mi Hmmmt NEWS OF THE LANGUAGE PROBLEM AND ESPERANTO AS A SOLUTION January-February 1982 CINDERELLA CASTLE ©Walt Disney Productions WALT DISNEY WORLD® - one of several excursions planned during Convention week 30th ANNUAL ELNA CONVENTION Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida 16-20 July 1982 INSIDE: • New Year's Greetings from UEA President Maertens • Esperanto Abroad • Virinaj Aferoj • New Book News • State of the Movement • Travel News NOYJAiA MESAGO DE LA PREZ1DANTO DE UEA PROSPERAN KUNLABORON EN 1982! La Ĉenerala Asembleo de Unuiĝintaj Nacioj fine de novembro proklamis la jaron 1983 — Internacia Jaro de Komunikado. La Esperanto-Movado kiel tuto, kaj UEA specife, pro siaj rilatoj kun la specialigitaj organizaĵoj de UN (Unesko, Ekonomia kaj Socia Kon- silio), povas grave kaj tre signife kontribui al tiu agado ... Niaj preparoj por la IJK devus okazi dum 1982. Nia kontribuo al la Jaro elstarigu la rolon de la In- ternacia Lingvo Esperanto kiel pontolingvo, kiu ebligas rektan, personan kontakton inter miloj kaj miloj da homoj el ĉiuj anguloj de la terglobo. Ni em- fazu, ke tian senperan komunikadon povus ĝui la tuta homaro, se la instruado de Esperanto fariĝus ĝenerala kaj tutmonda. Ni atentigu la mondan organizafon - kaj pere de ĝi ankaŭ la tutan mondon - ke komuna internacia lingvo estas por la tutgloba .komunikado almenaŭ same esenca kaj same fundamenta kiel la teknikaj kaj ekonomiaj rimedoj. Per fundaj preparoj en 1982 por la IJK ni samtempe pretiĝas por la Jubilea jaro 1987 ... en la internacia Esperanto-movado mankas adekvataj strukturoj, kiuj ebligus festi la centjaran jubileon de Esperanto tiel, ke gi estu samtempe plene malfermita al la ekster- movadaj instancoj kaj personoj... ...ni ne bezonas kalkulilon por konstati, ke la Esperanto-komunumo disponas pri grandega poten- cialo ĝuste por mondskala agado kun longdaura efiko. Neniu alia internacia neregistara organizaĵo disponas pri tia tutmonda reto de kunlaborantoj kian havas nia Movado. ...Universala Esperento-Asocio kaj klekja giaj landaj asocioj komencis krei komunajn oficejojn en kiuj ili intime kunlaboras. UEA certe daŭrigos laŭ tiu vojo. ...ni kunlaboru sur la kampoj kaj pri la ideoj kiuj estas komunaj al ni ĉiuj. Unu el tiuj multaj komunaj kampoj estas la prepare por konvena kaj kiel eble plej efika prifestado de la Jubilea jaro 1987, ai kiu ni ĉiuj ligas grandajn esperojn pri la plua disvastigo de la Inter- nacia Lingvo. Prosperan kunlaboron deziras al vi ĉiuj, Cregoire Maertens LANGUAGE IN THE NEWS ESPERANTO - 'International Second Language' - GROWING FASTEST IN THIRD WORLD - Robert Basler, Reuters (Los Angeles Times, Dec. 4, 1981) "Stalin punished Esperantists for being too 'cosmopolitan', Hitler attacked them for being too Jewish, and China's Cultural Revolution drove them underground for no apparent reason. "But Esperanto survived to become a second language for millions of people in about 100 nations. Today its fastest growth is in non-aligned nations, which see it as conveniently neutral — neither Eastern nor Western, according to Dr. Humphrey Tonkin, who represents Esperanto at the United Nations. 'Esperan- to is making its greatest progress now outside Europe - in Iran, China and Latin America,' said Tonkin, a University of Pennsylvania professor who learned the language out of curiosity a quarter-century ago in his native Britain. "...more people speak Esperanto now than ever before. Figures are imprecise because every so often a surprise pocket of devotees turns up, as happened recently when a group of Esperanto speakers was found in Iran. Indeed, it now seems that there are few places on earth where the language is not spoken, at least by a few people." SPEAKING IN TONGUES [editorial in Fort Worth Star- Telegram, Nov. 7, 1981) The stubborn insistence of so many of the peoples of the world on speaking, writing and transacting business in their own languages is becoming an in- creasing problem for this country. Recognizing the seriousness of the problem, the House education subcommittee recently recommend- ed that more Americans should learn foreign languages and drafted a bill to create a new $87 million-a-year federal program to promote the teaching of foreign languages. The bill obviously flies in the face of the current ad- ministration's push