Esperanto {{this|the language}} {{Infobox Language |name=Esperanto |caption=Flag |image=[[Image:Flag of Esperanto.svg|120px|center|Esperanto]] |creator=[[L. L. Zamenhof]] |date=1887 |setting=[[International auxiliary language]] |speakers=[[Native Esperanto speakers|Native]]: 200 to 2000 (1996, est.);[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=epo Ethnologue report for language code:epo]
Fluent speakers: est. 100,000 to 2 million |fam2=[[International auxiliary language]] |posteriori=Vocabulary from [[Romance languages|Romance]] and [[Germanic languages]]; phonology from [[Slavic languages]] |agency=[[Akademio de Esperanto]] |iso1=eo|iso2=epo|iso3=epo}} {{Audio|Esperanto.ogg|'''Esperanto'''}} is by far the most widely spoken [[constructed language|constructed]] [[international auxiliary language]] in the world.{{cite book |last=Byram |first=Michael |authorlink= |coauthors= |editor= |others= |title=Routledge Encyclopedia of Language Teaching and Learning |origdate= |origyear= |origmonth= |url= |format= |accessdate= |accessyear= |accessmonth= |edition= |series= |date= |year=2001 |month= |publisher=Routledge |location= |language= |isbn=0-4153-3286-9 |oclc= |doi= |id= |pages=p. 464 |chapter= |chapterurl= |quote= }} Its name derives from ''Doktoro Esperanto,'' the [[pseudonym]] under which [[L. L. Zamenhof]] published the first book detailing Esperanto, the ''[[Unua Libro]],'' in 1887. The word ''esperanto'' means 'one who hopes' in the language itself. Zamenhof's goal was to create an easy and flexible language that would serve as a universal [[second language]] to foster peace and international understanding. Esperanto has had continuous usage by a community estimated at between 100,000 and 2 million speakers for over a century. By most estimates, there are approximately one thousand [[Native Esperanto speakers|native speakers]].{{cite paper | author = Jouko Lindstedt | title = Native Esperanto as a Test Case for Natural Language | version = | publisher = University of Helsinki - Department of Slavonic and Baltic Languages and Literatures | date = January 2006 | url = http://www.ling.helsinki.fi/sky/julkaisut/SKY2006_1/1FK60.1.5.LINDSTEDT.pdf | format = PDF | accessdate = }} However, no country has adopted the language [[official language|officially]]. Today, Esperanto is employed in world travel, correspondence, cultural exchange, conventions, literature, language instruction, television,[[Internacia Televido]] and radio broadcasting.In 2007 [[Polskie Radio]] made its last radio broadcast, moving programming to the internet. However, other nations such as China and the Vatican continue radio broadcasts.[http://esperanto-panorama.net/angla/radio.htm] Also, there is an [[Esperanto Wikipedia]] that contains over 100,000 articles as of June 2008. There is evidence that [[Propaedeutic value of Esperanto|learning Esperanto may provide a good foundation for learning languages in general]]. Some state education systems offer basic instruction and elective courses in Esperanto. Esperanto is also the language of instruction in one university, the [[Akademio Internacia de la Sciencoj San Marino|Akademio Internacia de la Sciencoj]] in [[San Marino]]. == History == {{Main|History of Esperanto}} [[Image:Unua Libro.jpg|thumb|right|The first Esperanto book by L. L. Zamenhof]] Esperanto was developed in the late 1870s and early 1880s by [[ophthalmology|ophthalmologist]] [[L. L. Zamenhof|Dr. Ludovic Lazarus Zamenhof]], an [[Ashkenazi Jew]] from [[Bialystok]], now in [[Poland]] and previously in the [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]], but at the time part of the [[Russian Empire]]. After some ten years of development, which Zamenhof spent translating literature into the language as well as writing original [[prose]] and [[Poetry|verse]], the [[Unua Libro|first book of Esperanto grammar]] was published in [[Warsaw]] in July 1887. The number of speakers grew rapidly over the next few decades, at first primarily in the [[Russian empire]] and [[Eastern Europe]], then in [[Western Europe]], the [[Americas]], [[China]], and [[Japan]]. In the early years, speakers of Esperanto kept in contact primarily through correspondence and [[magazine|periodicals]], but in 1905 the first [[World Congress of Esperanto|world congress of Esperanto speakers]] was held in [[Boulogne-sur-Mer]], [[France]]. Since then world congresses have been held in different countries every year, except during the two [[world war|World Wars]]. Since the Second World War, they have been attended by an average of over 2000 and up to 6000 people. ===Relation to 20th-century totalitarianism=== As a potential vehicle for international understanding, Esperanto attracted the suspicion of many [[totalitarian]] states. The situation was especially pronounced in [[Nazi Germany]] and in the [[Soviet Union]] under [[Joseph Stalin]]. In Germany, there was additional motivation to persecute Esperanto because Zamenhof was a Jew. In his work ''[[Mein Kampf]],'' [[Hitler]] mentioned Esperanto as an example of a language that would be used by an [[International Jewry|International]] [[Jewish conspiracy|Jewish Conspiracy]] once they achieved [[world domination]].{{cite web | url=http://www.hitler.org/writings/Mein_Kampf/mkv1ch11.html | author=Adolf Hitler | title=Mein Kampf | work=Volume 1, Chapter XI | date=1924 | accessdate=2007-05-22 }} [[Esperantist]]s were executed during [[the Holocaust]], with Zamenhof's family in particular singled out for execution. [http://www.his.com/~wormsong/esw/esw6.html About ESW and the Holocaust Museum] In the early years of the Soviet Union, Esperanto was given a measure of government support, and an officially recognized Soviet Esperanto Association came into being. [http://donh.best.vwh.net/Esperanto/EBook/chap07.html Donald J. Harlow, The Esperanto Book, chapter 7] However, in 1937, Stalin reversed this policy. He denounced Esperanto as "the language of spies" and had Esperantists executed. The use of Esperanto remained illegal until 1956. ==Official use== Esperanto has never been an official language of any recognized country. However, there were plans at the beginning of the 20th century to establish [[Moresnet|Neutral Moresnet]] as the world's first Esperanto state. In China, there was talk in some circles after the 1911 [[Xinhai Revolution]] about officially replacing [[Chinese language|Chinese]] with Esperanto as a means to dramatically bring the country into the twentieth century, though this policy proved untenable. In the summer of 1924, the [[American Radio Relay League]] adopted Esperanto as its official [[international auxiliary language]], and hoped that the language would be used by [[Amateur radio|radio amateurs]] in international communications, but its actual use for radio communications was negligible. In addition, the self-proclaimed [[artificial island]] [[micronation]] of [[Republic of Rose Island|Rose Island]] used Esperanto as its official language in 1968. Esperanto is the working language of several [[non-profit organization|non-profit]] international organizations such as the ''[[Sennacieca Asocio Tutmonda]]'', but most others are specifically Esperanto organizations. The largest of these, the [[World Esperanto Association]], has an official consultative relationship with the [[United Nations]] and [[UNESCO]]. The U.S. Army has published military phrasebooks in Esperanto,[http://www.kafejo.com/lingvoj/auxlangs/eo/maneuver/ ''The Maneuver Enemy'' website] to be used in [[Military simulation|wargames]] by mock enemy forces. Esperanto is also the first language of teaching and administration of the [[Akademio Internacia de la Sciencoj San Marino|International Academy of Sciences San Marino]], which is sometimes called an "Esperanto University". == Linguistic properties == === Classification === As a [[constructed language]], Esperanto is not [[Genealogy|genealogically]] related to any [[ethnic group|ethnic]] language. It has been described as "a language [[lexicon|lexically]] predominantly [[Romance languages|Romanic]], [[morphology (linguistics)|morphologically]] intensively [[agglutination|agglutinative]] and to a certain degree [[isolating languages|isolating]] in character".