Esperanto

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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in Esperanto

Esperanto is a constructed language created in 1887 by Ludwig L. Zamenhof. He was a Polish doctor who lived in a a region where many languages were spoken, and he wanted people to be able to communicate more readily. Esperanto is derived from elements from Romance and Germanic languages, with some Slavic and Greek.

History of Esperanto movement

Organizations associated with Esperanto

Numerous organizations with an interest in peace and brotherhood adopted the concept of a unversal language, including the World Federation of Boys[1]; The Oxford Committee for Promoting Internation Understanding and Friendship[2]

His Holiness, Abdul Baha, recently declared in a notable address on Peace that he had commmanded all thr Bahaists in the Orient to study Esperanto very carefully. stating tha tere long the language would spread all over the East.[3]

Publishing in Esperanto

The Hobbit Esperanto edition, 2015

Publishing companies specializing in Esperanto sprung up in several cities. An Esperanto-English, English-Esperanto Dictionary was published in Scotland in 1913.[4] Examples of classic works translated into Esperanto in its early days include Shakespeare's Hamlet[5], Goethe's Iphigenia auf Tauris[6], and Schiller's The Robbers[7] An original 1928 work in Esperanto by Raymond Schwartz is Prozo ridetanta [Smiling Prose][8]

In subsequent decades, at least 4000 of titles have been published in Esperanto, including about 130 original novels. Books are available at Project Gutenberg, in Barnes & Noble, in Amazon.com, at the Universal Esperanto Association bookshop, at Esperanto Boutique, and audio books at Audible.com. Braille and sign language versions have been developed, and a Esperanto-language version of Wikipedia has about 382,000 articles. At least two million people speak Esperanto in the 70 countries of the U.E.A. ("Universala Esperanta-Asocio", or "World Esperanto Association"). Several periodicals are being written in or about the language.

Characteristics of the language

Words in Esperanto are pronounced the way they are spelled. The language uses an alphabet of 28 letters, each of which always has the same sound, except for variations related to the position inside the word. Other principles of the language:

  • 16 rules with no exceptions.
  • About 1800 root words.
  • No irregular verbs.
  • One conjugation.

Critics of the language have regarded it as too Euro-centric and that it could be designed with a simpler grammar.

Theosophy and Esperanto

Theosophists who are known to have used Esperanto include lecturer Alwyn J. Baker and Alma Karlin, a world traveler and linguist. Linguistics professor John Algeo wrote an article about the 50th anniversary of Esperanto.[9]

Theosophists and Spiritualists were keenly interested at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. Mrs. Edith M. MacHutchin wrote in 1903 that William T. Stead was acting as printer for an Esperanto grammar called Elementary Lessons by John Charles O'Connor.

Mr. W. T. Stead has given three notices on Esperanto in the last three issues of 'Review of Reviews,' and further has given his kind an able support to the movement by drawing together, at Mowbray House, people interested in Esperanto to the extent of forming a club or society in London.[10]

A Theosophic-Esperanto Organization was formed:

The Theosophic-Esperanto organization, which is world-wide in its membership, held a successful meeting in connection with the Eight International Esperanto Congress in Cracow (Austrian Poland) las summer.

It will continue with renewed vigor its two-fold task: This, of bringing Theosophy to the favorable attention of Esperantists... and, secondly, of seeking to persuade Theosophist to learn for their own purposes this easy and satisfactory medium of international communication, and prepare to adopt Esperanto as the ultimately officialized international language for all Theosophic Publications and communications.[11]

In July 1913, Alwyn J. Baker sent a postcard from Krotona Court to his friend Dangerfield in Berkeley. Baker was a nationally known Theosophical lecturer and a proponent of the Blue Ridge Brotherhood, a proposed Theosophical colony near Asheville, Tennessee. The message was written in Esperanto:

Publishing

The Esperanto Press and Theosophical publishing houses worked together to publish books. The theosophical Publishing Society in London and Esperantista centra librejo in Paria jointly published At the Feet of the Master by Alcyone (Jiddu Krishnamurti), translated by William W. Mann in 1913.

