ON AN INTERNATIONAL AUXILIARY LANGUAGE. 395 
IV. The Claims of Esperanto and Ido. 
(a) ESPERANTO. 
Granted the obvious need for a common auxiliary language, what are the proposed 
olutions of the problem ? 
Latin or Greek ?—Who can make the dead bones live? Latin (of any epoch) 
is incapable of expressing some of the commonest ideas of modern life. Its great 
difficulty forbids its use even in writing, except by the cultured few. If reformed into 
a dog-Latin it would please nobody—and Latin scholars least of all. 
A National Language ?—Its difficulties of pronunciation, vocabulary, irregularity, 
idioms, etc., prevent its real mastery in other lands by all but a small minority. A 
“national international language ’ is a contradiction in terms. The universal adoption 
of the language of any nation would give that nation a world-influence to which the 
others would not readily agree. French, Spanish, English, German, and other lan- 
guages all have strong partisans. This solution is thus really an indefinite number 
of solutions, mutually destructive. 
English ?—Not only does English suffer from all the drawbacks above named, but 
it is further handicapped by chaotic spelling. Its advocates, recognising this, usually 
postulate reformed spelling as a necessity, but are widely at variance as to what 
reforms should be adopted, and how to enforce them. Moreover, were English 
spelling made phonetic, this would render it for the average European stili more 
difficult, because less international. At best, it takes twenty times as long to learn 
English imperfectly as to master Esperanto thoroughly. Why demand that, for our 
convenience, the greater part of mankind should study twenty times longer only to 
succeed in communicating with their fellows less perfectly ? 
Requirements.—The international language, to be ideal, should be free from sounds 
difficult to pronounce, neutral for all nations, pleasing to the ear, phonetic, concise, 
easy to learn, flexible, exact and unambiguous, logical and regular, serviceable for all 
purposes, and triumphant in the severest continued tests of practical use on a large 
scale. 
Esperanto the Solution.—Esperanto, which has been scientifically constructed for 
the purpose, possesses all these characteristics to a very high degree, and it is the only 
language that does, It is ‘ artificial’ only as being the result of the conscious selection 
of the fittest material for the purpose, and as the railway, the telephone, and every 
convenience of modern civilisation are artificial. It is neutral and international in 
its elements, logical and regular in construction, and at least as euphonious as Italian, 
for which it is cften mistaken. It is the easiest language in the world ; the principles 
of the grammar can be grasped in half-an-hour; every rule is without exception ; 
the spelling is phonetic, and the dictionary incredibly slim. Nevertheless, it has 
unrivalled precision and flexibility, and can express the nicest subtleties of thought. 
It is not an untried project, but ‘the living language of a living people’; tested 
for over thirty years in every conceivable way, and never found wanting. 
History and Organisation.—The first Esperanto grammar was published in 1887. 
Though progress at first was slow, there is now no country in which it has not gained 
a footing. There are numerous national propaganda associations, and a number of 
international associations with various specific objects. 
Esperanto in its grammar and essentials is precisely the same now as it was at 
its inception, and texts written in 1887 are as legiblenow as then. On a fixed-basis, 
however, there is full room for expansion in any direction, and with use, guided by a 
representative international committee of linguists, the language is steadily growing 
richer and more polished. 
Esperanto Congresses.—Twelve annual congresses held each year in a different 
country, in which 1,000 to 4,000 persons of up to forty nationalities have met together 
for a week or a fortnight of business meetings carried on in Esperanto alone, have 
demonstrated how Esperanto annihilates the language difficulty. In these, all kinds 
of business and the discussion of the most varied subjects are carried on with perfect 
ease, without the slightest misunderstanding or failure to give adequate expression 
of thought. 
Esperanto in the School.—The Committee has received a booklet containing reports 
from headmasters and inspectors of British schools in which Esperanto is taught. 
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