\t\tESPERANTO — The International Language<\/p>\n
Every year, our world seems smaller. Ships carry a thousand
\nitems between countries. Jets carry passengers across oceans and
\naround the world. Satellites bring us live television coverage
\nfrom Europe and Asia. Every year, Americans in every walk of
\nlife communicate more and more with people of other countries.<\/p>\n
Only one barrier remains…<\/p>\n
As a result of this tremendous increase in contacts with the
\noutside world, Americans are realizing that there is still a
\nmajor barrier to international communication — the language
\nbarrier!
\n Americans have long heard the cliche that “Wherever you go,
\npeople speak English.” In fact, at most ten percent of the world
\nspeaks English! Often, in other countries, only people in the
\nbest hotels of the largest cities can use English, and even they
\nare often not very fluent. Anyone who has visited a foreign
\ncountry and struggled with the language barriers understands
\nthis. Americans are at last discovering what the rest of the
\nworld has long known: there is a real need for an international
\nlanguage.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, there is such a language…<\/p>\n
Its name is Esperanto. It was created by Dr. Ludwig L.
\nZamenhof, a Polish physician, who published it in 1887. Since
\nthen, Esperanto has been learned by millions. Of the many
\nprojects and proposals for an international language over the
\ncenturies, Esperanto is the only one that has stood the test of
\ntime and is being spoken today. It is in daily use by many
\nthousands of people all over the world, and the number is growing
\nconstantly.
\n Many international meetings are held in Esperanto. Books and
\nmagazines are published by the thousands to meet the demand of an
\ninternational public. Some of the largest international firms
\nput on advertising campaigns in Esperanto. Hotels, resterants
\nand tourist resorts compete for the patronage of the
\nEsperanto-speaking traveler.
\n Esperanto”s impressive success as the language of international
\ncommunication is due to three basic advantages. It is easy to
\nlearn. It is politically neutral. And it has many practical
\nuses.<\/p>\n
Esperanto is easy…<\/p>\n
Esperanto is much easier to learn than any other language. In
\nfact, it can be learned in a quarter of the time needed to learn
\na national language! The spelling is easy: eash leter has
\nexactly one sound. The pronunciation is easy: there are no
\nstrange combinations of letters to create new sounds, and the
\naccent is always on the next to last syllable. The grammer is
\neasy: there are only sixteen rules, with no exceptions. (That
\nmeans, for example, that there are no irregular verbs.) The
\nvocabulary is easy too: many international words are used, such
\nas telefono (telephone), biologio (biology), and mathematiko
\n(mathematics). Esperanto gives a very natural impression in
\nspoken or written use; and because of its high ratio of vowels to
\nconsonants, it is often said to resemble Spanish or Italian.
\n Esperanto also uses prefixes, suffixes, and interchangable
\nendings to reduce the number of words to be learned. For
\nexample, in English we make the words “friendly, unfriendly, and
\nfriendship” from the root word “friend”. Esperanto carries this
\nidea much further, making the vocabulary easier to learn.
\n In short, Esperanto has been rationally constructed for ease of
\nlearning. This has made it especially popular with busy men and
\nwomen who can not spend years learning a foreign language, which
\nwould be useful in only a small part of the world.<\/p>\n
Esperanto is neutral…<\/p>\n
The second major reason for Esperanto’s success is that it is
\nneutral. It belongs to no one country. Many people in America
\nand England say that English is already spoken so widely and is
\nsuch an “important” language in the world that it should be
\nofficially adopted by all nations as the international language.
\nThis view is very unpopular in many countries.
\n This attitude is not merely because English is one of the most
\ndifficult languages to learn. The new nations of Africa and Asia
\nare very reluctant to accept English (or any major language) for
\ninternational communication because of the political overtones.
\nFor example, the countries of the Soviet bloc would not want to
\nuse English as an official international language, just as we
\nwould be reluctant to accept Russian in that role (as some Soviet
\npublicists have actually suggested).
\n The Western nations have also shown their sensitivity to
\nquestions of linguistic equality. Quebec has rejected English as
\nits official language; the Common Market nations insist on using
\nall their languages in Brussels; the UN speends tens of millions
\nof dollars every year translating into five official languages
\nand into fifteen for UNESCO!
