Talk given in the course "Language, Mind and Society" at Azim Premji University (azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in), Bengaluru, India.

1. Esperanto: Lingvo kaj
Kulturo
A. Giridhar RAO
Universala Esperanto-Asocio
kaj Azim Premji University
giridhar.rao@apu.edu.in

2. Esperanto?
 What? Planned language for
international communication
 Why? Easy to learn
 And? Not the cultural property of any
nation or group: humanity's “common
resource”

3. Esperanto – How does it sound?
 Mia nomo estas Giridhar.
 Mi estas en Bengaluro.
 Bengaluro estas la ĉefurbo de la
landparto Karnataka.
 Karnataka estas en suda Barato.
 Barato estas granda lando en la
kontinento Azio.

4. Why Esperanto? - 1
 English, French, Chinese, Hindi, Telugu...
take too long to learn!
 Being forced to master someone else's
language is unfair. We need a more even
playing-field: linguistic democracy.

5. Why Esperanto? - 2
 Esperanto
- is an easy, “open-source”, democratic
solution
- helps in learning other languages faster
- promotes global citizenship
- a tool for peace-building

6. What is Esperanto?
 Planned language for international
communication
 Easy to learn
 Not the cultural property of any nation or
group

7. Lejzer Ludwik ZAMENHOF
(1859-1917)

8. Zamenhof's Esperanto - 1
 Russian, Polish, German (fluently);
Yiddish, French, Hebrew, Greek, Latin,
English (less well). Some knowledge of
Spanish, Lithuanian and Volapük
 26 July 1887 La Unua Libro – 127 years
 Some original poetry
 Translated Old Testament, Hamlet,
Goethe, Heine, Schiller, Gogol

9. Zamenhof's Esperanto - 2
 Volapük? Johann Martin SCHLEYER
 So, Esperanto was not the first planned
language? Certainly not!
 Over a 1000 such projects through
human history!

10. Planned Languages - A
Aawaaniaan, Acian, Adelfiy, Adelic, Adinjo, Aduna
lingvo, Aeldarspragc (Dale Morris), Aelya (C. Moreland-
Stringham), Aeo (Jonathana Tegire), Aertran (A. B.
Basham), Afga, Aftesalono, Ahua (R. K.), Akbiekdi,
Alarian, Aldana (R. D. Cooper), Alevain (Sydney
Mathew Willoughby), Alesi, Allmiror, Almalinian,
Almaqerin, Alpha Smart, Alphistian, Altayko, Aluric,
Alzetjan (H. Miller), Amaringa, Amaubo, Amelic,
Ámman-Iâr, Amtorian, Andan, Ande, Anawanda,
Aninese, Antelangua, Arcaicam Esperantom, Arden,
Arkian, Arumo (lingvo), Ascian, Asiteya, Assi (P.
Pfeaster), Astegonagraphianek, Atlanteano, Atlo-Greka,
Aulingese, Auxilingua (J. Bowks, 1979) (Bazita sur
Interlingua), Auxilia, (G. Morin, 1947) Ayeis
(http://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listo_de_planlingvoj)

11. What is Esperanto?
 Planned language for international
communication
 Easy to learn
 Not the cultural property of any nation or
group

12. Esperanto: the affixes - 1
 Ĉevalo (= Horse / Stallion )
 Ĉevalino ( = Mare )
 Ĉevalido ( = Foal / Colt )
 Ĉevalidino ( = Filly )
 Ĉevalejo ( = Stable )
 Ĉevala ( = Horse-like / Equine )

13. Esperanto: la afiksoj - 2

14. Esperanto: la afiksoj - 3
 Arbo = a tree + -ar- = a group of things
- Arbaro = a forest (vort-ar-o; hom-ar-o)
 Skribi = to write + -aĵ- = something
concrete; something tangible
- Skribaĵo = some writing; something written
 -il- = a tool; Skribilo = a pen; Skribilaro
= stationery, a bunch of things you need
to write with, paper, pens, erasers, etc.

15. Esperanto: the affixes - 4
 -ej- = a place; Skribejo = a room where
we sit and write; Skribilejo = a room
where you keep pens
 -ist- = a professional; Skribisto = a
professional writer, a scribe
 Skribilisto = someone who professionally
makes or sells pens
 Skribilaristo = a stationery producer or
seller

16. Esperanto: the affixes - 5
 Ino (female), Ido (child), Aro (set), Ilo
(tool), Ejo (place), Isto (professional) –
words in themselves; lexical affixes
 Thus: inismo (feminism); ilaro (tool-kit)
 Highly productive derivational
morphology; intensively agglutinating
Result: in John Wells' Eo-En / En-Eo dict.
(2010), 10 315 entries in Eo; 22 300 in
En

17. Why Esperanto? - 1
 English, French, Chinese, Hindi, Telugu...
take too long to learn!
 Esperanto? How long?

18. Why Esperanto? - 1
 Basic French? Basic German? 100-200
hours of classes (+ homework!)
 Basic Esperanto? 40 hours max!

19. Why Esperanto? - 2
 School English? 10 000–15 000 hours of
learning!
– Nursery + LKG + UKG + Class 1-10 = 13
years
– 5 hours every day x 200 days per year =
1000 hours per year of English
– Nursery to Class 10 = 13 000 hours of
English

20. Esperanto: the community - 1
 Guestimate: About 100 000 active
speakers
 (Factoid: half the world's 7000 lang. have
less than 7000 speakers! Mean = 886k)
 Universala Esperanto-Asocio
(Rotterdam): 18 000 members in 111
countries (previous prezidanto: Probal
Dasgupta, Kolkato, Barato)

21. Esperanto: the community - 2
 ~ 200 families where Esperanto is one of
the home languages
 150-200 books every year
 Esperanto Wikipedia: > 201 000 articles;
with ~ 12 000 hits per hour!
 100a Universala Kongreso en Lillo,
Francio
 Online communities

22. What is Esperanto?
 Planned language for international
communication
 Easy to learn
 Not the cultural property of any nation or
group

23. Esperanto: Ideology - 1
 Praga manifesto (1996)
 Linguistic democracy
 Transnational education
 Pedagogical efficiency

24. Esperanto: Ideology - 2
 Multilingualism
 Linguistic rights
 Linguistic diversity
 Human emancipation

25. How to learn Esperanto
 Free Esperanto courses (in > 41
languages!) at
WWW.LERNU.NET

26. Esperanto: the flavour
Soneto 18 de Ŝekspiro (Tr. Reto Rosetti)
Ĉu mi komparu vin al tag'
somera?
Vi estas ja pli bela kaj serena
Majflorojn ofte vipas vent' severa
Kaj tro maldaŭras la somero bena.
Jen brulas la okulo de l'ĉielo
Jen vualiĝas ĝia vido ora
Kaj iam senbeliĝas ĉiu belo
Laŭ voj' natura aŭ pro fat' rigora
Sed jam ne velkos via plensomero
Nek dekliniĝos de l'beleco nuna
La morto vin ne tenos kun fiero
Se vin la vers' eterna gardas juna.
Dum homoj spiros kaj okuloj vidos
Vivante en vivanta vers' vi sidos.