Esperanto is an artificial international language created by Warsaw ophthalmologist L. Zamenhof in 1887. In the "composition" of Esperanto, the grammars of almost two dozen languages were analyzed, and on their basis a grammar of only 16 rules was created. The language has few roots, but the possibilities for word creation are very broad: from each root, using 10 prefixes, 35 suffixes, and 11 endings, from 20 to 60 words can be formed. Each letter corresponds to only one sound (that is, "as it is read, so it is written"). The stress always falls on the penultimate syllable. All nouns end in "o", adjectives in "a". There are only two cases – nominative and accusative, and there are no irregular verbs.
Of course, Esperanto is far from the only attempt to create an artificial, "neutral" language, but it is Esperanto that has been recognized as the most successful and most convenient language to learn and use; as a result, it is the most popular in the world. Leo Tolstoy, a great supporter of Esperanto – both the language and the idea – said: "The sacrifices that each person will make by devoting some time to studying this language are so insignificant, and the consequences that may result from everyone mastering this language are so enormous, that one cannot but make this attempt." No matter which country in the world you go to, rest assured, there will be at least one Esperantist there.
Esperanto is based on Latin; simple rules and the absence of exceptions allow you to learn it as quickly as no foreign language can be learned: about twenty hours of study give you the opportunity to express yourself almost fluently. Esperanto is the second most common language of communication on the Internet (after English) (the word "Esperanto" yields 1,700,000 links!). According to various estimates, from 500 thousand to 5 million people in 120 countries speak Esperanto; it is especially popular in countries whose inhabitants' language is little known outside the country: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, etc. More than 150 newspapers and magazines are published in Esperanto, and 20 radio stations worldwide broadcast in it regularly. Along with English and French, Esperanto is a working language of cybernetics congresses. A fairly substantial corpus of translated classical literature in Esperanto has already been created, and translation into Esperanto preserves the linguistic features of the original, while translation into other languages replaces them with features of the language into which the work is translated. Esperantists try to instill a living soul into their synthetic creation, treating this language as a living, natural one: they write books in it, even quite good ones (though no Esperanto-speaking author has yet received a Nobel Prize).
Esperanto is by definition an ideologized phenomenon, as a language born "in the name of an idea." The idea is the best possible: universal mutual understanding and universal brotherhood as a consequence. And supporters of ideas inevitably unite. The Universal Esperanto Association is already over ninety years old. In total, the Esperanto movement has a richly structured system of organizations "by interest": youth, music, etc. A little more eccentricity, power, secrecy – and Esperantists, with their well-established system of mutual aid and fairly clear ideology, could be compared to the Freemasons, for example. But in reality, the movement is fundamentally non-hermetic: Esperantists are interested in as many adherents of the language as possible, because Esperanto will achieve its true goal only when any Earthling can communicate in it.
Sometimes people speak, if not of a crisis, then of certain problems experienced by the movement, related to the fact that for some number of Esperantists, the high ideals of the movement are not as important as the practical conveniences that knowledge of Esperanto brings, in particular, the possibility of free communication and free travel. The contradiction seems somewhat far-fetched, since Esperanto as a way of life is merely the embodiment of Esperanto as an idea.
Recently, when the world (or a significant part of it) has been seized by the idea of integration, Esperanto has become more in demand, so the International Creative Youth Association "Gaudeamus" has developed a program for training language teachers using the "direct method." This is part of a broader program "International Contacts," which is scheduled to start around 2001. The program provides for Esperanto courses for students (language training for 15 days, three hours a day), a visa support program, free accommodation, and discounted rail travel for Esperantist students. Experimental groups to participate in the program will be recruited in individual countries (including Ukraine) next year. More complete information about them can be obtained by contacting the Ukrainian Esperanto Association.
Among Ukrainian adherents of Esperanto, the most famous is Vasyl Yaroshenko (Eroshenko), 1890-1952. In early childhood, Yaroshenko became blind. In his youth, he ended up in Moscow, where he happened to meet Leo Tolstoy's sister, also a fan of Esperanto. She took part in the fate of the young man; via the Esperantist relay, Yaroshenko reached London, studied there for some time at the Royal Institute for the Blind, and then, after contacting Japanese Esperanto experts, left for the Land of the Rising Sun. During the years spent in Japan, he became a classic of Japanese literature and a supporter of Baha'ism, fell in love, was happy and not so. Later he was in China, India, Thailand, and Burma, where he organized a school for blind children using the Braille method; a monument to Yaroshenko is now erected in Burma. He lived in Europe, studied in Göttingen and the Sorbonne, later came to Russia, taught, translated into Esperanto and Eastern languages.
"Zagranitsa" No. 15, 1999
Evgenia ZVEREVA,
Angelika KHIZHNYAYA.