2. A Language to Unite them All

Image by geralt in Pixabay. Public Domain.

It is often argued that the modern "global village" needs a "global language", and that (particularly in a world of modern communications, globalized trade and easy international travel) a single lingua franca has never been more important. Rellenar huecos (1): JXUwMDZj

Some have seen a planned or constructed language as a solution to this need. In the short period between 1880 and 1907, no less than 53 such "universal artificial languages" were developed. Rellenar huecos (2): JXUwMDZh Today the best known is Esperanto, a deliberately simplified language, with just 16 rules, no definite articles, no irregular endings and no illogical spellings. A sentence like "It is often argued that the modern world needs a common language with which to communicate" would be rendered in Esperanto as "Oni ofte argumentas ke la moderna mondo bezonas komuna linguon por komunikado", not difficult to understand for anyone with even a smattering of Romance languages.

Rellenar huecos (3): JXUwMDZk Internationally, around 600 primary and secondary schools in 28 countries teach it and it is officially taught at 150 universities. There is a lectureship in the language at the University of Liverpool. However, it is not recognised as a modern foreign language for national curriculum purposes in England by the Department for Education.

“There are two urban myths about the international language problem,” says Brian Barker of the Esperanto Society. “One is that everyone speaks English and the other is that no-one speaks Esperanto. Both are untrue and both need to be challenged.”

Many of these universal languages (including Esperanto) were specifically developed with the view in mind that a single world language would automatically lead to world peace and unity. Rellenar huecos (4): JXUwMDY5 For instance, historically, many wars have broken out within communities of the same language (e.g. the British and American Civil Wars, the Spanish Civil War, Vietnam, former Yugoslavia, etc) and, on the other hand, the citizens of some countries with multiple languages (e.g. Switzerland, Canada, Singapore, etc) manage to coexist, on the whole, quite peaceably.

Adapted from: Garner, R. (2013, July 25). Ĉu vi parolas Esperanton? Esperanto speakers launch new drive to gain international recognition. Retrieved January 12, 2019, from http://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/u-vi-parolas-esperanton-esperanto-speakers-launch-new-drive-to-gain-international-recognition-8732416.html