{{cite book |last= Blank |first= Detlev |coauthors= |title= Internationale Plansprachen. Eine Einführung ("International Planned Languages. An Introduction") |publisher= Akademie-Verlag |date= 1985 |month= |id= ISSN 0138-55 X }} The [[phonology]], [[grammar]], [[vocabulary]], and [[semantics]] are based on the western [[Indo-European languages]]. The [[phoneme|phonemic inventory]] is essentially [[Slavic languages|Slavic]], as is much of the semantics, while the [[vocabulary]] derives primarily from the [[Romance languages]], with a lesser contribution from the [[Germanic languages]]. [[Pragmatics]] and other aspects of the language not specified by Zamenhof's original documents were influenced by the native languages of early speakers, primarily [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Polish language|Polish]], [[German language|German]], and [[French language|French]]. [[Linguistic typology|Typologically]], Esperanto has [[preposition]]s and a [[information flow|pragmatic word order]] that by default is ''[[Subject Verb Object]]'' and ''[[Word order|Adjective Noun]]''. New words are formed through extensive [[prefix (linguistics)|prefix]]ing and [[suffix]]ing. === Writing system === {{Main|Esperanto orthography}} Esperanto is written with a modified version of the [[Latin alphabet]], including six [[Letter (alphabet)|letters]] with [[diacritic]]s: [[c-circumflex|ĉ]], [[g-circumflex|ĝ]], [[h-circumflex|ĥ]], [[j-circumflex|ĵ]], [[s-circumflex|ŝ]] and [[u-breve|ŭ]] (that is, ''c, g, h, j, s'' [[circumflex]], and ''u'' [[breve]]). The alphabet does not include the letters ''q, w, x,'' or ''y'' except in unassimilated foreign names. The 28-letter alphabet is:
'''a b c ĉ d e f g ĝ h ĥ i j ĵ k l m n o p r s ŝ t u ŭ v z'''
 All letters are pronounced approximately as in the [[IPA]], with the exception of ''c'' and the accented letters: {| class="wikitable" style="margin: 0 auto; text-align:center;" ! Letter ! c ! ĉ ! ĝ ! ĥ ! ĵ ! ŝ ! ŭ |- ! [[help:IPA|Pronunciation]] | {{IPA|[ts]}} | {{IPA|[tʃ]}} | {{IPA|[dʒ]}} | {{IPA|[x]}} | {{IPA|[ʒ]}} | {{IPA|[ʃ]}} | {{IPA|[u̯]}}
(as ''aŭ, eŭ'') |} Two [[ASCII]]-compatible writing conventions are in use. These substitute [[Digraph (orthography)|digraph]]s for the accented letters. The original "h-convention" (''ch, gh, hh, jh, sh, u'') is based on English 'ch' and 'sh', while a more recent "[[x-convention]]" (''cx, gx, hx, jx, sx, ux'') is useful for alphabetic word sorting on a [[computer]] (''cx'' comes correctly after ''cu'', ''sx'' after ''sv'', etc.) as well as for simple conversion back into the standard [[orthography]]. Another scheme represents the superscripted letters by a [[caret]] (^), as for example: c^ or ^c. === Phonology === {{Main|Esperanto phonology}} :''(For help with the phonetic symbols, see [[Help:IPA]])'' Esperanto has 22 [[consonant]]s, 5 [[vowel]]s, and two [[semivowel]]s, which combine with the vowels to form 6 [[diphthong]]s. (The consonant {{IPA|/j/}} and semivowel {{IPA|/i̯/}} are both written .) [[tone (linguistics)|Tone]] is not used to distinguish meanings of words. [[Stress (linguistics)|Stress]] is always on the penultimate vowel, unless a final vowel ''o'' is [[Elision|elided]], a practice which occurs mostly in [[poetry]]. For example, ''familio'' "family" is stressed {{IPA2|fa.mi.ˈli.o}}, but when found without the final o, ''famili’,'' the stress does not shift: {{IPA|[fa.mi.ˈli]}}. ==== Consonants ==== The 22 consonants are: {| class="wikitable" style="margin: 0 auto;" |- ! ! colspan="2" | [[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]] ! colspan="2" | [[Labiodental consonant|Labio-
dental]] ! colspan="2" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]] ! colspan="2" | [[Postalveolar consonant|Post-
alveolar]] ! colspan="2" | [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]] ! colspan="2" | [[Velar consonant|Velar]] ! colspan="2" | [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]] |- align="center" ! align="left" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]] | colspan="2" |{{IPA|m}} | colspan="2" |   | colspan="2" |{{IPA|n}} | colspan="2" |   | colspan="2" |   | colspan="2" |   | colspan="2" |   |- align="center" ! align="left" | [[Plosive consonant|Plosive]] | {{IPA|p}} || {{IPA|b}} | colspan="2" |   | {{IPA|t}} || {{IPA|d}} | colspan="2" |   | colspan="2" |   | {{IPA|k}} || {{IPA|g}} | colspan="2" |   |- align="center" ! align="left" | [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]] | colspan="2" |   | colspan="2" |   | {{IPA|ts}} ||   | {{IPA|tʃ}} || {{IPA|dʒ}} | colspan="2" |   | colspan="2" |   | colspan="2" |   |- align="center" ! align="left" | [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]] | colspan="2" |   | {{IPA|f}} || {{IPA|v}} | {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|z}} | {{IPA|ʃ}} || {{IPA|ʒ}} | colspan="2" |   | {{IPA|x}} ||   | {{IPA|h}} ||   |- align="center" ! align="left" | [[Trill consonant|Trill]] | colspan="2" |   | colspan="2" |   | colspan="2" | {{IPA|r}} | colspan="2" |   | colspan="2" |   | colspan="2" |   | colspan="2" |   |-align="center" ! align="left" | [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]] | colspan="2" |   | colspan="2" |   | colspan="2" |{{IPA|l}} | colspan="2" |   | colspan="2" |{{IPA|j}} | colspan="2" |   | colspan="2" |   |} The sound {{IPA|/r/}} is usually [[alveolar trill|rolled]], but may be [[alveolar flap|tapped]] {{IPA|[ɾ]}}. The {{IPA|/v/}} has a normative pronunciation like an [[English language|English]] ''v,'' but is sometimes somewhere between a ''v'' and a ''w,'' {{IPA|[ʋ]}}, depending on the language background of the speaker. A semivowel {{IPA|/u̯/}} normally occurs only in [[diphthong]]s after the vowels {{IPA|/a/}} and {{IPA|/e/}}, not as a consonant {{IPA|*/w/}}. Common, if debated, [[assimilation (linguistics)|assimilation]] includes the pronunciation of {{IPA|/nk/}} as {{IPA|[ŋk]}}, as in English ''sink,'' and {{IPA|/kz/}} as {{IPA|[gz]}}, like the ''x'' in English ''example''. A large number of consonant clusters can occur, up to three in initial position and four in medial position, as in ''instrui'' "to teach". Final clusters are uncommon except in foreign names, poetic elision of final ''o,'' and a very few basic words such as ''cent'' "hundred" and ''post'' "after". ====Vowels==== Esperanto has the five [[cardinal vowels]] of [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Swahili language|Swahili]], and [[Modern Greek]]. {| class="wikitable" style="margin: 0 auto; text-align:center;" ! ! | [[Front vowel|Front]] ! | [[Back vowel|Back]] |- ! style="text-align: right;" | [[Close vowel|Close]] | {{IPA|i}} | {{IPA|u}} |- ! style="text-align: right;" | [[Mid vowel|Mid]] | {{IPA|e}} | {{IPA|o}} |- ! style="text-align: right;" | [[Open vowel|Open]] | colspan=2 | {{IPA|a}} |} There are six falling diphthongs: ''uj, oj, ej, aj, aŭ, eŭ'' ({{IPA|/ui̯, oi̯, ei̯, ai̯, au̯, eu̯/}}). With only five vowels, a good deal of variation is tolerated. For instance, {{IPA|/e/}} commonly ranges from {{IPA|[e]}} (French ''é'') to {{IPA|[ɛ]}} (French ''è''). The details often depend on the speaker's native language. A [[glottal stop]] may occur between adjacent vowels in some people's speech, especially when the two vowels are the same, as in ''heroo'' "hero" ({{IPA|[he.ˈro.o]}} or {{IPA|[he.ˈro.ʔo]}}) and ''praavo'' "great-grandfather" ({{IPA|[pra.ˈa.vo]}} or {{IPA|[pra.