In the first number of a new volume it may be advisable, for the
benefit of those hitherto unacquainted with Esperanto and its ends,
to give a brief description of the Second Language for All Nations.
Esperanto in no way aims at displacing any existing national
language, but merely seeks to exist side by side with all as a friend
in need. The selection of any national language to fulfil this
important _rôle_ would, obviously, be impossible, without bestowing
great advantage on the nation whose national tongue was thus
selected. Hence the need for some neutral medium, as simple as
possible. Yet, in addition to simplicity, the Help-Language must be
capable of fulfilling all the requirements of the far-reaching needs
of modern life. And it is in this direction that the Esperanto star
is especially brilliant, for it has been proved by thousands, all the
world over, to be admirably adapted for commercial and friendly
correspondence, literary work, poetry, and even for scientific
research, as well as being particularly valuable for the spoken
social and commercial intercourse of nations. This last peculiarity
is, in the main, the result of two simple facts: the language uses
but the five main continental vowels, A, E, I, O, U (Pa may we go
too), which least lend themselves to confusion, and, secondly, the
tonic accent of every word falls on the last syllable but one. As
only such sounds have been incorporated as are easily rendered by all
prominent nations, the happy result is that, no matter to what
nationality your interlocutor may belong, his Esperantic address of
welcome will be perfectly intelligible to you, and, indeed, you will
have difficulty, as often as not, in detecting any "foreign" accent.
These advantages, united with the fact that Esperanto is the national
language of none, and that all can therefore use it without fear of
making themselves ridiculous, are sufficient to give the Second
Language for All Nations a just claim to its somewhat grandiose
title. Moreover, the remarkable spirit of freemasonry which at
present unites the world's fellow-students adds such a striking and
unique charm to the study of the language, that those who have the
public spirit to be in the van of a movement more beneficial to
mankind than ninety per cent. of so-called philanthropic concerns,
rejoice to find that they have chanced upon the most delightful of
pastimes.
The system underlying the structure of Esperanto is so scientifically
reduced to a minimum that it were even possible to set it forth
within the slender limits of this single page, but we will leave the
reader to gain his knowledge direct from the able text-books which
already exist in almost every European language, from Finnish to
Bulgar.[108]
It is rather our purpose to introduce some inducements to the study
of this remarkable language. We say remarkable, because, no matter
who the student--be he Russian, be he Spaniard--the language fully
satisfies him as to its syntax, vocabulary, and uniformity. This fact
alone assures Esperanto of the great future which its present state
leads the investigator to expect.
But, to return to our main purpose: "Why should our reader join our
ranks?" It were well to first inquire what especial pursuits be his.
If a scientist, then he must find his world woefully hemmed in by the
almost impassable barriers of Babel. Owing to the fact that, year by
year, more and more invaluable works are appearing in, say, the
to-us-almost-unlearnable Russian, he may be spending precious years
on a theory which has long been exploded in the literature of that
vast, but little known, land. Yet, had our friend become an
Esperantist, and a subscriber to the invaluable Scienca Revuo, he
would have saved his time.
But, should our reader not soar so high as science, let him become a
regular correspondent with some charming foreign fellow-student, or
let him subscribe to some of the many International Gazettes, and he
will find his ideas wonderfully broadened by the more exhaustive view
he will be able to form of the world in general. Even such apparent
trifles as picture postcards, postage stamps, and the like are vastly
instructive, and many a volume of enthralling interest might be
written about an Esperantist's postcard album.
But it is to the pocket, alas! that all things must appeal before
they can truly achieve success. Let our business man of the Twentieth
Century but realise that an international language brings an
international market, and he will at once become an Esperantist, and
reap the benefit. There is no particle of doubt that a commercial
traveller knowing Esperanto possesses many advantages over his
competitors.
The writer hopes that these few remarks may serve as an introduction
to Esperanto for many future fellow-students. In conclusion, he must
candidly confess that, during the two years he has interested himself
(somewhat excessively it may be) in the matter, he has had the
pleasure of corresponding with thousands of persons, from China to
Peru, and of visiting hundreds abroad. He has derived an almost
incredible amount of pleasure and information from the one fact that
he is, what all should soon be, an _Esperantist_.