Difference between revisions of "Esperanto"
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The use of the [[accusative]] case was controversial - it was pointed out that many languages do not have one (for example English and French, except for pronouns), and its inclusion might create a difficulty for native speakers of these languages. However, Zamenhof felt that the lack of an accusative case led to ambiguity in certain instances. | The use of the [[accusative]] case was controversial - it was pointed out that many languages do not have one (for example English and French, except for pronouns), and its inclusion might create a difficulty for native speakers of these languages. However, Zamenhof felt that the lack of an accusative case led to ambiguity in certain instances. | ||
| − | The intended role of Esperanto as a [[lingua franca]] was never | + | The intended role of Esperanto as a [[lingua franca]] was never realized - English has become, to all intents and purposes, the international language. |
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
Revision as of 03:13, August 31, 2007
Esperanto is a language developed by an ophthalmologist, Dr. L. L. Zamenhof, in the late 1800s. Esperanto is a planned language intended for use between people who speak different native languages. It was designed with the intention of being both simple to learn and unambiguous. It is spoken by some hundreds of thousands, perhaps several million, people in all parts of the world. The New Testament was first published in Esperanto in 1912, and the Bible in 1926. The language's creator, Dr. Zamenhof, was the main translator of the Esperanto Old Testament.
The language has a primarily Latinate vocabulary, but has agglutinative aspects in its syntax. In keeping with its purpose of being as logical and simple to learn as possible, there are no irregular forms.
The use of the accusative case was controversial - it was pointed out that many languages do not have one (for example English and French, except for pronouns), and its inclusion might create a difficulty for native speakers of these languages. However, Zamenhof felt that the lack of an accusative case led to ambiguity in certain instances.
The intended role of Esperanto as a lingua franca was never realized - English has become, to all intents and purposes, the international language.