The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-09-01
A NEW LAM
GUAGE THAT MAY
PACIFY THE WORLD

@SsItEis somewhat remarkable fact
that 1ustsnoW, when Russian and Japan
are ockedain$a death.grip, a native
g the former country is trying to ex-
tend TO the United States a plan which
some think will do much toward
bringing abouttha universal peace of
Wbich#theapoets have dreamed. The
plan isto heIpaI1 civilized peoples
to a complete understanding of one an
other byameans of q new information
a1M1anguage,for which the most ex-
~traordinary claims in the way of sim
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES are made. 1t
8@isfassertedst thai it can be learned by a
person fordinary intelligence in a
few weeks, says the New York Press.
TheSnew language is known as Es-
peranto. Its inventor and advocate, is
DrsLazara Zamenhof, a practicing
of Warsaw, Russian Poland.
not ~contended by DR.. Zamenhof
Esperanto should supplanI exist
ing tongues; he offers it merely as a
neutral language which shall supply
men ofsdivers nationalities with a
mean for mutual intercourse, while
thespeople of each nation go on speak
ing5their native idiom at home and in
the family circle:
It will astonish most Americans to
learn that-in Europe hundreds of So
cieties already nave been formed to
push Esperanto into general use. and
that5in consequence it is making rapid
sprogress. In various parts of Europe
magazines are now published in the
language. n with the conspic-
uous exception of the United States
there is hardly an important country
in the civilized world that does not
possess its Esperanto-center. There is,
however, n Esperanto section at the
St.Ilouis exposition, and the %inventor
hopes that this will do much to arouse
interest here in the cause
Esperanto, it is asserted, is free
from the objections that caused the
downfall of Volapuk. which a few
years ago was heralded as the golden
speechSthat would take the place of
existing languages. Volapuk went by
board partly because of its ambi-
ton to kill OFF other languages, but
chiefly because it was an involved
and difficult speech t~o-learn. Neither
Of these objections. it is said. can be
urged against Esperanto. In a recent
number of the Independent, DR..
Zamenhof gives a good idea of his in
vention.
J3r4t - L, ~1N.I - - h. -;,o- -l1.I
fact tina in order to enjoy cores
pondence with foreigners it is at pres
Unnecessary to learn at least four or
five other languages. This is SO diff
fcult that it is possible only to a few,
I'M even the few who are able to mas
ter four or i've new languages find
the largest part of the world closed
Ito them 50 far as speech is concern
sed. o the other hand, did an inter
national language exist it would be
NECESSARY to learn only this III addi-
ton to ~one's9native tongue to under
stand and be understood by the whole
world.
For centuries past" says Dr. Fam
enhof, -studious youths have spent
long in learning Latin, yet are
Va opiV " ca
free use of that tongue? Had the
samegyouths spent but a tenth Of the
time in mastering the international
auxiliary every human would now be
Ineligible to his fellow. In a few
weeks one can learn Esperanto slI!Il-
GENTLY we'll to be able to communi-
cate ones ideas with freedom
On the score of Esperanto's sim
plicity, DIR. ~Zamenhof's assertions are
really astonishing. Its entire gram
mar, he says, consists of only 16 brief
and simple rules, which can be master
ed in half an hour, while its root words
are those already known To many of
the old languages. For this reason
men of education frequently are able
to read it after only a few hours
study. Here is the testimony of Leo
Tolstoi. the great Russian philoso-
pher:
great is the facility of learning
Esperanto that. having received a
,e~ -. =, - - Il; .+; - -,-l go ~,:LJ -