for fiscal austerity and probably will get nowhere. But even without such budgetary constraints, it is doubtful that the problem can be solved merely by throwing federal money at it. Because money is not the whole problem, or even the biggest part of it. Most Americans see no need for learning foreign languages because they are separated from most of the world by at least two oceans. But the facts of world geography have been greatly altered by technological improvements in communications and transportation, as well as dramatic social, political and economic changes, American schools and colleges and American socie- ty, in general, can adjust to that reality without a massive grant program. They must, because a lot of stubborn people around the globe show no signs of giving in and switching to English. SPEAKING LIKE A NATIVE (Stanton Delapiane, Travel Writer, San Francisco Chronicle) "Nearly everybody speaks English," says the press release from a French airline. (It's my experience that all press agents speak rose-colored English.) People who do NOT speak English are: Your chambermaid — so you get on the room phone and have the concierge explain. Your taxi driver. He doesn't see any reason to pamper the tourist — but how many New York Hackies speak French? The doorman will tell the driver where you are go- ing. But what if you change your mind? COMING SOON - A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE (Raymond F. McNair in The Plain Truth, Jan. 1981) Mr McNair dealt at length with the need and pro- spects for a universal language. He outlined the role which constructed and ethnic languages have played in the evolution of languages. Don Harlow wrote the editors to provide an update on Esperanto. AXIOS, an attractive Newsletter calling for formation of an open community of Orthodox Christians, in its January issue carried a very good article about Esperanto which they accurately described as "The fastest growing language in the Third World." ESPERANTO IN THE NEWS CROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLS, a publication for families teaching their children at home, in its NEWSLETTER #24, carried a letter from Maire Mullarney, Dublin, Ireland, on Esperanto: "...When my eldest grandson was on holiday recent- ly I started him on Esperanto. Seven years old, he lov- ed Esperanto. We cut out words and endings for plurals and accusative, wrote nouns one color, verbs another, etc. "I warmly recommend Esperanto to home learners. No need for a teacher. It is completely regular,makes students aware of language, so that they know better what they are doing in English, gives a proven, perfect foundation for other languages, and is used worldwide to an extent you'd never believe until you get into it. "Learners of any age can begin to correspond with Esperantists around the world (including Outer Mongolia) within months, or they may be content to keep in touch with a different world through reading. "...my post this morning brought a copy of Science for the People in which was a notice saying, 'Many pro- gressive people have heard about Esperanto, but not so many are aware of the fact that several science- oriented periodicals are being published in the language'. It lists reviews of medicine, health, astronomy, etc." GWS was sent to ELNA by member Michael Jones, Fort Worth, TX. NOTES on 67th Universal Esperanto Convention, Antwerp, Belgium, 24-31 August 1982 Prominent Belgians head the convention roster. Honorary Chairman: The King of Belgium. Honorary Committee: A. Kinsbergen, Provincial Governor; Mrs. M. Schroeyens, Mayor. Chairman of the Local Convention Committee: Senator Fernand Piot. Convention Center will be the beautiful Royal Zoological Gardens, not far from the main railroad station. 35th International Convention University this year will be directed by Prof. Bruce Arne Sherwood of the University of Illinois (Urbana). Rector: Dr. Wim de Smet, dept. Head of General Science Services of the Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences. 