ESPERANTO

 

The Answer to the Diversity of World Languages

 

R. R. MEHROTRA.

Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Simla

 

            It is said languages, unlike poets, are made, not born. Men have long striven to create a universal auxiliary language for the purpose of supra-national communication. In our own time the United Nations is spending more than $ 18,000,000 a year for translation of speeches and documents. This huge sum could very well have been saved if there were a common universal language known to every member. Moreover there are innumerable examples to show that the diversity of tongues has caused a great deal of misunderstanding among nations. There is therefore a great need for a global language in addition to one’s own.

 

            The world is already rich by possession of truly international language of an ideographic type. In the field of music, for instance, Italian ‘Old Notations’ are used and understood by musicians all over the world irrespective of their native languages. Likewise in mathematics the ‘Arabic’ system of numerals is common in all countries. In sports English words are used all over the continent. The same spirit is noticeable behind a good many international codes consisting of letters and figures for the transmission of telegraphic messages.

 

            The status of an international language has been claimed by several European languages from time to time but all of them have been found wanting for one reason or the other. Furthermore, it was feared that if one of the living languages of Europe were now prescribed for the whole continent or the whole world, it would smell of conquest. One speech community would be having the feeling of having won the day, while others would feel subjected to humiliation and injustice. We have already witnessed the hubbub which the policy of Germanization caused in the past.

 

            It was therefore felt necessary to construct an artificial language as a universal means of communication and consequently during the last hundred years we have had several hundred artificial languages out of which only a few are known today. Thus, in 1880 John Martin Schleyer created the first artificial language to be put to use and gave the name Volapuk (Vola-world, puk-speech). Schleyer’s cherished motto was ‘Menade bal puki bal’ (For one humanity one language). But the language died very soon after a brief spell of immense popularity because of Schleyer’s obstinate refusal to admit reforms. He considered Volapuk to be his ‘private property’. C. K. Ogden, the philosopher, devised a system called Basic English consisting of 850 selected words and a minimum grammar, discarding such categories as verbs and nouns and dealing with operations, things and qualities. In spite of its several advantages, Basic English failed to catch the mind of the people because it has all the irregularities possessed by normal English in spelling, grammar and sentence construction. In 1953 Reginald J. G. Dutton, a businessman, produced a language called Speedwords with no grammar and a complete disregard for what we call linguistic habit. This experiment however added a new dimension in this sphere by referring to the possibility of making a language in which one can write at double the ordinary speed. The same year Lancelot Hogben, a scientist, professed that the task of constructing an artificial language should not be left to professional linguists and therefore he constructed Interglass, an 880 word language based on Latin and Greek roots with a syntactical system resembling that of Chinese or Pidgin. Hogben’s attempt in the evolution of an internationally understood scientific and technical language is really commendable, but as a language for ordinary communication this is of no value. One of the latest arrivals in this field is Novial constructed by Jesperson, one of the leading authorities on English grammar in our time. This language suffers on account of its ‘bulky apparatus of derivative suffixes’ for making new words. The best type of inter-language, according to Jesperson is one which in every point offers the greatest facility to the greatest umber. But when he speaks of the greatest number, he refers only to Europeans.

 

The Story of Esperanto

 

            Esperanto alone among all the artificial languages has bravely stood the test of time. To many it is synonymous with the terms ‘artificial language’, ‘inter-language’ or ‘world-auxiliary’. The creator of Esperanto was Dr L. L. Zamenhof (1859-1917) an occultist from Warsaw who in 1887 published the first Esperanto grammar Lingue Internacia do’ la Doktero Esperanto.. Esperanto which means ‘one who hopes’ was the pseudonym under which he wrote. Dr Zamenhof was well conversant with seven different languages and so he was able to frame a very simple grammatical system.

 

What Constitutes Esperanto

 

            It is important to note at the outset how exactly this language is derived. Esperanto uses all the letters of the Roman alphabet except four–Q, W, X, Y. There are 28 letters in the Esperanto alphabet–5 vowels and 23 consonants. The vowels are A, E, I, O, U, corresponding to the same symbols in International Phonetic Alphabet. The 23 consonants are as follows: B, C. (As ts: cent–tsent), C (is ch ias in ‘church’), D, F, G, (as in ‘gay’), G (as in ‘gem’ ), H, H (a guttural sound as in Scots ‘loch’ ), J (is Y as in ‘Yes’), J (is Zh as in ‘pleasure’), K, L, M, N, P, R, S (as in ‘gas’), S ( is sh as in ‘ship’), T, U (corresponding to English W), V, Z. Consonants other than the ones explained in brackets above are pronounced as in English. As stated earlier, Esperanto does not have Q, W, X, Y. Words containing these undergo spelling modification in Esperanto. Thus ‘Quality’ becomes: Kvalite and ‘Extra’ becomes Ekstra. It is also clear from this that a word in Esperanto is pronounced the way it is spelt. Its orthography is phonetic based on the principle of one letter, one sound. The sounds are all clearly distinguishable and the accent always falls on the last but one syllable as in Americo, Rivero.

