ENGL300-1: Michael Carnduff
ENGL300-2: Nick Griffith
Ludovic Zamenhof, a polish physician, grew up in Poland during the 19th where he heard many different languages including Polish, Yiddish, German, and Russian. He saw a lot of struggles between these different cultures and he thought that diversity of language was a major factor.
Dr.Zamenhof wanted to unite the world with the creation of an easy-to-learn language called Esperanto. Growing up, Dr. Zamenhof saw a violent struggle between different ethnic groups. He hoped creating a common language would help ease that strugge. Esperanto became popular in China and Europe after World War II. However, Esperanto did not last because it was not a native language. Outside of conventions no one really used it.
Due by class time on:Dr. Zamenhof had a genuinely good idea when he created a united easy-to-learn language hoping to use it throughought the world. Ultimately, though, as easy as the language was to learn, it was not practical. I find it unfortunate that there is no universal language that would be able to overcome all communication barriers. However, since our language is a major part of culture, getting people to adopt a new way of speaking would be next to impossible. I found this article very interesting. Before reading this article, I had never heard of Esperanto. The closest thing we have to an international language is English. Unfortunately, English is one of the hardest languages to learn. As for now, our language barriers continue.
The responses by the whole class are due by class time on:
The text you need to read is here
Esperanto was a language originally conceived with the hope that the world could be unified through a shared language. Zamenhof, the author of the language, hoped that there could be an internationally shared language that was simple and easy to acquire. After WWII, Esperanto became popular in China and Europe. Sadly, Esperanto fell victim to its own appealing nature: nobody spoke it or grew up with it--that is, it was no one's mother tongue. I think it's a shame that there isn't an international language that is shared by all; or at the very least, that Americans aren't more educated in other languages.
ReplyDeleteI think this article was interesting. The idea of a shared language is fascinating. I think there is a shared language through universal things like smiling and mathematics. However, the idea of a universal language will never be able to happen. Language is a part of culture, and culture is unique to the country is it from. Zamenhof had a great idea with this language, but it just wasn't the mother tongue of anyone and it could never be a shared language throughout the world.
ReplyDeleteI think the idea of Esperanto is very interesting. It seems like a good idea to institute a universal language, but history has shown that this doesn't work. This article reminds me of the Biblical story of the Tower of Bable. This story took place after the Flood (Noah and the ark). Basically, all the people on earth spoke one language and they decided to build a tower because they wanted to "make a name for themselves" (i.e. they wanted to be their own gods). God knew what they were doing and confused their speech, to show them their need for Him (here's the link, if you want to read about it http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis%2011&version=ESV ). So, our weaknesses as humans (different languages), show us our need for God.
ReplyDeleteI agree that language is a huge part of cultural identity; part of exploring new cultures is learning new languages. If everyone in the world spoke the same language, that would be boring. How would we decide which language to adopt as the "universal" language anyway?
I have never heard of Esperanto but just by the overview it upsets me that it didn't work because it would had been a wonderful way of integrating people into one language. Having a language that we can all understand can bring many cultures together and eliminate any barriers between our different backgrounds. However, the world keeps changing more cultures and languages are mixing such as Spanglish .I wouldn't be surprise that in a few years we have a language we can all relate to and learn quickly.
ReplyDeleteThe Decline and Fall of Esperanto: Lessons for Standard Committees depicts the introduction of a worldwide common language. Through this language, the barrier between cultural differences would diminish and peace could very well become possible. Through reading this article, the understanding of the benefits presented by a common language to all is deeper than cultural differences, but would become a culture in itself. If everybody from across the world were suddenly enabled the ability to easily understand one another; multiple positives among mankind would arise. Through this system of connected language, hopes of connected communities and expectations of one another emerged as well. The concept between uniting the world with language elicits the ideas of how society should overall act and treat one another. I think it is a good idea if perfectionist worlds weren’t envisioned, but realistic ones.
ReplyDeleteI found this article extremely interesting. I have never heard of Esperanto before reading “The Decline and Fall of Esperanto: Lessons for Standards Committees” which was written by Robert Patterson. I find the idea a brilliant one; if you could ever get the world on board. I do believe that having a universal language will never happen; English is the closest thing to universal we will get. That is only because some feel like people should learn English because it is the most commonly spoken and taught language. Regardless, having a universal language would make everything a little easier, especially business. On the other hand, language is part of one’s culture; it is another way that makes all different and unique.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a very interesting article. I had never heard of “Esperanto” until reading this. This is an intriguing concept. I think it would be a very long strenuous goal to try to unify the world’s language barriers with a simple universal language. It does not belong to any country so, therefore, a pride of country concept would be involved. I do see the upside of this, the understanding and better communication altogether, but it would take years for the world to learn. Overall, this was an interesting and informative topic, and I would like to learn more about it.
