The document discusses the history and development of Esperanto, an artificial language created in the late 19th century to foster international harmony. It was invented by Dr. Ludovic Zamenhof, a Polish ophthalmologist, who hoped it would become the first or second language of all people. Esperanto incorporated elements from major European languages and had simpler grammar rules than natural languages. The first World Congress of Esperanto speakers was held in 1905 in France but the language initiative ultimately failed to gain widespread adoption. The document also examines the emergence of lingua francas throughout history to enable trade between groups speaking different languages, using Swahili in East Africa as a modern example.

1. CHAPTER TEN
MODERN LANGUAGE MOSAICS

2. LANGUAGE and TRADE
Esperanto was created in the late 1870’s
and early 1880’s by Dr. Ludovic Zamenhof,
a Jewish ophthalmologist during the time
of the Russian empire.
He created this language to foster harmony
between people from different countries.
Esperanto was an artificial language that he
hoped would eventually become the first or
second language of all peoples everywhere.

3. Before Zamenhof invented Esperanto, there were
had been 2 previous attempts, but they failed
because it was too complicated.
Because of the earlier failures, the popularity and
enthusiasm had waned by the time Zamenhof
invented Esperanto. Political persecution also
made it more difficult for Zamenof.
It took 3 attempts and 10 years for Zamenhof to
complete his first book of Esperanto grammar in
July, 1887 (published in Poland). What was the
basis of the new language?
In the early 20th century (1905), the first world
congress of Esperanto speakers was held in
France to promote an international movement.
Why did the initiative fail? Would another
attempt be successful today?

4. LINGUA FRANCA
Centuries before the Esperanto
experiment, traders speaking
different languages were forced to
find ways to communicate for trade.
The result was the emergence of a
lingua franca. Explain where the
term comes from and how it was
created.
Today the term lingua franca is still
used to denote any common language
spoken by people’s with different
native tongues.

5. One of the best modern examples of a
lingua franca is Swahili, the lingua
franca of East Africa. How did
Swahili develop?

6. CREOLIZATION
Language is likely to change when relocation diffusion sends speakers of a language far
from their homeland (ex: Australian English v. American English).
In some cases, a language changes much more radically, where through contact with
another language it can be simplified and modified to become a pidgin.
Over time a pidgin language may itself
become the mother tongue as the original
languages are forgotten. This form of
language replacement is known as
creolization. The original pidgin becomes
a lingua franca and is referred to as a
creole language. This language evolution
occurred, among other places, in the
West Indies.
Pidgin and creole languages are important
unifying forces in a linguistically divided
world.

7. CREOLIZATION (LANGUAGE REPLACEMENT)
EUROPEAN
HAITI
A LINGUA FRANCA
LANGUAGES
CALLED A PIDGEN
NATIVE EVOLVES (A MIX OF
LANGUAGES MULTIPLE
LANGUAGES).
AFRICAN
LANGUAGES
OVER TIME, THE
PIDGEN BECOMES
THE STANDARD
LANGUAGE AND IS
CALLED A CREOLE.

8. MULTILINGUALISM
There are only a few monolingual states, countries in which only one language is spoken
(Japan). In reality there is no truly monolingual country. Countries in which more than
one language is spoken are called multilingual states. In some countries linguistic
fragmentation reflects strong cultural pluralism as well as divisive forces.

9. CANADA BILINGUALISM
Modern Canada is a product of combining a large, dominantly French-speaking territory,
Quebec, with an even larger, mainly English-speaking area centered on neighboring
Ontario.

10. The British North American Act of 1867,
creating the Canadian federation,
guaranteed Quebec its French heritage.
And as early as 1774 the British had
passed the Quebec Act, whereby the
approx. 60,000 French residents could
retain Catholicism and many of their old
customs and institutions.
Thus, there is an historic track record of
recognizing and protecting the minority
French heritage.

11. The French heritage in Quebec is strongly demonstrated in the province’s architecture &
language. Despite good-faith efforts on the part of the national Canadian govt. in
Ottawa, ….

12. ….generations later, Canada remains a divided society and language lies at the heart of the
division. What percent of Quebec’s population speaks French at home?

13. Many Quebecers feel threatened by the English-speaking majority in their
country. In 1977, the Quebec provincial parliament passed a law to “protect”
its language. The Canadian Supreme Court promptly overturned it.
In 1988, Quebec enacted another law that not only reinstated the old law,
but also added a regulation banning any outdoor commercial signs not in
French. Predictably, there was a backlash in the rest of Canada.

14. Tensions culminated between Montreal and Ottawa to the point that Quebec has held a
series of referendums to break away from Canada. With each vote, the separatists
came closer to achieving their goal. Is the provincial govt. serious about secession, or is
it a leverage move?
The stakes are high for both Canada and Quebec. The U.S. does not support a divided Canada
(stability is the issue). No one is sure how the Canadian govt. would react to Quebec secession.
Currently there is a tense calm while one side waits for the other to act.

15. BELGIUM
Belgium is another bilingual country
facing some challenges. Belgium is
divided into Flanders and Wallonia.
What is the predominant language
in each area?
What is the language status in
Brussels, the capital? What is the
majority language in the capital?
Thus, like Canada, Belgium faces
threats of division, but it has been
able to remain intact and function
effectively as a country.

16. NIGERIA
Why is Nigeria’s multilingualism much more complicated than that of either Canada
or Belgium? When Nigeria gained independence, what did the new govt. do to try to
overcome the new country’s language dilemma? What was the result?

17. OFFICIAL LANGUAGES
Several dozen countries have embraced the concept of an
official language. In theory, how will an official
language work? Does the U.S. have an official
language?

18. In the past, colonialism was the primary factor creating multilingualism (French
Canadians). In more recent times, migrations are the primary factor.
Currently, a language debate rages in
parts of the U.S., centered around
the growing Hispanic presence.
Recently, Hispanics became the
largest minority group in the country.

19. The debate centers on the suggestion of making Spanish an official language in the
country, or to designate English as the country’s official language and relegate Spanish to
secondary status.
The debate has divided both mainstream Americans and Hispanic-Americans.

21. Many former colonies adopted the colonist’s language as their official language – why?

22. TOPONYMY
Toponymy is the systematic study of place names. Place names can reveal much
about a culture area even when time has erased other evidence (examples).
Two-part names consist of two parts, sometimes connected and sometimes
separate: a specific (given) part and a generic (or classifying) part (examples).

23. CLASSIFICATION of PLACE NAMES
Historian George Stewart classified place names into 10 categories:
descriptive
associative
incident
possessive
commemorative
commendatory
folk-etymology
manufactured
mistake
shift
Each of these categories contains cultural-geographic evidence.

24. CHANGING PLACE NAMES
Like language, the names of places can elicit strong passions because of the symbolism
it may represent.
Changes in the names of cities and towns seem to evoke stronger reactions than
changes in the names of territories (consider Africa and the former Soviet Union)