Esperanto

Esperanto which was designed as a neutral lingua franca, which simply means second language was published by Dr. Lejzer (Ludovic) Zamenhof in 1887. Dr. Zamenhof was a Jewish ophthalmologist in Warsaw who contributed in the ideology of a planned international language through collective use of the masses. It was created so that anyone from any background or origin would be able to learn this language without the so called “complexities and inconsistencies of the European languages”. After the First World War the language of Esperanto was clearly established internationally. A lot of people began to take interest in the language during the war because it helped people cross national lines, because they were able to join in unity in a common language. During the 1920’s many people organized in support of Esperanto language. The Rousseau Institute of Educational Science in Geneva organized the first International Conference on the Teaching of Esperanto in Schools. The League of Nations stepped in as well, along with others institutes in support of devoting time and studies to Esperanto. Many institutes also conducted research of Esperanto in order to conclude if Esperanto could easily be learned on a broader scale. These studies were later found inconclusive because of inadequate experimental conditions. After the Second World War there were great consequences that were attributed to teaching and learning Esperanto. A lot of studies around the globe went on to establish whether Esperanto held any value in being taught. After these studies were conducted there was proof that Esperanto held a strong positive effects in direct correlation with General English. These studies were created to prove that Esperanto had a helping hand in effectively linking languages together. For example Italian pupils learned Esperanto followed by French and Japanese pupils learned Esperanto first and then took lessons on learning English. Along with experiments comes limitations, and there were certain limitations that surfaced along with these studies. These limitations however, do not disprove the significance of Esperanto in aiding with the transition into picking up other languages. Esperanto is a useful link into leveling the playing field in learning other languages. The problem that arises is the public debate about education, linguistic rights for students on a broad scale. I simply believe that if Esperanto is a helping aid, in obtaining knowledge to learn a new language then it should be practiced. There is no harm that comes from learning useful information to further ones intelligence, especially when ones intelligence can be spread outside of one’s indigenous language. Interlinguistics is important in the development and advancement of education, especially when the world today is heading in a more international platform. Esperanto is a great way to ease the transition into learning new languages and it should be considered on a broader spectrum to contribute foreign language education.