ELNA UPDATE Esperanto League for North America a P.O. Box 1129, El Cerrito CA 94530 ■ (510) 653-0998 • Issue 2/1993 WORLD LANGUAGE & WORLD LANGUAGE PROBLEMS__________________ LANGUAGES OF THE CARIBBEAN Although English and French are the official languages of several Caribbean countries, both are losing ground to other languages. In Haiti, for example, Creole is understood by nearly 100% of the popula- tion, and is used daily by 85%. In Jamaica, where English is the official language, it is estimated that 90% of conversations are in Jamaican Patois. Use of Patois is increas- ing. French is the only language used in Haitian schools, although only 15% of stu- dents speak French, which causes continu- ing problems in education. Students don't understand what is being taught, especially since many teachers speak French poorly. "That, along with the government's refusal to provide adequate facilities, trained teachers and proper subjects, dooms the country's population," said William Smarth, a Haitian Catholic priest. He and other Haitians want Creole to place a greater role in education. French continues to be the language of the Haitian elite. Most government leaders give speeches in French. An excep- tion was ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, which partly explains his continu- ing hold on the population. As a result, the Haitian elite continues to be opposed to expanding the role of Creole. The situation is changing slightly, at least in the mass media. Although most magazines and newspapers are in French, radio is increasingly in Creole, as are some newspaper columns. Linguists can't agree on whether Haitian Creole is a dialect of French or not. Some say it is, noting that 80% of the Creole vocabulary is French-based. According to this theory, African slaves who worked on Haitian plantations began to use a language derived from a dialect of French used by French seafarers called boucaniers. Other linguists believe that the slaves themselves transformed French into a common lan- guage they could communicate in, despite tribal and linguistic differences. In this theory, Creole has a largely French vocabu- lary but a syntax like that of African tribal languages such as Ewe and Wolof. A native English speaker might have more success in understanding Jamaican Patois than a French speaker would with Creole. The English sentence "We haven't seen each other for a long time," becomes "Long time we no mek four-yai," in Patois, which corresponds to "For a long time, our four eyes haven't met." Although Haitian Creole and Jamai- can Patois are the best known examples, alternative languages are used in some other Caribbean countries, such as St. Lucia, Dominica and Grenada. In these officially English-speaking countries, the most wide- ly-used languages are a form of Creole similar to Haitian Creole. (Los Angeles Times, May 11, 1993. Sent by Ed Schlesin- ger) ENGLISH AS SHE IS SPOKE •From a brochure at the Longmen Hotel in Shanghai: "You place at Shanghai first rate dancing hall: The atmosphere causes ladies sedate & charming, ever full noble aspiration is possessed by all gentle- men in a fantastic night. Go forward hand in hand, to be dignified and harmonious." • From a sign in a Mexican hotel room: "Dear guest, All facilities in this room are made for a comfortable stay in the hotel. In case of lost objects or bad use of the installations the maid should be afected (sic)." (Wordmill, May/June 1993) MORE AMERICANS DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH One out of seven people in the U.S. speaks a language other than English at home, a 35 percent increase since 1980, according to U.S. figures. In California one in three people -8.6 million- speaks a foreign language at home. The study showed that 20% of the 35 million people who speak another language at home cannot speak English or speak it poorly. Spanish is now the number two language in the U.S., with 17.3 million people speaking Spanish at home. That is ten times the number who speak the third most common language in the U.S., French. Other languages used in U.S. homes, in descending order, are: German, Italian, Chinese, Tagalog, Polish, Korean, Vietnam- ese and Portuguese. Most experts say immigrants want to and do learn English, but Cessna Winslow, spokeswoman for U.S. English, said use of multilingual ballots, welfare applications and other forms sends signals that immi- grants don't need to learn English. (San Francisco Chronicle, May 23, 1993, Charlotte Observer, May 26, 1990) INTERNATIONAL ESPERANTO NEWS UPDATE ON ESPERANTO Here are some facts about the cur- rent status of Esperanto in the world: «The largest Esperanto dictionaries contain between 15,000 and 20,000 roots, from which over 150,000 words can be formed. An Academy of Esperanto oversees the development of the language and a terminology center assists in the standard- ization and expansion of technical vocabu- lary. «At least 16,500 pupils in 500 schools in 30 countries learn Esperanto every year. Many other people learn on their own, by correspondence, or through local Esperanto clubs. Some 107 universities in 23 countries offer courses in Esperanto, and several scholarly journals on Esperanto studies appear regularly. The Modern Lan- guages Association of America's Annual Bibliography records over 300 scholarly articles on Esperanto a year. «Over 100 international conferences and meetings are held each year in Esperan- to - without