Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1908-01-02
LESSON IN ESPERANTO
Universal Language to Be Tried
at a Normal College.
EASY TO LEARN If IT is QUEER

70 BE Upper Class Language Of the
Future, Say Girls In New York In.
0tltutIon--Are Singing "Wa!k With
Me In the Moonlight" In Strange
Words.
I1berland "de rhravuI' kaJ deui
KolombIo, Ia porlo de rmaro.
The Normal college girls in New
York began to sing this the other aft
ernoon and have been hummIng 1t TO
themselves ever since. only stopping
occasionally when a number Of them
get together to shout In unison:
"Vivu In Rug -blank-kaj- blur
This Is not Latin, as some parents
thought, or Hindustani or Chinese. as
others who knew Latin said 1t must
be, but columbia" in Esperanto, In
which the girls had lesson and which
they say il to be the upper class Ian
guage of the future.
The lesson came In the form of
lecture on Esperanto at the college by
q good looking young apostle Of uni
versal language, NJ. Edmond Privat,
who has come over from Geneva, his
home, at his own expense to help
build the Esperanto bridge which he
ing understanding between nations,
says the New York Times. 1t is also,
he thinks, going to do away with I'M
pleasant irregular French verbs and
yard long sentences In German in the
schools This appealed to the Normal
girls.
M. Privats English is only four
months old, and, although 1t is excel
lent, he would not undertake to give
a public lesson In Esperanto grammar
in 1t. This was done by J. Charles
Walker. professor of French ut the
college, who illustrated the construc-
ton OF Esperanto on the blackboard.
"You know" he said in beginning,
''that the French verb is rather diff
cult"
A ripple of laughter through the
room seemed to indicate assent.
"Well," he continued. "the Esperan-
to verbs can be learned in two min
utes."
Then with crayon he gave illustra-
lions of the construction Of the words,
and in about two minutes the girls had
learned "belulo'' to be handsome
.man "belulino" to be n handsome wo-
man, and ratified of the words signi-
flying, in Esperanto. "a bevy Of pretty
little girls" with pure Esperanto ac-
cent.
I'D like to teach French as easily as
that" said Professor Walker, with
laugh, and the girls laughed again.
At the close of the lecture. at which
Miss Caglierls, one of the normal girls,
sang songs in Esperanto, fifty names
were given OF girls who will take les
sons in a class which NJ. Privat win
teach Some Of the Washington Irv-
ing High school girls who attended the
lecture made an appointment for M.
Privat to give them an idea of Espe-
ranto at their school, The language is
to be taught in twelve lessons, three
week.
Young NJ. Privat is enthusiastic about
the value Of the universal language.
He is quite young though he has
edited magazine in the new language
and been a delegate to different con-
crosses. Living is expensive In the
United States, he says, so he pays his
expenses by writing for the French
journals and what pay classes he can
get. The school class Is free. He came
to New York with introductions to
Fleming II. Revell, who introduced
Esperanto into the United States some
three years ago at the instance OF his
friend William Stead. II was then re-
ceived only with amusement.
The Normal college girls say they
are going to talk nothing but Espe-
ranto among themselves. The sentl