Another weblog

15 December 2009

Today is the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of the birth of L. L. Zamenhof.

Zamenhof is known as the ‘initiator’ of the constructed language Esperanto; after working on it extensively, he presented its basic grammar and vocabulary in 1887. He is known as the ‘initiator’ because although he laid the foundation for the language, he did not invent the language in its entirety. No language can be described completely; the language we now call ‘Esperanto’ developed over the past century of constant use, based on the principles that Zamenhof laid out.

The name ‘Esperanto’ was not originally applied to the language; it derives from the pseudonym he used in his book, meaning ‘one who hopes’. Zamenhof hoped that his language would prove suitable for communication across linguistic barriers. He wrote in a letter:

The place where I was born and spent my childhood gave direction to all my future struggles. In Bialystok the inhabitants were divided into four distinct elements: Russians, Poles, Germans and Jews; each of these spoke their own language and looked on all the others as enemies. In such a town a sensitive nature feels more acutely than elsewhere the misery caused by language division and sees at every step that the diversity of languages is the first, or at least the most influential, basis for the separation of the human family into groups of enemies. I was brought up as an idealist; I was taught that all people were brothers, while outside in the street at every step I felt that there were no people, only Russians, Poles, Germans, Jews and so on. This was always a great torment to my infant mind, although many people may smile at such an ‘anguish for the world’ in a child. At that time I thought that grown-ups were omnipotent, so I often said to myself that when I grew up I would certainly destroy this evil.

When he was very young, Zamenhof entertained the idea that Latin should regain its status as international language; but after he began to study Latin, he realized that its complicated grammar, as well as its lack of vocabulary and logical word formation, would make it unsuitable for this purpose. (The last known native speaker of Latin, known by his latinized name of Arcadius Avellanus, died in 1935. There is an article about him in the Latin Wikipedia.)

Esperanto was, and is, not intended to replace English or other natural languages: it is meant as a universal second language, a standard language for international communication. In fact, if anything, it is meant to preserve minority languages by making it unnecessary for people to give up their own languages in exchange for the advantages gained by learning a major world language such as French, English or Mandarin instead. In addition, it would be necessary to learn only one language—and a flexible and intuitive language at that—rather than any number of foreign languages.

Last year, just after I began learning Esperanto, I saw a video of Claude Piron, a French-born psychologist and interpreter. In his talk, he explained why the language is especially suited to international communication. Below is the video (and I do recommend you watch the entire clip):

I agree with most of what Piron says. Learning Esperanto takes a fraction of the time it takes to learn a natural language. This has several reasons, none of which has anything to do its being a stripped-down language, since it isn’t. It has everything to do with its logic and flexibility.

Since the language has a logical, regular grammar structure and a predictable, robust system of word formation, one can rely on one’s instinct when speaking the language, producing early mastery of the language. See the example of word formation below:

bona ‘good’; malbona ‘bad’
bono ‘good’; malbono ‘evil’ (both nouns)
bone ‘well’; malbone ‘poorly’
bonulo ‘a good person’; malbonulo ‘an evil person’
boneco ‘goodness’; malboneco ‘wickedness’
boni ‘to be good’; malboni ‘to be not so pleasant’
boniĝi ‘to improve’; malboniĝi ‘to get worse’
bonigi ‘to make better’; malbonigi ‘to spoil’

This method can be applied to all words, producing a precise and concise method of communicating spontaneously—and often expressively. In fact, one can use forms on-the-fly that would be very difficult, if possible at all, to state in English. When I started learning the language a year ago, I felt that it probably wasn’t such a great language for literature, even if it was suited to international communication; but I am seeing more and more how beautifully special it is. La Sankta Biblio (the Holy Bible in Esperanto), though not exactly the best translation idiomatically, is both more literal and more readable than any formal-equivalence English translation I know of, including the NASB. Actually, the fact that it isn’t an idiomatic translation doesn’t bother me as much as one might think. Even though a calque such as ‘there is good news in his mouth’ (2 Samuel 18:25 NASB) strikes my ear as wrong, the Esperanto (bona sciigo estas en lia buŝo), though just as literal, sounds better to me. That’s must be partly because Esperanto is not picky on idioms—if an expression makes sense, it is considered idiomatic. After all, there were originally no native speakers to declare a mode of speaking unidiomatic.

Of course, now there are denaskuloj—native speakers of Esperanto. Around two thousand out of the million or so who can use the language actively are native speakers. Here’s a little video of one of them, taken in 2008:

Is Esperanto really a practical solution to the language problem? As the subtitle of Piron’s video indicates, it is not only a practical solution, but the most practical solution—the only one that ‘faces up to reality’. It might not be put into practice in the near future, but it would be the easiest to put into practice. In any case, there will probably always be a large international community of speakers who use the language for their own benefit and enjoyment.

In the tradition of buying a book on Zamenhof Day, I think I’ll get a copy of La Sankta Biblio for myself. Maybe one of you should start learning the language in Zamenhof’s honour?

Or you can simply read some of Claude Piron’s well-thought-out writings (you’ll need to scroll down to the ‘English’ section).

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