50th Blind Esperanto Convention will be in Breda, Netherlands, about 50 km. from Antwerp. Philatelists: Belgium is issuing a commemorative 10 Belgian franc Esperanto postage stamp in 1982. Those registering for the convention will receive an order form for the stamps with the Dua Bulteno in March. Theatre Arts: A great variety of artists are being selected to perform in convention week: drama, music (popular and classical), puppetry, magic, a carillon concert, and much more. 79th Esperanto Children's Convention for children (ages 6-13) who speak Esperanto will be held during the convention week. Railroad travel in Belgium. Conventioneers will receive a 25% rebate. INTERNATIONAL CON- FERENCES AND PROBLEMS OF COMMUNICATION The 4th international conference on the chemistry of phosphorus at Duke University, Durham, NC, in- vited Dr. V. Novobilsky of Czechoslovakia as an of- ficial guest. Alongside the scientific program, interest developed regarding the language problems of the conference which attracted 350 scientists from 29 countries and all continents. On this subject Dr. Novobilsky reported in Budapeŝta Informilo (Nov. 1981): "The first two conferences on phosphorus were held in Prague (1970, 1974). On those occasions four languages were official: English, French, German, and Russian. But the committee for last June's conference at Duke made abundantly clear in advance — All abstracts and manuscripts must be made available in English; and all lectures must be presented in English. It will be impossible to ar- range translation service. "Among the participating scientists I observed the growing impression that English is in fact the universal language of science. But how does the matter stand in reality? Without language problems, naturally, are those scientists whose national language is English. They were in full command as they lectured, often at top speed, giving full attention to the subject matter, but blithely unaware of the language difficulties of their foreign colleagues. "Also without serious problems were scientists, mostly from Western Europe, who are often in con- tact with England and the United States. I noticed, however, that they did not risk lecturing without writ- ten text. "For a large number of scientists, the wide use of English causes problems in varying degree. A few are scarcely able to read their lectures — sometimes with strange pronunciation. In the discussions, the English speakers reign supreme while the others lack con- fidence to participate. "Under these conditions, it is clear that the greatest value of international meetings accrues to English- speaking scientists. Present-day language discrimina- tion casts a negative influence on the chance for free exchange of ideas, considerbly depreciating the results of international conclaves." - translated by Cathy Schulze ELNA NEWSLETTER Volume 18, No. 1 ISSN 0030-5065 Bimonthly organ of the Esperanto League for North America, Inc. P. O. Box 1129, El Cerrifo CA 94530. Telephone [415] 653-0998. Editor: Catherine L. Schulze Production: Wm. R. Harmon and Donald Harlow Back issues available for promotional use. LOCAL CLUBS CALIFORNIA Covina. "International Language Fills Gap in Multi-Tongued World" was the title of a lengthy interview in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Nov. 26. A photo showed Paula Taylor and Mildred Ashley conversing in Esperanto. West Covina Library received a gift of the Esperanto version of Winnie La Pu from the Esperanto Association of Los Angeles, and an Esperanto exhibit received favorable publicity. Napa. Martha Walker and Rose Norlund staffed a table at the annual Flea Market last fall. Sale of items handcrafted by club members brought a welcome addition to the student fund for advanced Esperanto studies at San Francisco State University. Redlands. The Redlands newspaper featured an iterview with Donna Stitz about her world trvels and the opportunities which Esperanto made possible for her with Esperanto speakers everywhere. San Francisco. The Cerebral Palsy Telethon, Jan. 16, an- nounced a generous donation made by Dale Brown of KGO- TV in the name of San Francisco Esperanto Regional Organization. Santa Barbara. Mrs. Jill Vinson teaches Spanish and French to eighth and ninth graders at Crane School. To better prepare students, Mrs. Vinson teaches a required language course to seventh graders. During the first three months, she discusses the origin of speech, the use of signs and symbols, and the development of writing. The class studies language families and has a brief introduction to Greek