ˈʔa.vo]}}). === Grammar === {{Main|Esperanto grammar}} Esperanto words are [[Derivation (linguistics)|derived]] by stringing together [[prefix (linguistics)|prefix]]es, [[Root (linguistics)|roots]], and [[suffix]]es. This process is regular, so that people can create new words as they speak and be understood. [[Compound (linguistics)|Compound]] words are formed with a modifier-first, [[head (linguistics)|head-final]] order, the same order as English "birdsong" ''vs.'' "songbird". The different [[Part of speech|parts of speech]] are marked by their own suffixes: all [[common noun]]s end in ''-o,'' all [[adjective]]s in ''-a,'' all derived adverbs in ''-e,'' and all [[verb]]s in one of six [[Grammatical tense|tense]] and [[Grammatical mood|mood]] suffixes, such as [[present tense]] ''-as.'' [[Grammatical number|Plural]] nouns end in ''-oj'' (pronounced "oy"), whereas [[direct object]]s end in ''-on.'' Plural direct objects end with the combination ''-ojn'' (pronounced to rhyme with "coin"): That is, ''-o'' for a noun, plus ''-j'' for plural, plus ''-n'' for direct object. Adjectives [[Grammatical number#Effect of number on verbs and other parts of speech|agree]] with their nouns; their endings are plural ''-aj'' (pronounced "eye"), direct-object ''-an,'' and plural direct-object ''-ajn'' (pronounced to rhyme with "fine"). {| style="margin: 0 auto;" |- | {| class="wikitable" style="margin: 0 auto;" ! [[Noun]] ! Subject ! Object |- ! Singular | -'''o''' | -'''on''' |- ! Plural | -'''oj''' | -'''ojn''' |} | {| class="wikitable" style="margin: 0 auto;" ! [[Adjective]] ! Subject ! Object |- ! Singular | -'''a''' | -'''an''' |- ! Plural | -'''aj''' | -'''ajn''' |} |} The suffix ''-n'' is used to indicate the goal of movement and a few other things, in addition to the direct object. See [[Esperanto grammar]] for details. The six verb [[inflection]]s consist of three tenses and three moods. They are [[present tense]] ''-as,'' [[future tense]] ''-os,'' [[past tense]] ''-is,'' [[infinitive|infinitive mood]] ''-i,'' [[conditional mood]] ''-us,'' and [[jussive mood]] ''-u'' (used for wishes and commands). Verbs are not marked for person or number. For instance: ''kanti'' "to sing"; ''mi kantas'' "I sing"; ''mi kantis'' "I sang"; ''mi kantos'' "I will sing"; ''li kantas'' "he sings"; ''vi kantas'' "you sing". {| style="margin: 0 auto;" |- | {| class="wikitable" style="margin: 0 auto;" ! Verbal Tense ! Suffix |- ! [[Present tense|Present]] | '''-as''' (kantas) |- ! [[Past tense|Past]] | '''-is''' (kantis) |- ! [[Future tense|Future]] | '''-os''' (kantos) |} | {| class="wikitable" style="margin: 0 auto;" ! Verbal Mood ! Suffix |- ! [[Infinitive]] | '''-i''' (kanti) |- ! [[Jussive mood|Jussive]] | '''-u''' (kantu) |- ! [[Conditional mood|Conditional]] | '''-us''' (kantus) |} |} Word order is comparatively free: Adjectives may precede or follow nouns, and subjects, verbs and objects (marked by the suffix ''-n)'' may occur in any order. However, the [[article (grammar)|article]] ''la'' "the" and [[demonstrative]]s such as ''tiu'' "this, that" almost always come before the noun, and a [[preposition]] such as ''ĉe'' "at" ''must'' come before it. Similarly, the negative ''ne'' "not" and [[conjunction]]s such as ''kaj'' "both, and" and ''ke'' "that" must precede the [[phrase]] or [[clause]] they introduce. In [[copula]]r (A = B) clauses, word order is just as important as it is in English clauses like "people are dogs" ''vs.'' "dogs are people". ====Correlatives==== {{Main|Table of correlatives (Esperanto)}} A [[correlative]] is a word used to ask or answer a question of who, where, what, when, or how. Correlatives in Esperanto are set out in a systematic manner that correlates a basic [[idea]] (quantity, manner, time, ''etc.'') to a function (questioning, indicating, negating, ''etc.'') {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | colspan="2" rowspan="2" | '''[[Table of correlatives (Esperanto)|Table of
Correlatives]]''' ![[Interrogative word|Question]]
(Which) ![[Demonstrative|Indication]]
(This, that) !Indefinite
(Some) !Universal
(Each, every) !Negative
(No) |- !ki– !ti– !i– !ĉi– !neni– |- ! style="text-align:left"|Thing !–o |''kio''
(what) |''tio''
(this, that) |''io''
(something) |''ĉio''
(everything) |''nenio''
(nothing) |- !style="text-align:left"|Individual !–u |''kiu''
(who, which one; which [horse]) |''tiu''
(that one; that [horse]) |''iu''
(someone; some [horse]) |''ĉiu''
(everyone; each [horse], all [horses]) |''neniu''
(no one; no [horse]) |- !style="text-align:left"|Association !–es |''kies''
(whose) |''ties''
(that one's) |''ies''
(someone's) |''ĉies''
(everyone's) |''nenies''
(no one's) |- !style="text-align:left"|Quality !–a |''kia''
(what a) |''tia''
(such a) |''ia''
(some sort of) |''ĉia''
(every kind of) |''nenia''
(no kind of) |- !style="text-align:left"|Place !–e |''kie''
(where) |''tie''
(there) |''ie''
(somewhere) |''ĉie''
(everywhere) |''nenie''
(nowhere) |- !style="text-align:left"|Manner !–el |''kiel''
(how, as) |''tiel''
(thus, as) |''iel''
(somehow) |''ĉiel''
(in every way) |''neniel''
(no-how, in no way) |- !style="text-align:left"|Reason !–al |''kial''
(why) |''tial''
(therefore) |''ial''
(for some reason) |''ĉial''
(for all reasons) |''nenial''
(for no reason) |- !style="text-align:left"|Time !–am |''kiam''
(when) |''tiam''
(then) |''iam''
(sometime) |''ĉiam''
(always) |''neniam''
(never) |- !style="text-align:left"|Amount !–om |''kiom''
(how much) |''tiom''
(that much) |''iom''
(some, a bit) |''ĉiom''
(all of it) |''neniom''
(none) |} Examples: *''Kio estas tio?'' "What is this?" *''Kioma estas la horo?'' "What time is it?" Note ''kioma'' rather than ''Kiu estas la horo?'' "which is the hour?", when asking for the ranking order of the hour on the clock. *''Io falis el la ŝranko'' "Something fell out of the cupboard." *''Homoj tiaj kiel mi ne konadas timon.'' "Men such as me know no fear." Correlatives are declined if the case demands it: *''Vi devas elekti ian vorton pli simpla'' "You should choose a (some kind of) simpler word." ''Ia'' receives ''-n'' because it's part of the [[direct object]]. *''Kian libron vi volas?'' "What sort of book do you want?" Contrast this with, ''Kiun libron vi volas?'' "Which book do you want?" === Vocabulary === {{Main|Esperanto vocabulary}} The core vocabulary of Esperanto was defined by ''Lingvo internacia'', published by Zamenhof in 1887. It comprised 900 roots, which could be expanded into tens of thousands of words with prefixes, suffixes, and compounding. In 1894, Zamenhof published the first Esperanto [[dictionary]], ''Universala Vortaro'', with a larger set of roots. However, the rules of the language allowed speakers to borrow new roots as needed, recommending only that they look for the most international forms, and then derive related meanings from these. Since then, many words have been borrowed, primarily but not solely from the Western European languages. Not all proposed borrowings catch on, but many do, especially [[technical terminology|technical]] and [[science|scientific]] terms. Terms for everyday use, on the other hand, are more likely to be derived from existing roots—for example ''komputilo'' (a computer) from ''komputi'' (to compute) plus the suffix ''-ilo'' (tool)—or to be covered by extending the meanings of existing words (for example ''muso'' (a mouse), as in English, now also means a computer input device). There are frequent debates among Esperanto speakers about whether a particular borrowing is justified or whether the need can be met by deriving from or extending the meaning of existing words. In addition to the root words and the rules for combining them, a learner of Esperanto must memorize some idiomatic compounds that are not entirely straightforward. For example, ''eldoni'', literally "to give out", is used for "to publish" (a [[calque]] of words in several European languages with the same derivation), and ''vortaro'', literally "a collection of words", means "a glossary" or "a dictionary". Such forms are modeled after usage in some European languages, and speakers of other languages may find them illogical. Fossilized derivations inherited from Esperanto's source languages may be similarly obscure, such as the opaque connection the root word ''centralo'' "power station" has with ''centro'' "center". Compounds with ''-um-'' are overtly arbitrary, and must be learned individually, as ''-um-'' has no defined meaning. It turns ''dekstren'' "to the right" into ''dekstrumen'' "clockwise", and ''komuna'' "common/shared" into ''komunumo'' "community", for example. Nevertheless, there are not nearly as many idiomatic or [[slang]] words in Esperanto as in ethnic languages, as these tend to make international communication difficult, working against Esperanto's main goal. ===Useful phrases=== Here are some useful Esperanto phrases, with [[help:IPA|IPA]] transcriptions: * Hello: ''Saluton'' {{IPA|/sa.