Which language should be the EU’s common working language?
How do we bring Esperanto into the EU?
“International languages” does not denote contemporary national languages in this context.
We have several rather than one determined language for the international dialogue, despite the increasing importance of international co-operation.
We; the citizens of the EU, members of the UN and other inhabitants of the earth, must agree on a language that can be used both by governments as well as common people. We have to decide on a language that is not one nation’s language or one people’s mother tongue. In addition the language must be easy to learn. There is such a language. It is called Esperanto.
The choice of Esperanto as the international language of the world will give all people enormous benefits, for Chinese, Russians, Americans, Nigerians, Inuit and all others, since a world where people from all countries can express themselves with ease in the same language will become a safe and more peaceful world. Every one will gain from this: proletarians and capitalists, Catholics and Muslims, isolationists as well as those who refuse to recognise any boundaries.
With such a language, the statesmen of the world would soon be able to speak with each other without interpreters and thus to reach a higher level of understanding, for a lot of the personal contact is lost when you speak through an interpreter. I know this through long personal experience.
You might object that the world already has an international language (say English, French or Spanish etc, it's your choice). In that case, we would like to ask you to take a trip around Europe. You will fare poorly with only your knowledge of English (French, Spanish). Many will be unable to understand you at all whereas others, with several years of study behind them, will not be able to hold a meaningful conversation with you.
If the countries of the world choose English as the international language, this would in reality only prevent normal people to communicate across national borders, which will only result in isolationism
The first person to develop a new language was probably the Mother Superior Hildegard of Bingen who presented her Lingua Ignota in the 12th century. Hundreds of different ideas for an international language have been brought forward, such as volapük, ido, novial, occidental, ling, Esperanto and interlingua. Some have gained a few followers but have generally died out after a while. None have been as easy to learn as Esperanto, or achieved anywhere near as great an international dissemination and success, nor have they shown such an intrinsic power for survival as Esperanto has done.
Esperanto is not a language of a nation, but that of all people. Esperanto is not intended to replace or displace any local language. On the contrary, it will serve as a language bridge when two people do not speak the same language.
If everyone in Europe was to begin to learn Esperanto now, we would all be able to speak to each other easily in two years time.
No well-informed supporter of international understanding and co-operation can oppose Esperanto becoming the official common working language of the EU. When this happens, it will also become the seventh official language in the UN. Thanks to how easy it is to learn, Esperanto will become the dominant language within the UN within a decade. When this too has happened, consensus will be reached that it is enough with one working language, thanks to how easy it is to learn and the fact that it is not weighted in the direction of one nation.
International Police Association, the largest independent police organisation in the world, has the words “Servo per Amikeco” in its emblem. That is Esperanto and means “serving through friendship”. It is an international organisation with members from the whole world. Which language do you think that they could have used in their emblem instead?
Which language should be the EU’s common working language? |
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© Hans Malv, 2004