Esperanto movement

The Esperanto movement is a movement that wants to spread the planned language Esperanto and introduce it as generally as possible. The inventor of the language, Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof , set the goal for his language, among other things, "that the greatest part of those who can read and write speak it with skill". He wanted to find a “means (...) to overcome the indifference of the world and to encourage it to immediately and en masse to make use of this language as a living language, but not only with a key to it in the world Hand, or only in an extreme emergency. "

In addition, according to Zamenhof, Esperanto should also be such that everyone who has learned this language "must be able to use it immediately to communicate with other nationalities", "regardless of the extent to which this language is recognized by the world, whether it is used by many, has few or no followers "; this laid the foundation for the formation of the Esperanto language community .

The goals formulated by Zamenhof were missed by far. The proportion of people who speak Esperanto at all is in the per mil range, the proportion of those who speak it well is hardly measurable.

Motifs

The motives are different within the Esperanto movement. Some people are more prone to idealistic goals (a common language that teaches people that they are brothers); others are more prone to the practical benefits for e.g. B. International trade and travel. A clear assignment of the Esperanto movement to a norm or value-oriented movement does not seem easy.

Definition of the term

Within the Esperanto-speaking community , the term 'Esperanto movement' (movado) is often used to describe everything that belongs to Esperanto, not just efforts to spread Esperanto. However, this is a very broad interpretation of the term 'movement' which does not correspond to the definition commonly used in sociology. Esperanto-speaking sociologists have therefore been calling for a clear distinction between movement and language community since the 1970s.

The Rauma Manifesto (1980) criticized the attempt to establish Esperanto as a second language to be introduced worldwide - the official introduction of Esperanto was neither likely nor essential during the 1980s, and the failure of English was neither a task nor a concern Esperanto speaker. The speakers of the language are defined as a self-chosen, dispersed, linguistic minority.

The Prague Manifesto from 1996 begins with the words “We, members of the global movement to promote Esperanto”. This makes it clear that the aim of the movement is to promote Esperanto - anyone who simply uses Esperanto without promoting it in any particular way only belongs to the Esperanto language community, but not to the Esperanto movement.

Esperantism

In the "Deklaracio pri la Esenco de la Esperantismo" (Declaration on the Essence of Esperantism, 1905, 'Bulonja Deklaro'), 'Esperantism' is defined as the "effort to spread the use of a neutral human language throughout the world, which would give people of different nations - without pushing themselves into the inner life of the peoples and in no way with the aim of pushing out the existing languages ​​- the opportunity to understand each other (...) ”.

Esperanto in schools and universities

The traditional goal of the Esperanto movement is to establish Esperanto in state teaching, especially in schools and universities. In Hungary, Esperanto is an optional subject in some schools. Students can also choose Esperanto for the Abitur; of this possibility z. B. in 2011 a total of eight students made use of this. At the University of Amsterdam there has been a chair in interlinguistics and Esperanto paid for by the World Esperanto Federation, each limited to five years. At the University of Poznan it has been possible to study interlinguistics, especially Esperanto, as a distance learning course since 1997. In 2017, a maximum number of eleven graduates was reported.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ L. Zamenhof. International language. Warsaw. 1887. p. 26
2. ↑ L. Zamenhof. International language. Warsaw. 1887. p. 9
3. ↑ L. Zamenhof. International language. Warsaw. 1887. p. 8
4. ↑ Foster. The Esperanto Movement . P. 333f
5. ↑ "la oficialigo de Esperanto estas nek verŝajna nek esenca dum la 80aj jaroj - oni havu alternativajn celojn"; "la faligo de la angla lingvo estas nek tasko nek zorgo de la esperantistoj"; "mem elektita diaspora lingva minoritato" Manifesto de Raŭmo
6. ↑ Prague Manifesto
7. ↑ Bulonja Deklaracio: (…) penado disvastigi en la tuta mondo la uzadon de lingvo neŭtrale homa, kiu "ne entrudante sin en la internan vivon de la popoloj kaj neniom celante elpuŝi la ekzistantajn lingvojn naciajn la homiousjn", de donus al eblon kompreniĝadi inter si (...)
8. ↑ hvg.hu ; "Francia nyelvből 1008-an tesznek majd középszintű írásbeli érettségi vizsgát, olaszból 623-an, (...) eszperantóból 8-an"
9. ^ Gobbo, University of Amsterdam ; Previously: University of Amsterdam, Esperanto Chair ( Memento of the original from January 19, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . From 2002 to 2013 Wim Jansen was professor; revuo Esperanto, jul./aŭg. 2013, p. 150 
10. ↑ Interlinguistic Studies, Poznań , 20 years of interlinguistics in Poznan