The American Theosophist, 1913

Theosophical journals frequently mentioned Esperanto in advertisements.

The Theosophical Messenger, 1912



Book reviews of Esperanto books appeared in Theosophical periodicals:

A new magazine was announced in 1913:

THE ESPERANTO MONTHLY, edited by William W. Mann. Publishers: U. S. Esperanto Association, Schaller, Iowa. pp.16 Price, 50 cents per annum.

This new little magazine is sure to make a hit. It is full of helpful points for the student of Esperanto, for beginners as well as for teachers. Every page of it is strictly devoted to the study of the international language. It containts Hints to Learners, Notes for Teachers, Idioms, Short Technical Vocabularies, etc.
S.U.[12]

In 21st Century

We know we can count on the possibility that in those countries where the Theosophical Society operates there are Esperantists available to give free courses of Esperanto. Moreover, Internet offers further possibilities. This would allow to dream about the prospect to talk together in our international meetings and congresses using this language. On a subtler and more refined level, we can convey our energies to strengthen more and more a thought-form. Thanks to this we shall be able to let "that" possible world stand out, where every human being will be able to know and speak the homely dialect to feeI the belonging to his/her tribe; where every human being will speak and write the national language with mastery in order to feel part of the history and of the culture where his/her roots come from; Iast but not least, in this world every human being will be able to rely on Esperanto to recognize him/herseIf, starting from language, equal in dignity, rights and possibilities to all the other human beings.

Believing, like Pythagoras and Plato, that the world expresses Logos also means deciding to feel oneself part of this project. Our Theosophical Society operates in 54 different countries, with 42 national magazines. Why not aiming, in a hopefully short time, at starting publishing the translation into Esperanto of one of the articles on some of our magazines, and then, later on, sharing it with the other ones? It should also be a good way to reinforce contacts with the other groups, bringing in an actual contribution to the cooperation and the common aims of our whole organization.

Additional resources

Articles

Books and pamphlets

Books about Esperanto include:

These are sources of books written in Esperanto:

Audio

Video

This is a sampling of the numerous videos available on the Internet in Esperanto:

Websites


Notes

  1. ↑ "Magazines" The American Theosophist 15 no.3 (December, 1913): 234.
  2. ↑ "Esperanto" The American Theosophist 14 no.8 (May, 1913) 700.
  3. ↑ "Esperanto" The American Theosophist 14 no.8 (May, 1913) 700-701.
  4. ↑ "Magazines" The American Theosophist 15 no.3 (December, 1913): 234.
  5. ↑ Shakespeare, William. Hamleto, reĝido de Danujo: tragedio en kvin aktoj [Hamlet, King of Denmark: a tragedy in five acts]. Paris: Esperantista Centra librejo, 1924.
  6. ↑ Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. Iphigenie auf Tauris [Iphigenia in Tauris]. Paris: Esperantista Centra Librejo, 1921. 108 pages. Translated from German by L. L. Zamenhof.
  7. ↑ Schiller, Friedrich von La Rabistoj: dramo en kvin akto [The Robbers: a Drama in Five Acts]. Paris: Hachette, 1908. Translated by L. L. Zamenhof.
  8. ↑ Schwartz, Raymond. Prozo ridetanta: noveloj originale verkitaj'[Smiling prose: short stories originally written]. Paris: Esperantista Centra Lebrejo, 1928. Original stories written in Esperanto. 170 pages.
  9. ↑ John Algeo, "Cantjara Datreveno de Esperanto" in Academica.edu.
  10. ↑ Edith M Machutchin "Esperanto, the International Language" Light 23 no. 1147 (Jan 3, 1903): 2.
  11. ↑ "Esperanto" The American Theosophist 14 no.5 (Feb 1913): 407.
  12. ↑ "Magazines" The American Theosophist 14 no.9 (June, 1913): 793-794.
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