\n Esperanto is not the property of any one nation, group of
\nnations, or social class. It belongs to everyone. It has no
\npolitical or historical implications to hinder its acceptance.
\nEvery person who uses Esperanto is on an equal linguistic footing
\nwith all other Esperantists. Esperanto’s popularity in smaller
\nnations and in Asian countries, such as Japan, is largely due to
\nthis neutrality. This promotes a spirit of friendship and
\nbrotherhood among Esperantists which is quite impressive to
\neveryone who sees it in use.<\/p>\n
Esperanto is practical…<\/p>\n
Esperanto offers exceptional practical advantages.
\nCoordinating these advantages is the worldwide organization, the
\nUniversal Esperanto Association. The UEA, from its headquarters
\nin Rotterdam, maintains a network of over 3,500 representatives
\nin 66 countries, sponsors many international activities, and
\nissues a Yearbook containing the addresses of its representatives
\nand information on current international activities. There are
\nmore than a dozen international professional associations
\nincluding, for example, teachers, scientists, journalists,
\ndoctors, and lawyers. These groups sponcer meetings, publish
\njournals, and otherwise promote the technical, use of Esperanto.
\nOther international organizations serve the interests of
\nEsperantists who share a common affiliation, such as in computers
\nand telecommunications?<\/p>\n
A scientifically constructed language<\/p>\n
Some people ask, “But isn’t Esperanto an artificial language?”
\nOf course it is. So is every language in the world. The word
\n“artificial” means “made by human beings,” and every language has
\nbeen created by human beings. The difference between Esperanto
\nand other languages is that Esperanto was scientifically designed
\nto do a special job — the job of international communications —
\nand it does that job surperbly. Designed for maximun
\nunderstandability, Esperanto is “grammar-coded” — you can tell
\nwhat part each word plays in a sentence from the word endings.
\nArtificial Intelligence and Semantic Understanding computer
\nprograms could be implemented with greater success if they were
\ndeveloped around Esperanto.<\/p>\n
Esperanto and the UN<\/p>\n
In October 1966, the UEA presented the Secretary General of the
\nUnited Nations with a proposal recommending that the UN solve the
\nlanguage problem by supporting use of the International Language,
\nEsperanto. The petition was signed by almost a million
\nindividuals and by 3,843 organizations representing 71 million
\nmore people from all over the world. Today, an Esperanto office
\noperates across the street from the UN, staffed by a professional
\nlinguist and several volunteers.<\/p>\n
Esperanto and You<\/p>\n
The national Esperanto group in the United States of America is
\nthe Esperanto League for North America (ELNA). In Canada, the
\nCanadian Esperanto Association (CEA) performs the same task of
\nproviding information, assisting local groups, organizing classes
\nand annual conventions, and cooperating with the UEA. For more
\ninformation about books, records, membership, and classes,
\ncontact:<\/p>\n
\tEsperanto League for North America, Inc
\n\tP. O. Box 1129
\n\tEl Cerrito, CA 94530<\/p>\n
In Canada, contact:<\/p>\n
\tCanadian Esperanto Association
\n\tP.O.Box 2067
\n\tSidney BC V8L 3S3 Canada<\/p>\n
Esperanto does not aim at replacing the existing national
\nlanguages; but it overcomes the present linguistic chaos by
\nserving as a neutral instrument of international communication
\nfor all.
