By Carmen Chang,
According to the Spanish Esperanto Federation (2021), there are around 142,000 Esperanto speakers worldwide, but they do not belong to any sect or political party:
The Jarlibro (yearbook) of the Universala Esperanto-Asocio, based in Rotterdam, includes information about specialized associations, whether religious (ranging from Muslim, Catholic, or Quaker Esperantists to Mormons, Won Buddhists, and even militant atheists), political (Communists, Radical Party), scientific (informatics, ornithology, etc.), or others (the blind, radio amateurs, sauna or cat enthusiasts…). The Esperanto world is a highly diverse community (Spanish Esperanto Federation, 2021).
In 1887, Lázaro Zamenhof (1859-1917) —its Jewish, Russian-speaking inventor and an ophthalmologist by profession— published the first Esperanto learning manual in the Polish city of Białystok, which was then part of the Tsarist Empire. To answer the question of whether this language is artificial or natural, one could say:
Like all languages, it is a cultural creation, and in that sense, it is also artificial (words do not fall from trees or arise spontaneously). The difference lies in its regularity and simplicity due to its consciously directed origin. Among national languages, we find various degrees of planning, from orthographic (Korean, Spanish, Turkish after Atatürk) to efforts in standard language fixation (Finnish, Basque, Modern Hebrew). From any other perspective—linguistic, literary, sociological—it is a natural language. That is why it is not surprising that the PEN International Club has a section for Esperanto writers or that rock bands have chosen it for composing their songs (Spanish Esperanto Federation, 2021).
Its adherents are convinced that Esperanto has a future, but they focus on the present. Regarding its usefulness, we can add:
Primarily, it serves to “waste time” or to spend it differently with people from diverse countries and cultures, avoiding linguistic discrimination and the rapid neuron loss caused by indiscriminate grammar and dictionary studies. In other words, it is useful for traveling, reading or writing (both translated and original literature, including poetry and prose), browsing the internet (which seems almost designed for Esperanto speakers), and making new friendships. In the past, it was also a reason for individuals like Hitler or Stalin to consider its speakers as “dangerous elements” and to remove them from circulation without further explanation (Spanish Esperanto Federation, 2021).
Is Esperanto a European language?
Some argue that Esperanto is a European language or at least a mixture of European languages, mostly because:
Apparently, in its vocabulary, it is. Most of its words are common to several European languages, as well as, for historical reasons, some non-European languages:
- Pan means bread in Japanese and pano in Esperanto,
- However, reindeer is boaco in Esperanto, directly borrowed from Sami.
A language whose vocabulary had been selected equally from all existing languages, using quotas, would be impractical:
Quechua might get five words,
Galician another five,
But which ones?
Moreover, the origins of Esperanto’s vocabulary trace back not to 1887, but to the etymological sources it draws from.
However, its regular and relatively simple grammar resembles aspects of certain Asian languages, such as Chinese (Spanish Esperanto Federation, 2021).
Interesting facts about Esperanto
- Some interesting facts that support Esperanto as a unique and valuable language include:
- It was learned by famous figures such as Tolstoy, Verne, J. R. R. Tolkien, Pope John Paul II, George Soros, Rudolf Carnap, Otto de Greiff, and many others.
- Its simplified grammatical design enhances cognitive processes, activating brain areas linked to abstract reasoning and metalinguistic abilities.
- Studies show that learning Esperanto before other languages:
- Improves logical thinking and concept comprehension
- Speeds up foreign language acquisition:
25% faster for Russian
30% for German
40% for English
50% for French - Enhances performance in other academic subjects.
- Most learners achieve basic fluency in 150 hours, and some start using the language after just 20 hours of study (Esperanto Kolombio, 2018).
Esperanto grammar overview
The Blog de Idiomas, in the article “Las 16 reglas del esperanto” (2010-2020), provides a concise summary of Esperanto grammar:
- Alphabet: Uses the Latin alphabet with some additional characters, making a total of 28 letters.
- Definite article: Only one article (la), used universally for all genders, numbers, and cases. There is no indefinite article.
- Example: La arbo estas granda → The tree is big.
- Nouns: Formed by adding -o to the root.
- Plural: Add -j to the singular.
- Accusative (direct object): Add -n to the noun.
- Adjectives: Formed by adding -a to the root, following the same rules as nouns.
- Numbers: 1 to 10 → unu, du, tri, kvar, kvin, ses, sep, ok, naŭ, dek
100 = cent, 1,000 = mil - Compound numbers are concatenated: 674 = sescent sepdek kvar (literally: six hundred seventy-four).
- Personal Pronouns: mi (I), vi (you, singular and plural), li (he), ŝi (she), ĝi (it), ni (we), ili (they), oni (one, impersonal).
- Possessive pronouns: Add -a (e.g., mia = mine).
- Verb Tenses:
Present → -as (e.g., mi amas → I love)
Past → -is (e.g., li amis → he loved)
Future → -os
Conditional → -us
Imperative → -u
Infinitive → -i - Pronunciation: Each letter has a fixed sound, independent of surrounding letters. The stress always falls on the penultimate syllable.
- Word Formation: Compound words are created by joining roots, with the main root at the end.
- New words: Borrowed from foreign languages but adapted to Esperanto spelling and structure. The -o of nouns and the -a of the article can be elided for aesthetic purposes, mainly in poetry (El Blog de Idiomas, 2010-2020).
References
- El esperanto en 10 minutos, para navegantes. Esperanto. Available here
- Las 16 reglas del esperanto. Cf. El Blog de Idiomas. Available here
- ¿Qué es el esperanto? La lengua planificada más hablada del mundo. El Blog de Infoidiomas. Available here