 

Grammar and Syntax

 

            The Esperanto grammar is marked by simplicity and complete regularity. It has only sixteen short rules which can easily be learnt in a couple of hours by a man of average intelligence. To mention just a few, all nouns end in–O (as in tablo), adjectives in a (as bela domo, a beautiful house), and adverbs in e as in bele, beautifully). There are no genders and only two cases, nominative and accusative. There is no indefinite artic; there is only a definite article La for all sexes, cases and numbers. The verb undergoes no change with regard to person or number. The preposition has a definite and constant meaning; but in case of uncertainty we use the preposition Je.

 

The Vocabulary

 

            Zamenhof took great pains in evolving a system of Esperanto vocabulary. He formulated an ingenious system of prefixes and suffixes whereby by any of the root words (there are some 2600 of them in the fundamental vocabulary approved by the Universala Esperanto Associo) can be turned into nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs as required. To take just one prefix mal which reverses the sense we have granda–big; malgranda–little; grandece–bigness, malgrandece–littleness; grandigi–to enlarge, malgrandigi–to reduce in size.

 

            Esperanto words are not invented arbitrarily but are derived from the important European languages, especially Latin. Some words have striking resemblance with those in English, for example, Distrikto–a district, elefanto–an elephant, birdo–a bird. International words which include most scientific, though not most technical, terms are incorporated in Esperanto without change except that of conforming to its orthography.

 

Comparative Translation

 

            Following is a list, by way of illustrations, of 10 English sentences and their equivalent in Esperanto:

 

                        English                                                                        Esperanto

            1. Who reads?                                                              Kiu legas?

            2. The man reads.                                                         La viro legas.

            3. He does not read.                                                     Li no legas.

            4. I stayed at home.                                                      Mi restis hejme.

 

            5. She sings most beautifully.                                         Si kantas plej bele.

            6. There is a picture on the wall.                                    Estas bildo sur la muro.

            7. I shall write to you on Monday.                                 Mi skribos al vi je lunde.

            8. How do you do?                                                      Kiel vi fartas?

           

            9. He is neither rich nor poor.                                        Li estas nek rica nek malrica.

            10. Everest is the highest mountain                                Everest estas la plej alta

                  in the world.                                                           montoen la mondo.

 

Esperanto Literature

 

            The first Esperanto literature was produced by Dr Zamenhof himself when he translated the Bible and other important works into the language. Among other notable works which have been published in Esperanto translation, mention may be made of most of the plays of Shakespeare; the principal works of Volaitre and Moliere (From French), the five-volumes Japanese Chronicles; The Divine Comedy by Dante; Faust (from German); Kalevala (from Finnish) Homer’s Odyssey (from Greek); the short-stories of Lusin (from Chinese); Blood and Sand (from Spanish); Quo Vadis? (from Polish) ; Eugene Onegin (from Russian): The Last Obstacle (front Vietnamese) and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (from Persian);

 

            The Esperanto creative literature has also been rich, though not as monumental as works in translation. We would like to mention here Units, a collection of Esperanto poems by an English-man Marjorio Boulton; Like River Water, a novel by the French Raymond Schwartz; Dreamingly Under an Apple Tree, a play by Julius Baghy, a Hungarian dramatist. Among technical writings in Esperanto, works worth mentioning are Life of Plants and Finally I Understand Radio which have been translated in no fewer than eighteen national languages. In all, over 50,000 books and lengthy articles are already available in Esperanto.

 

            Moreover, Esperanto has to its credit about hundred periodicals published regularly. Its official monthly is known as Esperanto and its cultural organ is Monda Kulturo. Heroldo de Esperanto is the name of Esperanto newspaper published fortnightly. The journal devoted exclusively to Biblical studies is known as Biblia Revue. Among Esperanto scientific journals the most popular ones are Science Revue and Keio Internacis. There are 85 Japanese scientists who have promised to publish one treatise in Esperanto every year.

 

Esperanto Education

 

            At present Esperanto is being taught in some 600 schools in about 35 countries including Japan, Australia, Britain; Franc Germany, Canada, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, U.S.A., and U.S.S.R. Even China has facilities for learning Esperanto in seven of its towns. In Albania it is a compulsory subject in secondary and higher education. At the university level Esperanto is taught in the Universities of Liverpool, Amsterdam and Peking.

 

            Fort Lauderdale University in Florida is running a full curriculum of Esperanto courses. The University of La Laguna in Spain has recently established an Esperanto Chair. The radio stations which regularly broadcast programmes in Esperanto are Berne, Budapest, Belgrade, Guatemala, Madrid, Peking, Prague, Rome, Rio de Janeiro, Sofia, Vienna and Warsaw!