ˈlu.ton/}} * What is your name?: ''Kiel vi nomiĝas?'' {{IPA|/ˈki.el vi no.ˈmi.ʤas/}} * My name is...: ''Mi nomiĝas...'' {{IPA|/mi no.ˈmi.ʤas/}} * How much (is it/are they)?: ''Kiom (estas)?'' {{IPA|/ˈki.om ˈes.tas/}} * Here you are: ''Jen'' {{IPA|/jen/}} * Do you speak Esperanto?: ''Ĉu vi parolas Esperanton?'' {{IPA|/ˈʧu vi pa.ˈro.las es.pe.ˈran.ton/}} * I do not understand you: ''Mi ne komprenas vin'' {{IPA|/mi ˈne kom.ˈpre.nas vin/}} * I like ''this'' one: ''Ĉi tiu plaĉas al mi'' {{IPA|/ʧi ˈti.u ˈpla.ʧas al ˈmi/}} or ''Mi ŝatas tiun ĉi'' {{IPA|/mi ˈʃa.tas ˈti.un ˈʧi/}} * Thank you: ''Dankon'' {{IPA|/ˈdan.kon/}} * You're welcome: ''Ne dankinde'' {{IPA|/ˈne dan.ˈkin.de/}} * Please: ''Bonvolu'' {{IPA|/bon.ˈvo.lu/}} or ''mi petas'' {{IPA|/mi ˈpe.tas/}} * Here's to your health: ''Je via sano'' {{IPA|/je ˈvi.a ˈsa.no/}} * Bless you!/Gesundheit!: ''Sanon!'' {{IPA|/ˈsa.non/}} * Congratulations!: ''Gratulon!'' {{IPA|/ɡra.ˈtu.lon/}} * Okay: ''Bone'' {{IPA|/ˈbo.ne/}} or ''Ĝuste'' {{IPA|/ˈʤus.te/}} * Yes: ''Jes'' {{IPA|/ˈjes/}} * No: ''Ne'' {{IPA|/ˈne/}} * It is a nice day: ''Estas bela tago'' {{IPA|/ˈes.tas ˈbe.la ˈta.ɡo/}} * I love you: ''Mi amas vin'' {{IPA|/mi ˈa.mas vin/}} * Goodbye: ''Ĝis (la) (revido)'' {{IPA|/ʤis la re.ˈvi.do/}} * One beer, please: ''Unu bieron, mi petas.'' {{IPA|/ˈu.nu bi.ˈe.ron, mi ˈpe.tas/}} * What is that?: ''Kio estas tio?'' {{IPA|/ˈki.o ˈes.tas ˈti.o/}} * That is...: ''Tio estas...'' {{IPA|/ˈti.o ˈes.tas/}} * How are you?: ''Kiel vi (fartas)?'' {{IPA|/ˈki.el vi ˈfar.tas/}} * Good morning!: ''Bonan matenon!'' {{IPA|/ˈbo.nan ma.ˈte.non/}} * Good evening!: ''Bonan vesperon!'' {{IPA|/ˈbo.nan ves.ˈpe.ron/}} * Good night!: ''Bonan nokton!'' {{IPA|/ˈbo.nan ˈnok.ton/}} * Peace!: ''Pacon!'' {{IPA|/ˈpa.tson/}} === Sample text === The following short extract gives an idea of the character of Esperanto. Maire Mullarney ''Everyone's Own Language'', p147, Nitobe Press, Channel Islands, 1999 (Pronunciation is covered above. The main point for English speakers to remember is that the letter 'J' has the sound of the letter 'Y' in English) * Esperanto text :''En multaj lokoj de Ĉinio estis temploj de drako-reĝo. Dum trosekeco oni preĝis en la temploj, ke la drako-reĝo donu pluvon al la homa mondo. Tiam drako estis simbolo de la supernatura estaĵo. Kaj pli poste, ĝi fariĝis prapatro de la plej altaj regantoj kaj simbolis la absolutan aŭtoritaton de feŭda imperiestro. La imperiestro pretendis, ke li estas filo de la drako. Ĉiuj liaj vivbezonaĵoj portis la nomon drako kaj estis ornamitaj per diversaj drakofiguroj. Nun ĉie en Ĉinio videblas drako-ornamentaĵoj kaj cirkulas legendoj pri drakoj.'' *English Translation: :In many places in China there were temples of the dragon king. During times of drought, people prayed in the temples, that the dragon king would give rain to the human world. At that time the dragon was a symbol of the supernatural. Later on, it became the ancestor of the highest rulers and symbolised the absolute authority of the feudal emperor. The emperor claimed to be the son of the dragon. All of his personal possessions carried the name ''dragon'' and were decorated with various dragon figures. Now everywhere in China dragon decorations can be seen and there circulate legends about dragons. == Education == The majority of Esperanto speakers learn the language through self-directed study, online tutorials, and correspondence courses taught by volunteers. In more recent years, teaching websites like ''[[lernu!]]'' have become popular. Esperanto instruction is occasionally available at schools, such as a [[Esperanto#Esperanto and language acquisition|pilot project involving four primary schools]] under the supervision of the [[University of Manchester]], and by one count at 69 universities.http://uea.org/agadoj/instruado/pirlot.html However, outside of [[China]] and [[Hungary]], these mostly involve informal arrangements rather than dedicated departments or state sponsorship. [[Eötvös Loránd University]] in Budapest had a department of Interlinguistics and Esperanto from 1966 to 2004, after which time instruction moved to vocational colleges; there are state examinations for Esperanto instructors.http://www.geocities.com/bujdosoivan/tarte.htmhttp://www.geocities.com/bujdosoivan/okt.htm#3 Various educators have estimated that Esperanto can be learned in anywhere from one quarter to one twentieth the amount of time required for other languages. http://esperanto-usa.org/?q=node/77 Some argue, however, that this is only true for native speakers of Western European languages. http://www.rickharrison.com/language/bloated.html [[Claude Piron]], a psychologist formerly at the [[University of Geneva]] and Chinese-English-Russian-Spanish translator for the United Nations, argued that Esperanto is far more "brain friendly" than many ethnic languages. "Esperanto relies entirely on innate reflexes [and] differs from all other languages in that you can always trust your natural tendency to generalize patterns. [...] The same [[neuropsychology|neuropsychological]] law [— called by] [[Jean Piaget]] ''generalizing assimilation'' — applies to word formation as well as to grammar."Piron, Claude: [http://www.claude-piron.ch/hidden-perverse-effects.html "The hidden perverse effect of the current system of international communication"], published lecture notes === Language acquisition === {{main|Propaedeutic value of Esperanto}} Four primary schools in Britain, with some 230 pupils, are currently following a course in "propedeutic Esperanto", under the supervision of the University of Manchester. That is, instruction in Esperanto to raise language awareness and accelerate subsequent learning of foreign languages. http://www.springboard2languages.org Several studies demonstrate that studying Esperanto before another foreign language speeds and improves learning the second language to a greater extent than other languages which have been investigated. This appears to be because learning subsequent foreign languages is easier than learning one's first, while the use of a grammatically simple and culturally flexible auxiliary language like Esperanto lessens the first-language learning hurdle. In one study,Williams, N. (1965) 'A language teaching experiment', ''Canadian Modern Language Review'' 22.1: 26-28 a group of European [[secondary school]] students studied Esperanto for one year, then French for three years, and ended up with a significantly better command of French than a control group, who studied French for all four years. Similar results were found when the course of study was reduced to two years, of which six months was spent learning Esperanto. Results are not yet available from a study in Australia to see if similar benefits would occur for learning East Asian languages, but the pupils taking Esperanto did better and enjoyed the subject more than those taking other languages. http://web.archive.org/web/20040215074307/%68ttp://www.education.monash.edu.au/projects/esperanto/ == Community == === Geography and demography === [[Image:Pasporta-servo.jpg|thumb|right|400px|A map showing possible lodgings and hosting locations by [[Pasporta Servo]] in 2005.]] Esperanto speakers are more numerous in Europe and East [[Asia]] than in the Americas, [[Africa]], and [[Oceania]], and more numerous in [[urban area|urban]] than in [[rural]] areas.Sikosek, Ziko M. ''Esperanto Sen Mitoj'' ("Esperanto without Myths"). Second edition. Antwerp: Flandra Esperanto-Ligo, 2003. Esperanto is particularly prevalent in the northern and eastern countries of Europe; in China, [[Korea]], Japan, and [[Iran]] within Asia; in [[Brazil]], [[Argentina]], and [[Mexico]] in the Americas; http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=epo and in [[Togo]] in