Hodiaux, mi volas paroli pri Esperanto, la lingvo internacia. Oni povas lerni gxin rapide, kaj gxi estas bona, dua ligvo por cxiu. (Traduko (translation): Today, I want to talk about Esperanto, the international language. One can learn it quickly, and it is a good, second language for everyone.) You can hear this passage spoken here, by yours truly.
Wild, wacky dream or work of genius? The brainchild of L. L. Zamenhof, Esperanto is the most successful attempt at a neutral, constructed, international language. Its intent is not to replace other languages, but to act as a secondary medium of communication among the peoples of the world.
The Esperanto flag is pictured at right.
When written, there are lots of x's scattered about, since the language originally used the circumflex (it looks like a hat over the letter) over some consonants to modify their pronunciation. However, since it's a drag to try to put the mark over letters, and there is no "x" in Esperanto, this convention has been adopted in print.
But is it useful? In a word "Jes" - uh, I mean, yes. It's widely used by penpals to foster inter-cultural understanding. Esperanto is used within countries like China, where local dialects make communication next to impossible. It also fits the ideals of groups like the Bahai faith, who believe that an international language would build brotherhood among all peoples. Finally, research done on learning second languages suggests that students who learn some Esperanto first, pick up another, national language two to five times faster than if they hadn't been primed by learning Esperanto.
There are plenty of opportunities to learn the language, too. One example is Lernu!, a site for learning Esperanto online. Finally, don't forget culture and the arts. Many books have been translated into Esperanto, and some original works have been written as well. Movies? Well, there's a movie named Incubus that was filmed entirely in Esperanto. The star? None other than a very young William Shatner. No kidding. Here's a clip: (here's the link, if you can't get the imbed to work)
OK, his pronunciation isn't great -- a little too French -- but not bad. (The entire movie is available on youtube, by the way.) Of course, Captain Kirk probably speaks a little Klingon as well.
Esperanto. One of my warped interests. Until next time, Gxis la revido!
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