ReplyDeleteIt is an interesting concept, to create a new and universal language, but it sad to say that it would probably never work. I thought the article Esperanto was extremely interesting, and I for one have never heard of this language before. Though it is an interesting concept, the thought that a person would disregard their native language in hopes of breaking a communication barrier is ridiculous. That being said, maybe we should all be a bit more courteous when someone cannot speak our language, instead of getting angry with that person. That is something that effects the world. I know most American travelers don't even bother to try and learn the language of the country they are going to visit, they just assume everyone knows English. Although English is probably the closest thing we have to a universal language, it is extremely difficult to learn and it should not be expected that people outside of the English speaking region should know it. That all being said, I thought the article was extremely relevant and interesting.
ReplyDeleteI found this reading interesting in that the idea of one universal language sounds very nice. I do not believe that this will ever happen though because spoken language is a big part of one's own culture. Learning a language that would be spoken across the world would be very helpful, in that there would never be that language barrier to overcome when speaking to someone from outside your country. The idea of a global language is nice but as I said before I do not believe that this will ever happen.
ReplyDeleteImagine if all nations of the world could communicate with one another using one universal language. Well, Zemonhof did imgaine this, and he even tried to make it happen. He created a language called Esperanto and tried to spread it around the world. Unfortunately, the language never really caught on. I think this is a very inspiring idea. Maybe one day it will even be a reality. However, I do think that peoples native languages should not be forgotten.
ReplyDeleteI think that would be an amazing thing if the whole world could speak the same language. We would not have to deal with a language barrier, we could fully understand each other, and we would be able to communicate much better when dealing with serious world matters. The fact that Zemonhof tried to create this is very inspirational and I wish someday this will catch on.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of Esperanto and I'm not really sure if the idea of everyone speaking the same language would be such a good idea. I believe that language is an important part of human existence, and i also believe that it is something that helps to enrich a culture. Historically if no language barrier existed our society wouldn't be what it is today.
ReplyDeleteI never heard of Esperanto,but I found this article very interesting.The idea of creating a universal language is great but will never be accomplished. English can be considered a universal language because it is derived from many different languages. However English is one of the most hardest languages to learn. I think language barriers is what drives people to strive to understand others around them or on the other side of the world.
ReplyDeleteLudovic Zamenhof idea is an amazing one and before reading, I thought the task would be simple enough to grasp. But, with further thought, language has become such a part of who a person is, this probably would never catch on. I would think that it would make the world such an easier place but everyone wants to believe that his or her language and culture are the best and would be hard pressed to give it up.
ReplyDeleteI think that a universal language would be a good thing. I know that the internet is crossing boarders, ideas and knowledge are getting places which different countries have not shared before. So the internet will help bring a universal language to the world, it will not be a completely the same language but there are translators to help with that.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of Esperanto, but I find the idea of it very interesting. While the idea of having a universal language sounds helpful, it is not practical that so many differents cultures would be able to pick it up and learn it. Besides that, language is what makes a culture unique. Maybe eventually we will all find a language that we can communicate through, but right now translators will have to do.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this article, I had never ever heard of Esperanto. It is seemingly a good idea, but trying to get people, even in a small area, would be hard to teach. I find it fascinating that it even became popular enough to spread through China and Europe. I believe that it would be very nice to have one common language that would be easy to learn, but to get everyone to actually take the time to learn it would be nearly impossible.
ReplyDeleteI really love the idea of utilizing an universal language that everyone could use to be able to communicate with people allover the world. Before reading this article I had never heard of the Esperanto language. I find it fascinating that the language was able to spread as far as it originally did. The fact that it spread from China to throughout Europe says a lot about this language and maybe Zamenhof was on to something quite brilliant. It would be amazing to see it come full circle, but I highly doubt that would ever happen.
ReplyDeleteI never really thought about the concept of language for the whole world to share. I believe if the idea worked it would have been world changing. But, I believe it is impractical and will never work because of the complexity of actually making people willing to learn it. In order to make people want to learn it there would have to be a lot of people who already know it.