Africa. http://pagesperso-orange.fr/eric.coffinet/Afrika_Agado.html ====Number of speakers==== An estimate of the number of Esperanto speakers was made by the late [[Sidney S. Culbert]], a [[retirement|retired]] [[psychology]] [[professor]] at the [[University of Washington]] and a longtime Esperantist, who tracked down and tested Esperanto speakers in sample areas in dozens of countries over a period of twenty years. Culbert concluded that between one and two million people speak Esperanto at [[ILR or Foreign Service Level language ability measures|Foreign Service Level 3]], "professionally proficient" (able to communicate moderately complex ideas without hesitation, and to follow speeches, radio broadcasts, etc.).Culbert, Sidney S. [http://www.panix.com/~dwolff/docs/ Three letters about his method for estimating the number of Esperanto speakers], scanned and HTMLized by David Wolff Culbert's estimate was not made for Esperanto alone, but formed part of his listing of estimates for all languages of over 1 million speakers, published annually in the [[World Almanac|World Almanac and Book of Facts]]. Culbert's most detailed account of his methodology is found in a 1989 letter to David Wolff http://www.panix.com/~dwolff/docs/culbert-methods.html. Since Culbert never published detailed intermediate results for particular countries and regions, it is difficult to independently gauge the accuracy of his results. In the Almanac, his estimates for numbers of language speakers were rounded to the nearest million, thus the number for Esperanto speakers is shown as 2 million. This latter figure appears in ''[[Ethnologue]]''. Assuming that this figure is accurate, that means that about 0.03% of the world's population speaks the language. This falls short of Zamenhof's goal of a [[international auxiliary language|universal language]], but it represents a level of popularity unmatched by any other constructed language. Marcus Sikosek (now [[Ziko van Dijk]]) has challenged this figure of 1.6 million as exaggerated. He estimated that even if Esperanto speakers were evenly distributed, assuming one million Esperanto speakers worldwide would lead one to expect about 180 in the city of [[Cologne, Germany|Cologne]]. Van Dijk finds only 30 [[fluency|fluent]] speakers in that city, and similarly smaller than expected figures in several other places thought to have a larger-than-average concentration of Esperanto speakers. He also notes that there are a total of about 20,000 members of the various Esperanto organizations (other estimates are higher). Though there are undoubtedly many Esperanto speakers who are not members of any Esperanto organization, he thinks it unlikely that there are fifty times more speakers than organization members. [[Finnish people|Finnish]] [[linguistics|linguist]] Jouko Lindstedt, an expert on native-born Esperanto speakers, presented the following schemeLindstedt, Jouko. "Re: Kiom?" (posting). [http://www.helsinki.fi/~jslindst/denask-l.html DENASK-L@helsinki.fi], [[22 April]] [[1996]]. to show the overall proportions of language capabilities within the Esperanto community: * ''1,000 have Esperanto as their native language * ''10,000 speak it fluently * ''100,000 can use it actively * ''1,000,000 understand a large amount passively * ''10,000,000 have studied it to some extent at some time.'' In the absence of Dr. Culbert's detailed sampling data, or any other census data, it is impossible to state the number of speakers with certainty. Few observers, probably, would challenge the following statement from the [[website]] of the [[World Esperanto Association]]: :Numbers of [[textbook]]s sold and membership of local societies put the number of people with some knowledge of the language in the hundreds of thousands and possibly millions. http://www.uea.org/info/angle/an_ghisdatigo.html ====Native speakers==== {{main|Native Esperanto speakers}} Ethnologue reports estimates that there are 200 to 2000 native Esperanto speakers ''(denaskuloj),'' who have learned the language from birth from their Esperanto-speaking parents. This usually happens when Esperanto is the chief or only common language in an international family, but sometimes in a family of devoted Esperantists. The most famous native speaker of Esperanto is businessman [[George Soros]].[[Universala Esperanto-Asocio|UEA]] state that [[Teodoro Schwartz|his father]] was an Esperantist, see [http://www.uea.org/info/angle/an_ghisdatigo.html] Also notable is young Holocaust victim [[Petr Ginz]], whose drawing of the planet Earth as viewed from the moon was carried aboard the Space Shuttle ''[[Space Shuttle Columbia|Columbia]]'' in 2003 ([[STS-107]]). === Culture === [[Image:Cover Monato 2007.jpg|thumb|222px|''Monato,'' the most popular Esperanto news magazine. (The large print reads "15 years after the loss of empire".)]] {{Main|Esperanto culture|Esperanto literature|Esperanto film|Esperanto music}} Esperanto speakers can access an international [[culture]], including a large body of original as well as translated [[Esperanto literature|literature]]. There are over 25,000 Esperanto books, both originals and translations, as well as several regularly distributed [[List of Esperanto magazines|Esperanto magazines]]. Esperanto speakers use the language for free accommodations with [[Esperantist]]s in 92 countries using the [[Pasporta Servo]] or to develop [[pen pal]] friendships abroad through the Esperanto Pen Pal Service.[http://members.aol.com/Enrike/ekseo.htm Esperanto Koresponda Servo] ("Esperanto Pen Pal Service"), accessed March 29, 2008. Every year, 1,500-3,000 Esperanto speakers meet for the [[World Congress of Esperanto]] ''(Universala Kongreso de Esperanto)''.Ziko van Dijk. ''Sed homoj kun homoj: Universalaj Kongresoj de Esperanto 1905–2005''. Rotterdam: UEA, 2005. The [[European Esperanto Union]] ''(Eǔropa Esperanto-Unio)'' regroups the national Esperanto associations of the EU member states and holds congresses every two years. The most recent was in [[Maribor, Slovenia]], in July-August 2007. It attracted 256 delegates from 28 countries, including 2 members of the [[European Parliament]], Ms. [[Małgorzata Handzlik]] of [[Poland]] and Ms. [[Ljudmila Novak]] of [[Slovenia]]. Historically, much [[Esperanto music]] has been in various folk traditions, such as ''Kaj Tiel Plu'', for example.[http://www.musicexpress.com.br/artisto.asp?Artista=135#musica=Adiaux%20Birdeto%20Mia Kaj Tiel Plu] Esperanto folk music as downloadable MP3 file In recent decades, more rock and other modern genres have appeared, an example being the Swedish band ''Persone''.[http://www.musicexpress.com.br/artisto.asp?Artista=78#musica=Amanda Persone] Esperanto rock music as downloadable MP3 file There are also shared [[tradition]]s, such as [[Zamenhof Day]], and shared [[behaviour]] patterns. [[Esperantist]]s speak primarily in Esperanto at [[World Esperanto Congress|international Esperanto meetings]]. Detractors of Esperanto occasionally criticize it as "having no culture". Proponents, such as Prof. [[Humphrey Tonkin]] of the [[University of Hartford]], observe that Esperanto is "culturally neutral by design, as it was intended to be a facilitator between cultures, not to be the carrier of any one national culture." The late [[Scotland|Scottish]] Esperanto author [[William Auld]] has written extensively on the subject, arguing that Esperanto is "the expression of a [[Esperanto as an international language|common human culture]], unencumbered by national frontiers. Thus it is considered a culture on its own."Auld, William. ''La Fenomeno Esperanto'' ("The Esperanto Phenomenon"). Rotterdam: Universala Esperanto-Asocio, 1988. Others point to Esperanto's potential for strengthening a common European identity, as it combines features of several [[Esperanto etymology|European languages]]. ====In popular culture==== {{Main|Esperanto in popular culture}} Esperanto has been used in a number of films and novels. Typically, this is done either to add the exotic flavour of a foreign language without representing any particular ethnicity, or to avoid going