\n———————————————————————–<\/p>\n
STRUCTURE: The core grammer of Esperanto consist of only 16
\nrules, with no exceptions. In spite of this simplicity,
\nEsperanto can express the finest shades of meaning.<\/p>\n
VOCABULARY: The word roots in Esperanto have been taken from many
\nnational languages according to the principle of maximum
\ninternationality. Thus, many of them are already known to people
\nof all nations. Many words — an average of ten to fifteen, but
\nsometimes as many as fifty — may be formed from one root. This
\nbuilding block approach helps make Esperanto easy to learn.<\/p>\n
TECHNICAL VOCABULARIES: More than 125 technical dictionaries and
\nvocabularies in some fifty branches of science, philosophy,
\ntechnology, and handicrafts have been published in Esperanto.<\/p>\n
LITERATURE: Esperanto literature includes translated and
\norigional novels, short stories, plays, poems, scientific works
\nand dissertations. The library of the British Esperanto
\nAssociation contains over 30,000 items in Esperanto.<\/p>\n
MAGAZINES: Various magazines and literary, scientific,
\nprofessional and religious reviews in Esperanto are published
\nregularly in all parts of the world.<\/p>\n
RADIO: Over a dozen radio stations, including stations in Peking,
\nRome, Rio de Janeiro, Valencia, Warsaw, and Zagreb regularly
\nbroadcast in Esperanto, for a total of over fifteen hundred hours
\na year.<\/p>\n
CONVENTIONS AND CONFERENCES: Every year an increasing number of
\nconventions, conferences, courses and study groups use Esperanto
\nas their working language. Last year about 12,000 people
\nattended international meetings using Esperanto exclusively.<\/p>\n
ESPERANTO ORGINAZITIONS: The Universala Esperanto Asocio
\n(Universal Esperanto Association) has members in over a hundred
\ncountries; there are 44 affiliated national organizations; 22
\nprofessional international associations; a worker’s association;
\nand more than 1250 clubs and societies in the world. Moreover,
\n3,500 delegates and speciality delegates in all countries are at
\nthe service of Esperantists.<\/p>\n
LEARN ESPERANTO! USE IT IN YOUR PROFESSIONAL WORK, IN YOUR
\nTRAVELS, IN YOUR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS!<\/p>\n
Test your language ability:<\/p>\n
Inteligenta persono lernas la lingvon Esperanto rapida kaj
\nfacile. Esperanto estas la moderna, kultura lingvo por la tuta
\nmondo. Simpla, fleksebla, belsona, [i estas la praktika solvo de
\nla problemo de universala interkompreno. Esperanto meritas vian
\nseriozan konsideron. Lernu la internacian lingvon Esperanto.<\/p>\n
Check your translation:<\/p>\n
An intelligent person learns the language Esperanto rapidly and
\neasily. Esperanto is the modern, cultural language for the whole
\nworld. Simple, flexible, musical, it is the practical solution
\nfor the problem of universal mutual understanding. Esperanto
\ndeserves your serious consideration. Learn the international
\nlanguage Esperanto.<\/p>\n
—————————————————————–
\nESPERANTO AT A GLANCE:
\n–The Alphabet (Brooks’ IBM-PC standardized 27-character set)<\/p>\n
A B C & D E F G [ H I J ] K L M N O P R S $ T U # V Z
\n a b c \u203a d e f g h i j \u00fb k l m n o p r s $ t u \u2013 v z<\/p>\n
Every letter has exactly one sound and is always pronounced.
\nAccent is always on the next-to-last syllable. All are
\npronounces as in English except:<\/p>\n
A as in “father” I as in “machine”
\nC as “ts” in “bits” J as “y” in “yes”
\n& as “ch” in “church” ] as “s” in “measure”
\nE as in “get” O as in “mote”
\nG as in “get” S as in “said”
\n[ as “j” in “jet” $ as “sh” in “shed”
\nH as in “hat” U as “oo” in “boot”
\n # as “w” in “water”<\/p>\n
The parts of speech are formed by adding endings to root words.<\/p>\n
O is the noun ending — instruisto (teacher)
\nA is the adjective ending — nova (new)
\nE is the adverb ending — libere (freely)
\nI is the infinitive verb ending — lerni (to learn)<\/p>\n
J is added to form noun plurals — instruistoj (teachers)
\nN is added to form noun direct object — instruiston<\/p>\n
Inteligentaj personoj lernas la internacian lingvon.
\n (Intelligent people learn the international language.)
\n\t\tEsperanto havas facilajn regulojn.
\n\t\t(Esperanto has easy rules.)<\/p>\n
Note that the ending of an adjective always agrees with the
\nending of the nown that it modifies.<\/p>\n
Verb endings (the same regardless of number or gender.)<\/p>\n
Infinitive Present Past Future Imperative Conditional
\n I AS IS OS U US
\n vidi vidas vidis vidos vidu vidus
\n to see sees saw will see see! would see<\/p>\n
———————— Numbers —————————
\n1 unu\t\t5 kvin\t\t9 na\u2013
\n2 du \t\t6 ses\t\t10 dek
\n3 tri\t\t7 sep\t\t100 cent
\n4 kvar\t\t8 ok \t\t1000 mil<\/p>\n
Examples\t\t32 tridek du
\n\t\t\t278 ducent sepdek ok<\/p>\n
