New Language Promoted by Philosophy Club
Shruti Garg
Issue date: 10/16/08 Section: Campus News
The College recently hosted an Esperanto presentation on Wednesday, October 8, in the Berry Amphitheatre of the ASCC Building. The presentation, organized through the Philosophy Club, sought to promote and assess the notion of putting in place and using a universal language (Esperanto), a concept first put forth in the 17th century by Gottfried Leibniz. Furthermore, it was necessary to discuss the philosophy and history of Esperanto, with regard to the language's grammar.
The event featured a few speakers, some more familiar than others: Dr. Wallenmaier, Philosophy Instructor at HFCC; Kevin Triplett, President of the Philosophy Club; and Sherry Wells, resident Esperanto veteran. The speakers' goals were to dissolve preconceived notions of language and consider the prospect of gradual world unification through methods such as Esperanto.
Esperanto's creator was L.L. Zamenhof, who was a young Polish man of 15 years when he first considered developing a language that might unite citizens of the world. He created this language at a point when people might speak, write, and read in as many as four different languages. He hated it-especially when people called his names in languages he did not comprehend. Later still, after his college-bound departure, his father burned and destroyed all traces of this language. Zamenhof, however, did not forget the language he developed and used it among his friend and roommates at the university.
Zamenhof took the same curiosity and creativity in a more mature direction later in life and, by age 27, had a book published. Once this language was distributed and made known to people outside of Zamenhof's circle, it was readily acknowledged as a formidable auxiliary language, despite the popular belief that it sounded similar to Italian. Zamenhof's basic method called for the amendment of prefixes and suffixes to English words, in order to create a whole new vernacular.
After many years, the language slowly found a foothold and is growing rapidly. The first conference was held in 1905, in France. Everyone spoke to each other in Esperanto. 2004 saw an international conference in Beijing. Today there are up to 30,000 books published in Esperanto
The event featured a few speakers, some more familiar than others: Dr. Wallenmaier, Philosophy Instructor at HFCC; Kevin Triplett, President of the Philosophy Club; and Sherry Wells, resident Esperanto veteran. The speakers' goals were to dissolve preconceived notions of language and consider the prospect of gradual world unification through methods such as Esperanto.
Esperanto's creator was L.L. Zamenhof, who was a young Polish man of 15 years when he first considered developing a language that might unite citizens of the world. He created this language at a point when people might speak, write, and read in as many as four different languages. He hated it-especially when people called his names in languages he did not comprehend. Later still, after his college-bound departure, his father burned and destroyed all traces of this language. Zamenhof, however, did not forget the language he developed and used it among his friend and roommates at the university.
Zamenhof took the same curiosity and creativity in a more mature direction later in life and, by age 27, had a book published. Once this language was distributed and made known to people outside of Zamenhof's circle, it was readily acknowledged as a formidable auxiliary language, despite the popular belief that it sounded similar to Italian. Zamenhof's basic method called for the amendment of prefixes and suffixes to English words, in order to create a whole new vernacular.
After many years, the language slowly found a foothold and is growing rapidly. The first conference was held in 1905, in France. Everyone spoke to each other in Esperanto. 2004 saw an international conference in Beijing. Today there are up to 30,000 books published in Esperanto
Viewing Comments 1 - 8 of 8
Brian Barker
posted 11/06/08 @ 7:42 AM EST
Can I express my gratitude for raising the topic of an international language for the World.
As a native English speaker, living in London, England, my vote goes to Esperanto, by the way!
Bill Chapman
posted 11/07/08 @ 5:57 PM EST
I approach Esperanto from a preagmatic rather than a philosophicasl perspective. Esperanto works! I've used it in speech and writing in a dozen countries over recent years. (Continued…)
Paper Writer
posted 12/09/09 @ 7:42 AM EST
It was a great discussion about the philosophy and history of Esperanto.
Linda
posted 2/15/10 @ 5:36 AM EST
Loved the presentation. I am so grateful to the Philosophy club for exposing such interesting topic to the public!!
TEREK
posted 2/19/10 @ 12:12 PM EST
It was really a great presentation. I got to knowmany new and interesting facts.
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