 

Esperanto in Business

 

            Esperanto has proved a language of great utility for international business organisations. At present there are hundreds of firms using Esperanto in their publicity material and foreign sales departments. Fiat, Phillips, Gevaert, the General Bank of Netherlands, the German Federal Railways and the London Co-operative Society have been profitably using this international language. Among the airlines making use of Esperanto mention may be made of KIM, SAS BEA and SABENA.

 

Recognition to Esperanto

 

            The world has paid tributes to Esperanto in a variety of ways. There are some 300 streets in France, Britain, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Lebanon, Bulgaria and other European countries named either after Esperanto or Dr Zamenhof. About 500 postage stamps commemorating Esperanto events have so far been brought out by the governments of Yugoslavia, Poland, Austria, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and Brazil. Perhaps the brightest feather in the cap of Esperanto was the recognition from UNESCO which as early as 1954 granted consultative status to the World Esperanto Association which has its headquarters in Rotterdam. The Netherlands, UNESCO has made use of Esperanto on several occasions in the past.

 

Esperanto and the Afro-Asian Contexts

 

            There is a great need for an international auxiliary language in Afro-Asian countries which are witnessing huge language traffic jam owing to an unprecedented increase in recent years to international trade and travel. The International Language Institute of Tokyo conducted an opinion poll in 1959 among some 4000 foreign tourists in Japan and Japanese students at the University of Tokyo. Three out of four replied that they favoured a world language. Now, which of the natural and constructed languages should be most suitable for the purpose? If number of users is the primary consideration, then surely Mandarin Chinese has the largest number of speakers but it cannot be considered as an inter-language because of its complicated and difficult pictographic writing. Next comes English. Many including China and French-speaking African countries will not want English to become the auxiliary language. Even in India English, because of its association with the former colonial rule, is not favoured by a certain section of the people. To avoid a deadlock for an indefinite period it would be better to consider the selection of a neutral constructed language for the auxiliary. Without a neutral means of communication, the spirit of regionalism and communalism in the Indian context and of nationalism and racialism at the wider context will grow unchecked. Esperanto goes a long way in meeting this demand. It is particularly favoured by smaller and developing nations whose languages have no international scope or pretensions. Mr. Ali Gerad Jama, Minister of Education of Somalia, put our case in these words, “It is humiliating for small nations to be obliged to learn the languages of the large. Only a neutral language like Esperanto can eliminate that cultural dependency.”

 

Critique of Esperanto

 

            Various objections have been raised against some features of Esperanto. It is said the most glaring defect of the Esperanto vocabulary is that it is not consistently international and is almost wholly devoid of the oriental elements. With its parochial dependence on romance-based languages, it has not shown the desirable concession with regard to vocabulary and grammar to various Asian languages to claim the title of a representative world language. As a reaction to it, quite a few languages, e. g., Zamalo by F. A. Carpentier Alting, Frater by Phan Xuan Thai of Saigon, Zance by a 17-year old high school student were invented, bringing together in the European linguistic matrix arbitrarily chosen items of vocabulary and structure from languages as diversified as Malay, Hindi, Arabic, Japanese, Tamil, Turkish and Chinese. All these attempts, however, met with failure as they tried to graft the oriental notions on the internal structure of occidental languages which is an impossibility. A few scholars are strongly in favour of writing Esperanto in the phonetic syllabaries of Japanese or Sanskrit which are far more capable of describing the actual sounds of any language than is the Roman alphabet. Some other criticisms are concerned with the use of ‘supersigned’ letters and the agreement of adjective and noun. There have also been some bitter disputes between orthodox Esperantitis and reformist groups which subsequently led to the construction of rival projects, Ida by Louis de Beaufront and after that, Esperantido by Rene de Saussure. Graham Greene in the character of Dr Bellows and his language Enternatino in The Confidential Agent gave us a famous caricature of Zamenhof and Esperanto clubs, exaggerating trends latent in the movement.

 

            In spite of these caricatures, criticims and objections, Esperanto has stood the test of time and is worthy of very serious consideration for the role of international auxiliary language. It has been tried and tested in both spoken and written, forms, and found satisfactory, both for the simple needs of everyday life and the more exacting one of technical discussion; and it alone, of all constructed languages can boast of a good speaking population, which, according to an Esperantoist, has been estimated in the approximation of 15,000,000. Esperanto’s neutrality in the political sense is evident from the fact that it is just as widely studied and spoken in Communist countries (U.S.S.R., Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary and China) as in the countries of the Western world; thus making itself acceptable to the East and to the West. Esperanto is thus a befitting answer to the diversity of world languages.

 

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