to the trouble of inventing a new language. The [[Charlie Chaplin]] film ''[[The Great Dictator]]'' (1940) showed [[Warsaw ghetto|Jewish ghetto]] shops designated in Esperanto, each with the general Esperanto suffix ''-ejo'' (meaning "place for..."), in order to convey the atmosphere of some 'foreign' [[Eastern Europe|East European]] country without referencing any particular East European language. Two full-length [[feature film]]s have been produced with [[dialogue]] entirely in Esperanto: ''[[Angoroj]],'' in 1964, and ''[[Incubus (1965 film)|Incubus]],'' a 1965 [[B-movie]] horror film. [[Canada|Canadian]] actor [[William Shatner]] learned Esperanto to a limited level so that he could star in ''Incubus''. Other amateur productions have been made, such as a dramatisation of the novel ''Gerda Malaperis'' (Gerda Has Disappeared). A number of "mainstream" films in national languages have used Esperanto in some way, such as ''[[Gattaca]]'' (1997), in which Esperanto can be overheard on the public address system. In the 1994 film ''[[Street Fighter]]'', Esperanto is the native language of the fictional country of [[Shadaloo]], and in a barracks scene the soldiers of villain [[M. Bison]] sing a rousing Russian Army-style chorus, the "Bison Troopers Marching Song", in the language. Esperanto is also spoken and appears on signs in the film ''[[Blade: Trinity]]''. In the British comedy ''[[Red Dwarf]]'', [[Arnold Rimmer]] is seen attempting to learn Esperanto in a number of early episodes, including ''[[Kryten (Red Dwarf episode)|Kryten]]''. In the first season, signs on the titular spacecraft are in both English and Esperanto. Esperanto is used as the universal language in the far future of [[Harry Harrison]]'s ''[[Stainless Steel Rat]]'' and ''[[Deathworld]]'' stories. In a 1969 guest appearance on ''[[The Tonight Show]]'', [[Jay Silverheels]] of ''[[The Lone Ranger]]'' fame appeared in character as [[Tonto]] for a comedy sketch with [[Johnny Carson]], and claimed Esperanto skills as he sought new employment. The sketch ended with a statement of his ideal situation: "Tonto, to [[Toronto, Canada|Toronto]], for Esperanto, and pronto!" Also, in the [[Danny Phantom]] Episode, "Public Enemies", Danny, Tucker, and Sam come across a ghost wolf who speaks Esperanto, but only Tucker can understand at first. === In Science === In 1921 the [[French Academy of Sciences]] recommended using Esperanto for international scientific communication. A few scientists and mathematicians, such as [[Maurice René Fréchet|Maurice Fréchet]] (mathematics), [[John C. Wells]] (linguistics), [[Helmar Frank]] (pedagogy and cybernetics), and [[Nobel Prize in Economics|Nobel laureate]] [[Reinhard Selten]] (economics) have published part of their work in Esperanto. Frank and Selten were among the founders of the [[Akademio Internacia de la Sciencoj San Marino|International Academy of Sciences]] in [[San Marino]], sometimes called the "Esperanto University", where Esperanto is the primary language of teaching and administration. === Goals of the movement === Zamenhof's intention was to create an easy-to-learn language to foster international understanding. It was to serve as an international auxiliary language, that is, as a universal second language, not to replace ethnic languages. This goal was widely shared among Esperanto speakers in the early decades of the movement. Later, Esperanto speakers began to see the language and the culture that had grown up around it as ends in themselves, even if Esperanto is never adopted by the United Nations or other international organizations. Those Esperanto speakers who want to see Esperanto adopted officially or on a large scale worldwide are commonly called ''[[Finvenkismo|finvenkistoj]]'', from ''fina venko'', meaning "final victory", or ''pracelistoj'', from ''pracelo'', meaning "original goal".[http://members.aol.com/enrike/BostnGlb.htm "Esperanto"] by Mark Feeney. ''The Boston Globe'', 12 May 1999 Those who focus on the intrinsic value of the language are commonly called ''[[Raumism|raŭmistoj]]'', from [[Rauma, Finland|Rauma]], [[Finland]], where a declaration on the near-term unlikelihood of the "fina venko" and the value of Esperanto culture was made at the International Youth Congress in 1980.[http://www.esperanto.org/Ondo/H-silf55.htm "Kion Signifas Raŭmismo"], by Giorgio Silfer. These categories are, however, not mutually exclusive. The [[Prague Manifesto (Esperanto)|Prague Manifesto]] (1996) presents the views of the mainstream of the Esperanto movement and of its main organisation, the World Esperanto Association ([[World Esperanto Association|UEA]]).[http://uea.org/info/angle/an_manifesto_prago.html "Prague Manifesto"] (English version). Universala Esperanto-Asocio, updated 2003-03-26. === Symbols and flags === [[Image:Jubilea simbolo.svg|thumb|125px|right|The ''jubilea simbolo''.]] {{main|Esperanto symbols}} In 1893, C. Rjabinis and P. Deullin designed and manufactured a lapel pin for Esperantists to identify each other. The design was a circular pin with a white background and a five pointed green star. The theme of the design was the hope of the [[Continent#Number of continents|five continents]] being united by a common language. http://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verda_stelo_%28simbolo%29 The earliest flag, and the one most commonly used today, features a green five-pointed star against a white canton, upon a field of green. It was proposed to Zamenhof by [[Ireland|Irishman]] Richard Geoghegan, author of the first Esperanto textbook for English speakers, in 1887. In 1905, delegates to the first conference of Esperantists at Boulogne-sur-Mer unanimously approved a version that differed from the modern flag only by the superimposition of an "E" over the green star. http://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanta_Flago Other variants http://www.fotw.net/flags/qy-eo.html#vars include that for Christian Esperantists, with a white [[Christian cross]] superimposed upon the green star, and that for Leftists, with [[Red flag|the color of the field changed from green to red]]. In 1987, a second flag design was chosen in a contest organized by the UEA celebrating the first centennial of the language. It featured a white background with two stylised curved "E"s facing each other. Dubbed the "jubilea simbolo" ([[Esperanto jubilee symbol|jubilee symbol]]) http://www.fotw.net/flags/qy-eo.html#jub, it attracted criticism from some Esperantists, who dubbed it the "melono" (melon) because of the design's elliptical shape. It is still in use, though to a lesser degree than the traditional symbol, known as the "verda stelo" (green star). http://www.fotw.net/flags/qy-eo.html === Religion === Esperanto has served an important role in several religions, such as [[Oomoto]] from Japan and [[Baha'i]] from Iran, and has been encouraged by others. ==== Oomoto ==== The [[Oomoto]] religion encourages the use of Esperanto among their followers and includes Zamenhof as one of its deified spirits.[http://www.oomoto.or.jp/Esperanto/index-es.html The Oomoto Esperanto portal] ==== Bahá'í Faith==== The [[Bahá'í Faith]] encourages the [[Bahá'í Faith and auxiliary language|use of an auxiliary international language]]. While endorsing no specific language, some Bahá'ís see Esperanto as having great potential in this role.{{cite web | url=http://www.bahai.de/bahaaeligo/angla/englisch.htm | title=The Baha'i Faith and Esperanto | publisher= Bahaa Esperanto-Ligo ( B.E.L. ) | accessdate=2006-08-26 }} [[Lidja Zamenhof]], the daughter of Esperanto founder [[L. L. Zamenhof]], became a Bahá'í. Various volumes of the [[Bahá'í literature]]s and other Baha'i books have been translated into Esperanto. ==== Spiritism ==== Esperanto is also actively promoted, at least in [[Brazil]], by followers of [[Spiritism]]. The Brazilian Spiritist Federation publishes Esperanto coursebooks, translations of [[Spiritist Codification|Spiritism's basic books]], and encourages Spiritists to become Esperantists.