It has been a while since I have seen the classic Nokto de la Galaksia Fervojo, better known as Milky Way Galaxy (Night on the Galactic Railroad). I did not know it at the time I saw the movie, but apparently Kenji Miyazawa had approved of the International language known as Esperanto and apparently Miyazawa is not the only great artist who approved of the language.
Latin and French used to dominate the world. English is currently the dominant language. Esperanto is different in being an International language. Latin, French and English are considered world languages and are used Internationally, however, the languages do not belong the world, they belong to their native lands. Esperanto has no home or nationality. Esperanto is meant to be the language of mankind.
I picture a world where man can get a long with his fellow man without the use of letters or metal but rather with their words. The word Espera means "hope" and that is where Esperanto derives its name.
Doktoro Esperanto (L.L. Zammenhof) lived in Bialystok and saw a world divided. It was this division between ethnic groups that made Zammenhof think that all the strife of living in such a multicultural community was caused by different languages. The language barrier created misunderstandings that created rifts between people. Being troubled by all this he set out to create a universal, International auxiliary language that let people keep their native tongue, yet let them be more apart of the broader community.
Knowing this I can see why great artists like Miyazawa would be in support of Esperanto.
Cxu vi parolas Esperanton?
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4 comments:
Mi devas tuj respondi - jes, mi parolas Esperanton!
Esperanto works in practice! I've used it in speech and writing in a dozen countries over recent years.
Indeed, the language has some remarkable practical benefits. Personally, I've made friends around the world through Esperanto that I would never have been able to communicate with otherwise. And then there's the Pasporta Servo, which provides free lodging and local information to Esperanto-speaking travellers in over 90 countries.
In the past couple of years I have had guided tours of Berlin and Milan in the planned language. I have discussed philosophy with a Slovene poet, humour on television with a Bulgarian TV producer. I've discussed what life was like in East Berlin before the wall came down, how to cook perfect spaghetti, the advantages and disadvantages of monarchy, and so on. I recommend it, not just as an ideal but as a very practical way to overcome language barriers.
Bill, I agree with you on the practicality of Esperanto. Having an auxiliary language is more than just an ideal, it is something that is meant to be practical and in that sense Esperanto is practical.
Mi parolas Esperanton!
I was very interested in your blog. Although a lifelong Esperanto-speaker, I hadn't known about this link with Kenji Miyazawa.
In fact, one of the many, many purposes for which I use Esperanto is corresponding with friends worldwide, including some good 'e-friends' in Japan. Some of them are very interested in anime, as are some of my friends here in the UK, so I've told them about this interesting information.
Esperanto is great for talking/writing/discussing to/with people on a neutral basis. I can thoroughly recommend it.
Dankon! Mi uzis la esperanton en mia blogo antaŭe sed via blogo havas tre plimultajn legantojn. kaj nun, vi verŝajne havos pli.
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