translators or interpreters. Professional organizations also use Esperan- to, including associations for doctors and medical workers, writers, railway workers, scientists, mathematicians, and musicians. «Radio stations in Austria, Brazil, China, Cuba, Estonia, Hungary, Italy and Poland broadcast regularly in Esperanto. So does Vatical Radio. There are also occa- sional broadcasts by many other stations. •Political interest in the language is increasing: it was a working language at the 1991 conference of the European Greens in Zurich, while several national Green parties and the Italian Radical party include sup- port for Esperanto in their platforms. The Global Forum of non-governmental organi- zations in Rio de Janeiro, June 1992, adopt- ed a call for the widespread use of Esperan- to in the context of a global "ethical com- promise". • There is an extensive literature in Esperanto, both translated and original, covering all fields. Some 300 titles appear each year. Of the numerous literary trans- lations published recently, titles include Umar Khaiyam's Rubaiyat, Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, and the 12th century Georgian epic Knight in a Tiger-Skin. (An Update on Esperanto, Universala Espe- ranto-Asocio, Jan. 7, 1993) ELNA CORRESPONDENCE COURSES Learn Esperanto in the convenience of your own home through ELNA's self-paced Home Study Program! Each level of the Home Study Program is self-contained so that all you need is a tape recorder and some spare time. In addition, your course will be guided by a qualified instructor of Esperanto who will give you the personal attention you need. Levels One and Two of the program are designed to emphasize development of conversa- tional skills with a focus on everyday expressions. Why wait? Start now on the road to genuine person-to-person communication through the International Language Esperanto by enrolling today! LEVEL ONE - Using the textbook and cassette tape for the popular Jen nia mondo 1 radio course, this twelve-lesson course will quickly guide you to mastery of basic Esperanto. COURSE MATERIALS: Workbook (32 pages), Jen nia mondo 1 book (66 pages), Ten nia mondo 1 audio cassette. $40.00 LEVEL TWO -As a continuation of Level One, this thirteen-lesson course focuses on a more detailed analysis of Esperanto as a language in its own right. This course is recommended for the serious student as a follow-up to Level One. COURSE MATERIALS: Workbook (53 pages), Jen nia mondo 2 book (89 pages), Jen nia mondo 2 audio cassette. $45.00 NOTE: If you already have Jen nia mondo set for either level, you may deduct $14.50 from the price of the course. ELNA CORRESPONDENCE COURSE REGISTRATION FORM Return the form with check or money order payable to ELNA to: ELNA, P.O. Box 1129, El Cerrito CA 94530 Date: Name: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Address: City/State/Zip Code: Telephone/Fax: ----- Please enroll me in the correspondence course indicated below. I am enclosing $_ [ ] LEVEL ONE - $40.00 [ ] LEVEL TWO - $45.00 Esperanto League for North America P.O. Box 1129 El Cerrito CA 94530 USA in this issue... ♦ Creole + English ♦ Esperanto Nonprofit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Berkeley CA Permit No. 330 ELNA Membership Benefits A bi-monthly newsletter keeping you up to date on issues of importance to Esperan- tists. The ELNA Book and Tape Service catalogs and the ELNA Membership List Discounts on most items carried by the ELNA Book and Tape Services The quarterly ELNA Update with informa- tion on the world language problem and Esperanto as its solution The satisfaction of contributing materially to the propagation of Esperanto in the U.S.A. Non-Member "Friend of Esperanto" A "Friend of Esperanto" is not a dues-pay- ing member of ELNA and therefore not eligible for the regular membership ben- efits. Instead, a "Friend" offers encourage- ment to the Esperanto movement by pro- viding financial support. A"Friend" receives: Four issues of the ELNA Update via first- class mail. ELNA Update keeps you abreast of the world language problem and Espe- ranto as its solution. A copy of the year's ELNA Book Service Catalog. ELNA MEMBERSHIP FORM Please show the type of membership or support by an X in the appropriate brackets. All memberships are on a calendar year basis, January 1 - December 31. For items marked (*) we must have your birthdate. NOTE: Your address, telephone number, and computer network address will be published in the yearly membership list unless you indicate otherwise here: Do NOT publish O address O phone O network address. Name:____________________________________________________ Address:----------------------------------------------------------------------------- City/State/Zip:______________________________________________ Phone:___________________________ Birthdate:. Amateur Radio Call: Computer Network Address:. 1993ELNA Membership Categories [ ] Individual..................................$30.00 [ ] Sustaining..................................$60.00 [ ]Life(*)....................................$600.00 [ ] Youth (*Under27)....................$15.00 [ ] Limited Income.........................$15.00 [ ] Family.......................................$45.00 Other Forms of Support [ ] Friend of Esperanto...................$10.00 (non-member) [ ] Donation..............................._______ Return this form with payment to: ELNA Box 1129, El Cerrito, CA 94530 Telephone: (510) 653-0998