{{cite web | url=http://www.math.uu.se/esperanto/207pardue.pdf#search=%22esperanto%20%2Breligion%22 | title=Uma só língua, uma só bandeira, um só pastor: Spiritism and Esperanto in Brazil by David Pardue| publisher= University of Kansas Libraries| accessdate=2006-08-26 }} ==== Bible translations ==== The first translation of the [[Bible]] into Esperanto was a translation of the [[Tanach]] or Old Testament done by [[L. L. Zamenhof]]. The translation was reviewed and compared with other languages' translations by a group of British clergy and scholars before publishing it at the [[British and Foreign Bible Society]] in 1910. In 1926 this was published along with a New Testament translation, in an edition commonly called the "Londona Biblio". In the 1960s, the ''Internacia Asocio de Bibliistoj kaj Orientalistoj'' tried to organize a new, ecumenical Esperanto Bible version.{{cite web | url=http://home.att.net/~el_sxadaj/kbiblio.htm | title=La Sankta Biblio - "Londona text" | publisher=|accessdate=2006-08-26 }} Since then, the Dutch Lutheran pastor Gerrit Berveling has translated the [[Deuterocanonical]] or apocryphal books in addition to new translations of the Gospels, some of the New Testament epistles, and some books of the Tanakh or Old Testament. These have been published in various separate booklets, or serialized in ''Dia Regno'', but the [[Deuterocanonical]] books have appeared in recent editions of the Londona Biblio. ==== Christianity ==== Two Roman Catholic popes, [[Pope John Paul II|John Paul II]] and [[Pope Benedict XVI|Benedict XVI]], have regularly used Esperanto in their multilingual ''[[urbi et orbi]]'' blessings at Easter and Christmas each year since Easter 1994. Christian Esperanto organizations include two that were formed early in the history of Esperanto, the [[International Union of Catholic Esperantists]] and the [[List of Esperanto organizations#Religion|International Christian Esperantists League]]. An issue of "The Friend" describes the activities of the [[Quaker]] Esperanto Society.{{cite journal | journal=The Friend | title=Esperanto Lives On | author=Eric Walker | date=May 27, 2005 }} There are instances of Christian apologists and teachers who use Esperanto as a medium. [[Nigeria]]n [[Pastor]] Bayo Afolaranmi's "[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritanutrajxo/ Spirita nutraĵo]" (spiritual food) Yahoo mailing list, for example, has hosted weekly messages since 2003.{{cite web | url=http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritanutrajxo/ | title=Spirita nutraĵo | author=Bayo Afolaranmi | accessdate=2006-09-13 }} [[Chick Publications]], publisher of [[Fundamentalist Christianity|Protestant fundamentalist]] themed evangelistic tracts, has published a number of comic book style tracts by [[Jack T. Chick]] translated into Esperanto, including "This Was Your Life!" ("Jen Via Tuto Vivo!")http://chick.com/reading/tracts/1370/1370_01.asp ==== Islam ==== [[Ayatollah Khomeini]] of [[Iran]] called on Muslims to learn Esperanto and praised its use as a medium for better understanding among peoples of different religious backgrounds. After he suggested that Esperanto replace English as an international [[lingua franca]], it began to be used in the seminaries of [[Qom]]. An Esperanto translation of the [[Qur'an]] was published by the state shortly thereafter.{{cite web | url=http://www.webcom.com/~donh/efaq.html | title=Esperanto - Have any governments opposed Esperanto?| publisher= Donald J. Harlow| accessdate=2006-08-26 }}{{cite web | url=http://porneniu.wordpress.com/learn-esperanto/ | title=Esperanto in Iran (in Persian)| publisher= Porneniu| accessdate=2006-08-26 }} In 1981, Khomeini and the Iranian government began to oppose Esperanto after realising that followers of the [[Bahá'í Faith]] were interested in it. == Criticism == {{Main|Esperanto as an international language}} Esperanto was conceived as a language of international communication, more precisely as a universal [[second language]]. Since publication, there has been debate over whether it is possible for Esperanto to attain this position, and whether it would be an improvement for international communication if it did. There have been a number of attempts to reform the language, the most well-known of which is the language [[Ido]] which resulted in a schism in the community at the time, beginning in 1907. Since Esperanto is a planned language, there have been many, often passionate, criticisms of minor points which are too numerous to cover here, such as Zamenhof's choice of the word ''edzo'' over something like ''spozo'' for "husband, spouse", or his choice of the Classic Greek and Old Latin singular and plural endings ''-o, -oj, -a, -aj'' over their Medieval contractions ''-o, -i, -a, -e.'' (Both these changes were adopted by the Ido reform, though Ido dispensed with adjectival agreement altogether.) See the links [[Esperanto#Criticism|below]] for examples of more general criticism. The more common points include: * Esperanto has failed the expectations of its founder to become a universal second language. Although many promoters of Esperanto stress the few successes it has had, the fact remains that well over a century since its publication, the portion of the world that speaks Esperanto, and the number of primary and secondary schools which teach it, remain minuscule. It simply cannot compete with English in this regard. http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm/frm/9560/sec_id/9560 * The vocabulary and grammar are based on major European languages, and are not universal. Often this criticism is specific to a few points such as adjectival agreement and the accusative case (generally such obvious details are all that reform projects suggest changing), but sometimes it is more general: Both the grammar and the 'international' vocabulary are difficult for many Asians, among others, and give an unfair advantage to speakers of European languages.
One attempt to address this issue is [[Lojban]], which draws from the six populous languages [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[English language|English]], [[Hindi]], [[Russian language|Russian]], and [[Spanish language|Spanish]], and whose grammar is designed for computer parsing. http://neptune.spaceports.com/~words/lojban.html * The vocabulary, diacritic letters, and grammar are too dissimilar from the major Western European languages, and therefore Esperanto is not as easy as it could be for speakers of those languages to learn.
Attempts to address this issue include the younger planned languages [[Ido]] and [[Interlingua]]. http://www.language-learning-advisor.com/what-is-esperanto.html * Esperanto phonology is unimaginatively provincial, being essentially [[Belorussian language|Belorussian]] with regularized stress, leaving out only the [[nasal vowel]]s, [[palatalization|palatalized consonants]], and /dz/. For example, Esperanto has phonemes such as {{IPA|/x/, /ʒ/, /ts/, /eu̯/}} ''(ĥ, ĵ, c, eŭ)'' which are rare as distinct phonemes outside Europe. (Note that none of these are found in initial position in English.) http://www.newstatesman.com/society/2008/05/esperanto-language-anti-world * Esperanto has no culture. Although it has a large international literature, Esperanto does not encapsulate a specific culture. http://www.experiencefestival.com/esperanto_as_an_international_language_-_esperanto_has_no_culture * Esperanto is culturally European. This is due to the European derivation of its vocabulary, and more insidiously, its [[semantics]]; both infuse the language with a European world view. http://www.esperantic.org/ced/eurlan.htm * The vocabulary is too large. Rather than deriving new words from existing roots, large numbers of new roots are adopted into the language by people who think they're international, when in fact they're only European. This makes the language much more difficult for non-Europeans than it needs to be. * Esperanto is [[sexism|sexist]]. As in English, there is no neutral pronoun for ''s/he,'' and most kin terms and titles are masculine by default and only feminine when so specified.
