neal@druny.UUCP (Neal D. McBurnett) (03/23/85)
Let me tell you a little about my travel plans for the summer (if I had known
about Esperanto before my bicycle trip to Japan in '82, it would have been much
more fun!)
First, some of my aspirations and difficulties. I want to experience
the world first-hand in as broad a way as possible. If I expected to
be interested in one particular country for many years, I would
certainly feel it necessary to study their language in depth, since the
native language is an integral part of a nation's culture. Even for a
short trip, I will learn as much of the native language as I have time
for. Unfortunately, however, languages require years of study to
attain any sort of proficiency, and since I'm interested in many
countries, I simply won't have the time. Alternatively, if I attempted
to speak to natives in English, our conversation would necessarily be
awkward for them and frustrating for me. I'm not talking about asking
where the bathroom is; I want to discuss politics, third-world
development, relationships, and other things that are important to me!
Esperanto is a language specifically designed to facilitate
international communication, and has been a practical tool for
addressing the language barrier in tourism for many years now. It
currently has millions of adherents all over the world. (We don't hear
much about it in the US, where language problems pale in comparison to
the problems in Europe, Africa, and India!) Unfortunately, it has not
yet met its potential for facilitating international conferences and
negotiations, but that is mostly a political issue, and is the topic of
another discussion.
This summer there will be a world Esperanto conference ("UK") in
Augsburg, Germany, preceded by the "IJK": a lively conference for
younger esperantists (mostly in their 20's) in Eringerfeld, Germany. I
will fly in (on a $569 round-trip charter NY-Frankfurt) for the IJK on
the 20th of July, spend a week living with people from 40 different
countries (350 people, in all), and then join them for a 6 day bicycle
trip to Augsburg. At the UK there will be several thousand people from
an even broader spectrum of countries. Another week of travel follows
that.
One of the best parts of the deal is that the German government is subsidizing
my trip (and your's too, if you apply in time...) so that I need only pay
around $100 for my entire month long stay in Germany (dormitory lodging,
meals, and bicycles provided!).
When I plan other vacations in the future, because I am a member of the
Universal Esperanto Association I can look up "delegates" wherever I want
to go who will meet with me, advise me about where to go and what to see,
put me in contact with other local esperantists, etc. There are over 2500
delegates in 70 countries listed in my current esperanto "yearbook".
I expect the esperantists I meet to be unusually interesting people with
interests similar to mine, but different cultural viewpoints. I also
anticipate that they will be inclined to be friendly to me because I'm not
one of "those arrogant Americans who expect everyone to talk to them
in English."
Finally, if I had the time, I would enjoy an exciting 3 week vacation at
San Francisco State University polishing up my Esperanto. Again, it is
on of the cheapest deals around: $70 per credit (5 different 3 credit courses
available), $108 per week for lodging and 15 meals a week! Scholarships are
available also. Several foreigners attend the classes each year.
I have oodles of information on the language on-line (including
a dictionary), but briefly:
It is easy to learn (no exceptions to the rules, based on romance
languages). Studies have shown a year of Esperanto to be
equivalent to 5 years of Spanish (another "easy" language).
It is used a lot in Europe and is gaining strength in the far east
and the third world. (40,000 Chinese are taking courses now!)
The European Economic Community is funding a large effort to semi-
automatically translate among their 9 languages using
Esperanto as an intermediate language.
It has millions of speakers, thousands of books, and a hundred
periodicals.
Bulgaria just started requiring the study of both Esperanto and English
in their high schools.
Each year there is a world congress attended by thousands. It will
be in China in '86 and Poland in '87.
You will not feel either lost and bewildered speaking other peoples'
languages, or put them at a disadvantage by making them
speak English: you meet as equals!
You can learn it from books (like I did: in a few months I could
understand relatively quickly spoken Esperanto, and
could read anything at all with a dictionary).
There is also a "Free 10 Lesson Postal Course": you send in the first
lesson, which I can send you via E-mail; they correct it
and send you the next lesson.
The time you spend learning it will also help you learn other
romance languages.
A documentary may be coming to a public TV station near you: tell
them you want it!
There is an "Esperanto Travel Service" in San Francisco. They are
arranging my trip as well as a trip through East Germany
(meeting local esperanto groups along the way) before
attending just the UK in Augsburg. 415-836-1710.
Read net.nlang for more info, or ask me for more info, or contact
Esperanto League for North America, Box 1129, El Cerrito CA 94530
415-643-0998
-Neal McBurnett, ihnp4!druny!neal, 303-538-4852
Boulder, CO