W.E.A. COURSE IN ESPERANTO

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26713, 23 April 1952, Page 3

W.E.A. COURSE IN ESPERANTO

INTEREST IN WORLD LANGUAGE

Although the use of Esperanto as an international language has not become nearly as common as its sponsors hoped, the struggle to have its claims recognised is continuing, and it still has many supporters. On Monday evening, a course of lectures on Esperanto was begun by the Workers' Educational Association, in Christchurch.

Esperanto was the creation of Dr. L. L. Zamenhof, a Polish Jew, and it was first presented to a sceptical world in 1887. The name, in the language itself, means "the one who hopes,’’ and reflects the inventor’s dream of an international language helping to bring about international peace. It is based largely on Latin, Greek, and the European languages. There are only 16 rules of grammar and—a point of particular interest to secondary school pupils—there are no exceptions to ’(them. The spoken language sounds similar to Italian; every noun ends in “o," every adjective in “a” and every adverb in “e.”

Esperanto had a considerable following just before the First World War. The president of the Christchurch Esperanto Association (Mr Lincoln Eflford), who is also secretary of the W.E.A., said yesterday that there was at present a resurgence of interest in it The League of Nations had recommended very strongly that it should be made the official international language. A petition, signed by millions of people, was to be presented to the United Nations in support of the same proposal. Esperanto was broadcast from many radio stations, and some governments used it, said Mr Efford. In Brazil a good deal of tourist information was published in Esperanto. It also had a wide use in scientific publications. Mr Eflford said that at present only a small percentage of the world’s population used Esperanto, but it was widely used in South America. Holland, and the Scandinavian countries. It was, he said, a logical language, and educationists had stated it should be taught, if only for that quality. It was also said to be a good basis for learning other languages. One of its great advantages, as an international language was its neutrality; it was not inage e “ to re P^ ace an y national langu-

The W.E.A. Esperanto lectures are partly financed by the interest on a oeauest by Mrs Sarah Ann Emson, a well-known Christchurch resident, who was very interested in the language. She died about 20 years ago. The Christchurch society has a membership of about 30, and Mr Eflford said there were about 400 persons using the •anguage in New Zealand. It was an official language in that it could be used in sending telegrams, and through the ordinary mails.