ReplyDeleteThis article describes Zamenhof's idea of a unified language used by all. This language is Esperanto and was created so that everyone could speak the same language and be understood by everyone. This was a good idea by Zamenhof but it will never work. There is evidence for this in biblical stories (Tower of Babble). I like all the different language in the universe because it makes people u8nique and creates culture.
ReplyDeleteThis article displays an idea, by Ludovic Zamenhof, that ethnic arguments could be calmed through a universal language. While the idea itself is clever, and was used for a short period of time, it is not logical to last. One language cannot be completely superior over all others because every language has different orientations and slight differences. Although American English is accepted in other countries, it is not dominant and still has its different characteristics such as slang and geographical differences. In total, while the idea of a universal language was clever, it could not last because it wasn't logical.
ReplyDeleteThis article by Ludovis Zamenhof presents the idea of everyone understanding one language. He has the idea o an universal language. This idea seems very good, but could probably never take flight. Their are over a million languages in the world. That means he would have to know someone who knew each language, and teach his to them. This idea isn't logical at all, but is coming from a good place.
ReplyDeleteLudovic Zamenhof had good intentions when he came up with the idea that a universal language was necessary. He believed that if everyone spoke the same language that there would be no more wars or conflicts. He explained that it was hard growing up when everyone spoke different languages ranging from Polish, to Russian, to Yiddish. I agree with him that a universal language would be a great idea, but I do not believe that this will ever happen. English is one of the most well known languages around the world, so I think we can start from there. To make a brand new language now seems nearly impossible.
ReplyDeleteIn the article "The Decline and Fall of Esperanto: Lessons for Standard Committees," the author explain what would happen if the whole world spoke the same language. Luckily, after winning WW2 we don't have to. Everyone should speak there own native language. Language represents culture and background. There are some positives to people speaking the same language. It would be easier for countries to communicate without needing translators. Another positive is I could to any restaurant and not get my order messed up.
ReplyDeleteEsperanto was intended for the world to be united with one language. Zamenhof created this language which is easy to learn in hope the whole world would use it. Esperanto never became anyone's native tongue, but was used in China and Europe. I feel a world wide shared language that is simple and easy to learn would be a fantastic idea. I know English is known pretty well around the world, but I think it is unfair to Americans to only know one language. I feel American's should be more educated on language.
ReplyDeleteIv'e never heard of this language until now, but i dont understand why it didnt work it. It was going to bring many cultures together and come to form one language.I think this is a really good idea for many people to come together.
ReplyDeleteEsperanto was created to break down language barriers. It was a failed attempt at making us all able to communicate without language barriers. I think the concept of Esperanto was a good concept and something that should be pursued in the future. I think one of the most difficult things about getting along in this world is being able to effectively communicate and understand one another. If we had one set universal language that we all knew, the world could greatly benefit in all areas—education and economic areas included. Language barriers continue.
ReplyDeleteI believe that anything to help break the barriers of language communication should be pursued in the future. If it has a chance of working, then it should be continued. When i read this article, it was the first time I had heard of Esperanto. I found the article interesting and enjoyed reading it!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, I found that the idea of the Esperanto language is one that is very interesting, merely because it was initially created with the possibility that the amalgamation of the world would occur through a collective language. Furthermore, it would be a language that would be easy to learn. Although it seems as if it is a good idea to institute a universal language, history, however, has shown that it is essentially impossible for it to work. Language is essential to one’s cultural identity, because exploring new cultures means that one would be exposed to, or even possibly learning, its language. This serves to potential problems: one, by everyone speaking the same language, then there would be nothing exciting or unique about the culture, and two, how would the universal language to adopt be decided?
ReplyDeleteI think that while creating a universal language is a nice idea it would never ever work and I am not sure that it is a good idea. While it is important for everyone to communicate I think that Esperanto was a good idea in theory, to break down language barriers, but there are good and solid reasons that it did not work. Creating a single language has the problem of what will the language be? How will the language be spread and learned? Some will pick it up quicker than others, and those who use the language will leave those who are slower to pick it up behind. Each region will put their own spin on the language, it will pick up qualities of the people in different regions, which defeats the purpose. Language is a part of culture, and while it is important for everyone to be able to communicate, it is a bad idea to take that culture away.
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