What we are
trying to
demonstrate is
the danger of
perversion of a
nation as the
consequence of
the strong
influence of a
particular
culture, which
is accepted,
sometimes
unconsciously.
When focusing
linguistic
rights, we see
nowadays the
emergence of a
greater
awareness in the
sense of
preserving a
culture’s unique
characteristics,
not only in
small ethnic
groups but also
in nations.
These unique
characteristics
keep the unity
of a social
group, whether
it is a small
population or a
whole nation. At
the core of
these gathering
factors of a
population, an
ethnic group we
find language,
as a determinant
factor in
maintaining a
national unity.
The level of
this awareness
about the role
of language in
keeping an
ethnic group
together is such
that, in the
year 1996, in
Barcelona, a
congress was
held by speakers
of minority
languages, which
produced a
document called
the Universal
Declaration of
Linguistic
Rights.
Dante Alighieri
understood the
value of
language as a
factor capable
of promoting the
reunification of
Italy, when in
the 14th
Century he wrote
the Divine
Comedy in a
dialect from
Tuscany, aiming
to turn it –
with a few
modifications –
the language of
all Italy. In
many regions the
use of dialects
lingered on, but
the adoption of
a “mother
tongue” became a
nationwide
event.
In the 19th
Century,
Eliezer Ben-Jehuda
had the same
idea when he
simplified the
structure of
Hebrew, also
renewing its
vocabulary in
order to
modernize it and
make it the
national
language of the
State of Israel.
At the same time
we notice an
increased
consciousness
about national
values, we have
also noticed,
for some time
now, the birth
of a planetary
consciousness.
Today, peoples
who haven’t yet
learned to share
their wealth
already share
their problems.
The need to
preserve the
conditions of
habitability on
the Planet has
open more room
for dialogue
than most
religions…
Why a common
currency and not
a neutral
language?
This awareness
of belonging to
a community
overwhelming
narrow national
limits
represents a new
dimension in the
history of
mankind itself.
But it cannot be
made effective
through sheer
political
indoctrination.
Only a greater
contract between
human beings can
bring about such
desirable
supra-national
consciousness.
Societies,
associations,
worldwide
organizations
have arisen in
bulks. It is a
new step in the
history of human
evolution. The
awareness of man
of his social
being, which
began with the
development of
his tribal
consciousness,
now spreads,
surpassing
national
borders.
With this,
particularly, we
must highlight
the notable work
developed by the
European Union,
where 28
countries
coexist, in
search of
peaceful
solutions to
their common
problems. It is
a shame, though,
that especially
in such a
promising area –
probably the
greatest
experiment in
peaceful
coexistence in
the history of
Mankind - we
waste the
noblest efforts
of true,
intelligent
human
coexistence, due
to strong
language
barriers, summed
up in 24
languages.
Language
barriers, yes,
because – for
lack of a common
language, freely
accepted by
everyone – we
resort to
translation
services, which
are already
damaged. It
sounds ironic
that fact that
there is a
common currency,
not national,
freely accepted
and not a
consensus
towards the
adoption of a
neutral language
such as the
currency.
Why don’t they
adopt a neutral
language? On the
one hand,
there’s the
terrible
domination of
countries that
won’t give up
the comfort of
not having to
learn a foreign
language,
placing
themselves as
equals in face
of the others;
on the other
hand there’s the
subservience and
the
accommodative
spirit of the
representatives
of other
countries.
The damage done
by the
difficulty of
communication –
Claude Piron, a
Belgian, native
speaker of
French,
psychologist,
professor,
multilingual,
translator for
the UN and the
WHO for many
years, denounces
that in the
headquarters of
the European
Union there’s no
observance of
the language
rights of its
Member States:
(…) in the
secretariat,
they practically
never use Dutch,
Greek, Finnish
or other “weak”
languages. Some
languages are
“more equal than
the others”,
whether when
someone is
seeking
employment as a
worker of the
European Union,
or a citizen or
member of the
Parliament must
interact with
the
administration.
2
In the field of
science, the
situation is
similar.
Scientists go to
distant places
in order to show
results of their
research, but
their work is
impaired by the
difficulty to
communicate.
A lot of
valuable
experiences are
not integrally
shared, or even
lost, because of
the lack of a
common language
in meetings,
symposiums and
congresses
worldwide. It is
a little less
bad when we
refer to written
language,
through books or
journals,
because we have
time to look
things up in a
dictionary or
refer to a
translation. But
in an
international
congress, where
the participants
in scientific
debates come
from different
countries,
language
barriers, no
rarely, impose
great damage to
the performance
of the event.
In these
congresses the
overpowering of
linguistic
rights on the
speakers of
lesser languages
is blatant. It
is rather clear
that the
speakers of the
national
language –
promoted to the
condition of
inter-language -
enjoy more
freedom when
presenting and
debating
their ideas.