There have been many attempts to address this issue, of which one of the better known is [[Riism]]. http://www.experiencefestival.com/esperanto_as_an_international_language_-_sexism_in_esperanto_grammar * Esperanto is, looks, or sounds artificial. This criticism is primarily due to the letters with circumflex diacritics, which some find odd or cumbersome, and to the lack of fluent speakers: Few Esperantists have spent much time with fluent, let alone native, speakers, and many learn Esperanto relatively late in life, and so speak haltingly, which can create a negative impression among non-speakers. Among fluent speakers, Esperanto sounds no more artificial than any other language. Others{{who}} claim that an artificial language will necessarily be deficient, due to its very nature, but the [[Hungarian Academy of Sciences]] has found that Esperanto fulfills all the requirements of a living language.''Laŭ la komuna opinio de gvidaj fakuloj de la Instituo, Esperanto apartenas al la kategorio de vivaj lingvoj. Pli detale traktante la temon, konsiderante la historion kaj la nunan staton de Esperanto, a.) ĝi estas grandmezure normigita, b.) amplekse sociiĝinta, c.) ne-etna viva lingvo, kiu en sekundara lingva komunumo plenumas ĉiujn eblajn lingvajn funkciojn, kaj samtempe ĝi funkcias kiel pera lingvo. - Ĉi supre diritaj respegulas la sciencan starpunkton de nia Instituto.''[http://www.esperanto.hu/hu-lernejo.htm] == Modifications == {{Main|Esperantido}} Though Esperanto itself has changed little since the publication of the ''[[Fundamento de Esperanto]]'' (Foundation of Esperanto), a number of reform projects have been proposed over the years, starting with [[Reformed Esperanto|Zamenhof's proposals in 1894]] and [[Ido]] in 1907. Several later constructed languages, such as Fasile, were based on Esperanto. In modern times, attempts have been made to eliminate perceived sexism in the language. One example of this is [[Riism]]. However, as Esperanto has become a living language, changes are as difficult to implement as in ethnic languages. == See also == {{portalpar|Esperanto|Flag of Esperanto.svg}} {{wiktionarypar|Esperanto}} {{Esperanto}} *[[Distributed Language Translation]] (Distribuita Lingvo-Tradukado) (DLT) *[[Encyclopedia of Esperanto]] *[[EoLA]] (an international festival of Esperanto arts and literature) *[[Esperantic Studies Foundation]] *[[Esperantido]] (reforms of Esperanto) *[[Esperantist]] *[[Esperanto and Ido compared]] *[[Esperanto and Interlingua compared]] *[[Esperanto and Novial compared]] *[[Esperanto Antaŭen]] *[[Esperanto as an international language]] *[[Esperanto in popular culture]] *[[Esperanto library]] *[[Esperanto magazine]] *[[Esperanto Wikipedia]] *[[Esperantujo]] (the Esperanto community) *[[Indigenous Dialogues]] (project to empower organisations of indigenous peoples) *[[list of Esperanto organizations]] *[[Lojban]] (see under [[Lojban#Comparison with other auxiliary languages|Comparison with other auxiliary languages]]) *''[[Monato]]'' (a monthly world news magazine) *[[Reformed Esperanto]] *[[World Esperanto Association]] (in Esperanto, UEA: Universala Esperanto-Asocio) == References and notes == {{reflist|2}} == Further reading == * Emily van Someren.http://www.ethesis.net/eu_language/eu_language_contence.htm. Republication of the thesis 'The EU Language Regime, Lingual and Translational Problems'. * [http://katalogo.uea.org/index.php?inf=4006 ''Ludovikologia dokumentaro I''] Tokyo: Ludovikito, 1991. Facsimile reprints of the ''Unua Libro'' in Russian, Polish, French, German, English and Swedish, with the earliest Esperanto dictionaries for those languages. * [http://www.akademio-de-esperanto.org/fundamento/enhavo.php Fundamento de Esperanto]. HTML reprint of 1905 ''Fundamento'', from the Academy of Esperanto. * Auld, William. ''La Fenomeno Esperanto'' ("The Esperanto Phenomenon"). Rotterdam: Universala Esperanto-Asocio, 1988. * Butler, Montagu C. ''Step by Step in Esperanto''. ELNA 1965/1991. ISBN 0-939785-01-3. * DeSoto, Clinton (1936). ''200 Meters and Down''. West Hartford, Connecticut, USA: [[American Radio Relay League]], p. 92. * Everson, Michael. {{PDFlink|[http://www.evertype.com/alphabets/esperanto.pdf The Alphabets of Europe: Esperanto]|25.4 KB}}. Evertype, 2001. * Forster, Peter G. ''The Esperanto Movement''. The Hague: Mouton Publishers, 1982. ISBN 90-279-3399-5. * Gledhill, Christopher. ''The Grammar of Esperanto: A Corpus-Based Description.'' Second edition. Lincom Europa, 2000. ISBN 3-8958-6961-9. * Harlow, Don. [http://donh.best.vwh.net/Esperanto/eaccess/eaccess.book.html The Esperanto Book]. Self-published on the web (1995-96). * [[John C. Wells|Wells, John]]. ''Lingvistikaj aspektoj de Esperanto'' ("Linguistic aspects of Esperanto"). Second edition. Rotterdam: Universala Esperanto-Asocio, 1989. * Zamenhof, Ludovic Lazarus, ''[http://genekeyes.com/Dr_Esperanto.html Dr. Esperanto's International Language: Introduction & Complete Grammar]'' The original 1887 ''[[Unua Libro]]'', English translation by Richard H. Geoghegan; HTML online version 2006. Print edition (2007) also available from [http://www.esperanto-usa.org ELNA] or [http://www.uea.org UEA]. == External links == {{InterWiki|code=eo}} {{Wiktionarylang|code=eo}} {{sisterlinks}} * [http://en.lernu.net/ Lernu.net - Multilingual Portal to Learn Esperanto] * [http://www.uea.org/ UEA.org] the [[World Esperanto Association]] * [http://www.gutenberg.net/browse/languages/eo Esperanto books at Project Gutenberg] * {{dmoz|World/Esperanto|Esperanto}} * [http://www.esperanto.net The Multi-Lingual Information Centre] — Information and numerous Esperanto-related links in over 60 languages. *[http://www.options4.com/software/ Esperanto keyboard layouts for Mac OS X] — (QWERTY- and [[Dvorak Simplified Keyboard|Dvorak]]-versions) *[http://members.ozemail.com.au/~dazz/index.html Esperanto keyboard layout for Microsoft Windows] — (QWERTY version) * [http://esperanto.cri.cn/ News in Esperanto (Some Podcasts included)] * [http://www.google.com/intl/eo/ Google Esperanto interface] * [http://webkids.free.fr/esperanto/ Universal Esperanto Portal] {{Conlang}} [[Category:Agglutinative languages]] [[Category:Esperanto|*]] [[Category:Esperanto core topics|*]] [[Category:International auxiliary languages|Esperanto]] {{Link FA|cs}} {{Link FA|eo}} {{Link FA|ja}} {{Link FA|ru}} {{Link FA|sv}} [[af:Esperanto]] [[als:Esperanto]] [[am:ኤስፔራንቶ]] [[ar:إسبرانتو]] [[an:Esperanto]] [[frp:Èsperanto]] [[ast:Esperanto]] [[az:Esperanto]] [[zh-min-nan:Sè-kài-gí]] [[ba:Эсперанто теле]] [[be:Эсперанта]] [[be-x-old:Эспэранта]] [[bs:Esperanto]] [[br:Esperanteg]] [[bg:Есперанто]] [[ca:Esperanto]] [[cv:Эсперанто]] [[cs:Esperanto]] [[cy:Esperanto]] [[da:Esperanto]] [[de:Esperanto]] [[dsb:Esperanto]] [[et:Esperanto]] [[el:Εσπεράντο]] [[es:Esperanto]] [[eo:Esperanto]] [[eu:Esperanto]] [[fa:اسپرانتو]] [[fo:Esperanto]] [[fr:Espéranto]] [[fy:Esperanto]] [[ga:Esperanto]] [[gd:Esperanto]] [[gl:Esperanto]] [[zh-classical:世界語]] [[ko:에스페란토]] [[hy:Էսպերանտո]] [[hi:एस्पेरान्तो]] [[hsb:Esperanto]] [[hr:Esperanto]] [[io:Esperanto]] [[id:Bahasa Esperanto]] [[ia:Esperanto]] [[ie:Esperanto]] [[iu:ᐃᓯᐱᕋᓐᑐ/isipirantu]] [[os:Эсперанто]] [[is:Esperanto]] [[it:Lingua esperanto]] [[he:אספרנטו]] [[kn:ಎಸ್ಪೆರಾಂಟೊ]] [[ka:ესპერანტო]] [[csb:Esperanto]] [[rn:Kiseperanto]] [[sw:Kiesperanto]] [[ku:Esperanto]] [[lad:Esperanto]] [[la:Esperanto]] [[lv:Esperanto]] [[lb:Esperanto]] [[lt:Esperanto]] [[li:Esperanto]] [[jbo:esperant]] [[hu:Eszperantó nyelv]] [[mk:Есперанто]] [[ms:Bahasa Esperanto]] [[mn:Эсперанто]] [[nah:Netēmachīliztlahtōlli]] [[nl:Esperanto]] [[ne:एस्पेरान्तो]] [[ja:エスペラント]] [[no:Esperanto]] [[nn:Esperanto]] [[nov:Esperanto]] [[oc:Esperanto]] [[uz:Esperanto]] [[nds:Esperanto]] [[pl:Esperanto]] [[pt:Esperanto]] [[crh:Esperanto tili]] [[ksh:Esperanto]] [[ro:Esperanto]] [[rm:Esperanto]] [[qu:Esperanto simi]] [[ru:Эсперанто]] [[sco:Esperanto leid]] [[sq:Gjuha esperanto]] [[scn:Lingua esperantu]] [[simple:Esperanto]] [[ss:Sí-Speranto]] [[sk:Esperanto]] [[sl:Esperanto]] [[szl:Esperanto]] [[sr:Есперанто]] [[sh:Esperanto]] [[fi:Esperanto]] [[sv:Esperanto]] [[th:ภาษาเอสเปรันโต]] [[vi:Quốc tế ngữ]] [[tg:Забони эсперанто]] [[tr:Esperanto]] [[uk:Есперанто]] [[ur:اسپرانٹو]] [[vo:Sperantapük]] [[wa:Esperanto]] [[yi:עספעראנטא]] [[zh-yue:世界語]] [[bat-smg:Esperanto]] [[zh:世界语]]