In the 1860-70s, Baha'u'llah (prophet founder of the Baha'i Faith) called for the adoption of a universal auxilliary language (UAL). In the early 20th century, therefore, many of Esperanto's strongest supporters were Baha'is. One reason Esperanto seems like the best choice for a UAL is because it is a-political. However, in the last half of the 20th Century the movement seems to have lost steam, for some reason.
The question is: do you think Esperanto could still make a comeback, and someday replace English as the UAL (personally, i hope so-- or if not Esperanto, then a similar "artificial" language).
The question is: do you think Esperanto could still make a comeback, and someday replace English as the UAL (personally, i hope so-- or if not Esperanto, then a similar "artificial" language).
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Denver
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Re: Make a Comeback?
Mon, January 2, 2006 - 8:21 PM<<in the last half of the 20th Century the movement seems to have lost steam, for some reason.>>
Did it? I've heard that claim (along with variations) made before, but I've never seen it substantiated. Esperanto has always been a small, but growing, movement. Did it grow more quickly before 1950?
As to replacing English as a UAL: don't hold your breath. :) Despite its numerous advantages as an interlanguage, Esperanto doesn't have armies or world-girdling economies to encourage its usage. It's certainly useful, fun, and worth learning (and teaching!), but barring miracles I don't expect it to become more influential than English anytime soon.
That said, it does have some practical advantages that English can't match. Take the Pasporta Servo for instance. www.tejo.org/ps/