The warning by
linguist Edward
Sapir
– Many
participants of
congresses
worldwide will
read, sometimes
in a hotel room,
the summary of
the conference
or the
scientific
communication
that they
listened to,
only partially
understood, but
already without
the opportunity
to debate, which
was lost due to
a lack of a more
direct and
immediate
communication,
as denounced by
Edward Sapir, a
North American
linguist,
therefore a
native speaker
of English: …in
an international
scientific
gathering, there’s
invariably the
disappointment
concerning the
difference in
linguistic
habits, the
difficulty to
communicate with
foreign
scientists makes
the exchange of
ideas a whole
lot less easy
than imagined.
3
If, as
demonstrated,
natural
languages did
not serve the
function of
inter-language,
there’s only the
alternative of
using a
constructed
language,
neutral, free of
ethnic,
political,
philosophical
and cultural
attachment. That
ideal condition
can only be
achieved by a
language not
attached to any
people,
consciously
built to serve
the role of a
worldwide
inter-language,
which can be
learned by
everyone, as a
second language.
This element of
world
communication
has already
existed in the
world for over a
century. It is
the brainchild
project by a
young idealist
who, foreseeing
a world he had
not seen,
presented a
solution to this
crucial human
problem,
published it in
1887.
Although he was
not a
professional
linguist, his
social-linguistic
and universal
view transcended
the
specialist’s. He
knew it was only
a project, a
proposal for the
birth of a
language that
would represent
a leap in the
history of
mankind.
Esperanto today
is widely used
on the Internet
– This leap in
the history of
world
communication
was not taken by
the imposition
of any external
factors. It came
by the
evolutionary
force inherent
to human beings,
for the
worldwide
community that
adopted this
project from a
young polish man
as an element of
supra-national
communication,
gave it life and
brought it to
the condition of
a living
language, which,
has matured for
over a century
now.
This worldwide
community of
users of
Esperanto,
comprised of
hundreds of
thousands of
people, spread
around over a
hundred
countries,
enjoys a library
of over forty
thousand tittles
– many of which
are not found in
their national
languages -, has
at their
disposal
hundreds of
newspapers, as
well as their
own literature,
music and arts
at a level of
richness and
variety not
found by
speakers of
ethnic languages
alone. Besides,
after having
being broadcast
on the radio for
decades,
Esperanto is now
broadly used on
the Internet.
Speakers of
Esperanto take
part in
regional,
national and
international
congresses,
making this a
rare sight, when
they gather an
average of three
thousand
participants,
originated from
about eighty
countries, all
communicating
freely. These
are the only
congresses that
do not require
interpreters.
Esperanto has
today the
greatest
opportunity in
its history, for
the world needs
it, mainly for
its
characteristics
that always set
it apart from
rival languages.
If there has
been a
maturation of
Esperanto as a
language, there
has also been a
maturation of
the awareness of
the problem of
an international
language, caused
by human
evolution
itself.
Esperanto is
effective
without being
too complex
–
Nowadays nobody,
with a clear
mind, can deny
Esperanto’s
effectiveness in
dealing with
human speech
wholesomely,
following its
great
transformation
ever since it
appeared for the
first time. It
more than proved
its simplicity
to learn and
facility of use
which don’t mean
a poorness of
expression, as
it happens with
“pidgins”.
Esperanto is a
living
demonstration
that linguistic
complexity does
not mean
superiority of
performance, for
it is simple
without being
superficial; it
is effective
without being
complex.
From the six
hundred projects
of artificially
elaborated
languages until
1962, according
to Pierre
Burney4, a few
have become
languages, but
only Esperanto
survived.
Esperanto’s time
has come, as it
has for musical
notes, the
metric system,
symbols of
simple bodies,
international
traffic signs,
units of
measurement of
vitamins and
proteins and a
whole lot more,
all
internationally
accepted by
gestures of
agreement
without any
impositions.
The community of
speakers of
Esperanto,
although formed
by the greatest
variety of
ethnic, social
and cultural
groups the world
has ever seen,
is made up of a
harmonious
group, who
gathers around
noble ideas of
fraternity,
understanding
and respect to
the culture,
ethnic
diversities and
the right of
expression of
all the peoples
of the world.
And since we are
talking about
linguistic
rights, this
community is now
demanding all
the languages to
be treated
equally, towards
the recognition
of the
linguistic
rights of all
people.
It is only a
matter of
Justice!
Sources:
1. MATTHIAS,
Ulrich.
Esperanto - the
New Latin of the
Church and
Ecumenism.
Campinas: 2003
2. PIRON,
Claude. La Bona
Lingvo. Viena:
IEM, 1997.
3. SAPIR,
Edward.
Linguistics as a
Science. Rio de
Janeiro:
Livraria
Acadêmica, 1969.
4. BURNEY,
Pierre. Les
Langues
Internationeles.
Paris: Presses
Universitaires
de France, 1962
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