Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1901-08-03
NEW LANGUAGE EASY
PUSHING CLAIMS OF ESP ERAN-
TO WITH ENTHUSIASM.
Learned In n Few .Hours-CiviiiEation
Demands AN Easy Medium of Com
munication Between Different Peoples
--PhiloIogists Asked to Give Aid.

A determined attempt is now being
made in Paris to spread the use OF
an international or auxiliary IAN
guage' in order to aid travellers, mer-
chants, scientists and other persons
who find themselves placed temporal
lily in a country where they do not
understand the national speech. Thls
attempt recalls that made some years
ago in favor OF 'Volapuk." which still
has its advocates, but which has, on
the whole, proved an ignominious fail
ure on account of it's complexity Some
have thought that the English Ian
guage would become the common
tongue of the world. but 1t is a we'll
known fact that the so-called Eng
fish language is a mixture OF many
languages. The auxiliary language
now being pushed forward in the
French Academic des Sciences and by
other organizations which are con-
WINGED of its practicability and event
ual efficacy. is called Esperanto" 1.-THE
corrupted gerundiye limiting at its de-
stability, and is the invention OF
Russian, DR.. Zamenhoff, who says
that the language is so simply con-
structed as to be readily understood
with only a dictionary to aid the stu
dent. That is-Esperanto has no
grammar, fact which, to begin with,
can hardly be considered as anything
but an undiluted blessing. The Mar
| Quis de Beaufront. who has spent the
last ten years in trying to further the
interest of the language, Is now ex-
| planning them twice week TO audi
| ences composed of the members of the
Touring Club de France" which
/ claims to be the most extensive cyci-
ing organization in the world, and
| which includes some 500 Americans in
its membership. Learning English,
German or Italian is the work, more
or less, OF lifetime; learning Es-
peranto is the effort of half day. NJ.
Couturat, well-known young philol-
ogist and philosopher at Paris has in
terested himself greatly in the scheme,
and is the head of delegation
which has jdst presented an address
to the president of the Academic des
Sciences asking that this body delib-
crate with all gravity and seriousness
on the question of lending its weight
and authority to the spread of the
common language. NJ. Coutrat said:
Civilization demands the existence OF
such common and easy medium OF
communication between different
peoples. All philosophers, includ-
ing Bacon, Pascal, Descartes,
Leibnitz. Locke, Condillac, Dide-
rot. Volney and Arnpere. have
agreed that this is so, and some
of them, for example, Leibnitz, have
tried to supply the need, when Latin
grew out of the question on account
of the time required to learn it and its
natural infexibility for the practical
purposes of our age. Volapuk misera-
bly, failed dozen years ago. 1t was not
constructed scientifically Esperanto
on the contrary, has not had to be ''ir
vented at all. 1t has grown gradually
out Of the growth of modern Ian
guages. There are already a multi
plicity of scientific terms and Others
common now to so many language:
that an international vocabulary ma!
already be said to exist. Other words
are common to three languages; still
others to only two; all these word
then, will furnish the kernel or start
ing point of the new language; thei
: number grows greater all the time
Compound and derived words will b
formed according to the most simpl
rules, and the spelling will be rigor
5 ously phonetic. SimilaTities Of pronun
: citation between different words wi
e be avoided with great care. Great terse
s ness and brevity will be secured b
5 abolishing long endings. For instance
I take the word Joy. This, is the in
e ternational Esperanto is COLO Joy
= GUS is made by changing the vow'
q ending 'goia.' Joyously' is 'goje'; t
o rejoice is goji.' Verbs are not Infect
0 ed; only the pronoun changes. This
i. of infantile simplicity and one easil
e understands Tolstoi's statement thu
= after two hours / found could easil
read Esperanto. After four hours
u wrote it with ease; it is a great dis
d covery.'" To spread the language sev
3, eral American organizations are I
d be communicated with, and philoIt
r gists Of the United States are to /
I asked to lend their aid in the project
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