondary or tertiary source for responses. Go to [url=listserv@listserv.brown.edu]Brown University listserver[/url] to subscribe. (Please be aware that the www listserver tends to be slow, although once one is subscribed, the message turnaround tends to be much faster.)

What separates Esperanto from other constructed languages such as Interlingua and Ido (a variation of Esperanto)?

Its use, I've encountered Esperanto for many years outside of language learning, I can't say the same for the others. And even in language learning my experience of those languages is extremely limited.

Do you consider Esperanto an easy alternative language to learn? If so, why?

Yes I consider it easier to learn than most languages. My evidence for this is experience, my level of fluency in Esperanto is far better than any of the other languages I was taught (German and French, with a little Welsh) and I've gotten there by self teaching using internet and correspondence courses. I spent four years learning French, multiple lessons a week and I can't even speak a sentence of it anymore.

My German is about the level of a tourist.

To what extent do you believe that Esperanto has achieved its original aims? Have any of these aims altered in recent years?

I don't believe its goals have changed unless you count Zamenhof's religious ideals. I think the goal of international communication and a world community have been successful just not on the scale that Zamenhof and the early Esperantistoj wished. For example the labour organisation Sennacieca Asocio Tutmonda (SAT) an organisation that through its members has opened a dialogue between many labour activist groups and political currents. Its Congresses in Europe are usually the second largest gathering of labour activists in Europe, the largest being the European Trade Union Congress ETUC.

There are many other invented languages (e.g Klingon, Dothraki, Pig Latin), why don't these qualify as possible alternative languages when they each have an extensive vocabulary, grammar rules and other important aspects of language?

Well to take your examples, two Klingon and Dothraki are created for fictional races in TV shows. I'm not being snobby, here, I mean that those languages don't have any relevance to actual human speakers. Klingon for examples will teach you how to say "fire the photon torpedoes" and "you think like a cowardly Romulan" but not much that a human in the real world can use. Also the cultures of both Dothraki and Klingon are hostile xenophobic and brutal and that's reflected in their languages which is also an important reason they don't have much use at all in international communication.

Pig Latin is a code game, the whole point of pig Latin is that people don't understand what your saying unless they're in on the secret. And its a code language based on English substituting certain words with Latin, so in order for non English speakers to use it, you would have to teach them English to the highest fluency, and give them basics in Latin.

But again the main test is use. There are many constructed languages designed to do just what Esperanto does, but their success has been much worse. Its not really about language purity, there are criticisms of Esperanto's structure, and arguably more logical alternatives, but Esperanto is the one that is spoken world wide, even if the community is quite patchy.

What, in your opinion, has influenced the success of Esperanto in comparison to other constructed languages?

Well when it was first created, ethnic and racial tensions were constant, with language playing a key part in those struggles. So the desire for a neutral language as a tool of peace and communication. After World War One this need was amplified, the two largest communities of Esperanto speakers were in Germany and the Soviet Union, with large communities in their neighbouring states.

Sadly both Hitler and Stalin distrusted the Esperanto Movado and physically destroyed it in the nations they controlled. Though later on the language renewed itself during the Cold War, as a response to the world being divided into two hostile camps.

In the present the renewed conflict and miscommunication between the people's of the world make the need for a neutral language more relevant and the internet has helped the small and dispersed groups of Esperanto speakers reconnect and grow again.

As to why this has helped Esperanto instead of the others, well we have a physical community of a sort that uses the language in everyway that's useful to human beings. We have a press that publish magazines, books, and music, workplace groups, political and lifestyle groups ktp. This keeps us somewhat visible to potentially new speakers and gives us the tools to support and assist others.

Hope this helps.

I had a look in many other planned languages. Them, which claim to be more "naturalistic", have more words to learn than Esperanto, f.e. because they do evite "mal"-words. In Esperanto You have to learn one word (bela=beautiful) and can derive a lot of others (malbela=ugly, beleta=pretty, beleco=beauty), but the "naturalists" hate this malwords and say "leda" instead of "malbela". And the more logical languages, where the structure is more sophisticated and effective, are not so easy to memorize and one has to invest more time to bring all their faculties in use (one of the crassest example ist lojban). I think, Esperanto comes very near to an optimal compromise between naturality and logical structure.

I think, the success of Esperanto depends a good part on the "right time, right place"-effect, but this is of course only part of the story. What I learned of books: Esperanto had a genious promoter in the beginning, Louis de Beaufront, who later regretteably steered the (his) boat to Ido. The important thing ist, that the community of speakers and activists was great enough to survive.

An other argument is that changing the "fundamento de esperanto" was forbidden. Volapük as well as Ido ran through neverending battles of reformers and the adepts often had to relearn words and structures in new variants. And although Esperanto has its weak aspects (most critizised are the hats on some letters and the absolutly necessary -n to sign the accusative case) it succeeded to maintain its principal uniformity through decades and decades.

Thank you for you responses! I will review these and they will be mentioned in my essay. I will of course accept more responses, and for those that wish to be credited by their real name can send it to me, otherwise you will be referenced to by your usernames.

Once again, you must please be aware that this website and many other online fora are by no means whatever the sum total of users of Esperanto (or any other usable constructed international auxiliary language, for that matter). Any results you might conclude from responses here may be badly statistically skewed and not representative. There are many, many users of auxiliary languages who are not active online. Many people have, unfortunately, come to the idea that "the internet" is "all the world." Not at all.