and Ltin as they apply to English. For two or three days students learn some Hawaiian. They also study the fundamentals of Esperanto for two weeks. Mrs. Vinson reports that students are impressed with how relatively easy Esperanto is to learn and that one-third of them, when polled as to which language would become the second language for the modern world, said that Esperanto would. The next two three-month segments of the course are devoted to an introduction to French and Spanish. The course provides a look at their own language which they do not usually get in a regular English class, familiarizes them with several languages, and finally provides a clear idea of French and Spanish so that they may choose which they will continue to study in eighth grade. Arthur Eikenberry, math instructor at Crane School, is teaching Esperanto to 18 fifth graders twice weekly for five weeks. Reported by Arthur Eikenberry Gizella Giguere, teacher of Esperanto to gifted children FLORIDA Tampa. Experiment in Reading for Gifted Preschoolers Via Esperanto. Pre-registration of 21 three- and four-year-olds did not prepare Gizella Giguere for the 40 who appeared for the reading class. Two degree-seeking teachers are assisting Ms. Giguere, who has developed a simple method of teaching reading to young children by utilizing structural possibilities unique to Esperanto. Results of the experiment will be demonstrated next July at the meeting of the American Association of Teachers of Esperanto during the ELNA Convention at Eckerd College, St. Petersburg. NOTE: The experiment is under the supervision of Dr. Dorothy Sisk, Professor, Exceptional Child Education, University of South Florida, Tampa. ILLINOIS University of Illinois - Champaign-Urbana. Dr. Bruce Arne Sherwood is now Assistant Director of the Computer-based Education Research Lboratory, and Associate Professor, Department of Physics and Department of Linguistics. The new arrangement reflects collaborative work in the areas of speech synthesis, computational linguistics, and Esperanto studies, especially in cooperation with Prof. C. C. Cheng. Cheng again this semester is offering a course on Interna- tional Communication and Constructed Languages with Sherwood assisting. A brief introduction to Esperanto is in- cluded in this course. TV Interview with Japanese Esperantist. Ms. Setsuko Umeda was interviewed on PBS Television (University of Il- linois) Dec. 15 with Prof. Bruce Sherwood translating. Campus Y Esperanto Course at University of Illinois is be- ing taught by Prof. Bruce Sherwood. Campus Esperanto Society holds a weekly luncheon. Guests at the annual Zamenhof festivities included cartoonist Baloo (Rex May), an Esperantist from Terre Haute. Chicago Esperanto Society in 1981 arranged a variety of ac- tivities: TV interviews, newspaper articles and ads, a display at Lakeview Public Library, public meetings, a benefit con- cert at the American Conservatory of Music by the Belgian concert pianist, Geert Dehoux, and a private evening of music at the home of Rosemond Brenner. Classes were held at Chicago State and Northwestern Universities. The telephone course participants were given a reception. Bern Wheel, Richard Estrom, and Allan Foster are serving as tutors for the free postal course. Kent Jones is directing the translation of Scott Foresman &Co.'s high school chemistry text. So far, 15 of the 25 chapters are being worked on; four of these and the index have been completed. The project is truly international: of the 16 volunteer translators, five are from Chicago, six from other parts of the U.S., and five from other countries. Before its publication, the book will have been reviewed by chemists in Japan, Czechoslovakia, Uruguay, and Hungary. Highlight of the year's social activities was the annual ban- quet at which poetry was read by Ferenc Mozsi; music was provided by Rosamond Brenner and Kim and Sara Su Jones. Ms. Setsuko Umeda, a travel agent of Tokyo, spoke at various schools with the result that Francis Parker School has scheduled an evening course for March. Niles North Township High School is considering an Esperanto class. A thoroughly researched report on Esperanto in Asia was made by Ms. Umeda before the Chicago Esperanto Society. Tracing the growth of Esperanto in Asia over the past 80