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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION,
Tuesday, March 17, 1914
The committee this day met, Hon. Dudley M. Hughes (chairman) presiding.
STATEMENT OF HON. RICHARD BARTHOLDT,
A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MISSOURI.
Mr. BARTHOLDT. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I do not wish to occupy your
time, for the reason that I can be here almost any time, while Prof.
Christen has made a special trip from New York for this purpose, and I
should like to give him all the time you can afford to devote to this
bill.
I merely wish to say, in explanation, that I have not, as you will
notice, introduced this bill by request; I have assumed responsibility
for it personally because I thoroughly believe in it. I first introduced
the bill in the shape of a request to the Committee on Education
to investigate the subject; that is, as to the practicability and
advisability of introducing Esperanto as an auxiliary language in the
public schools. That resolution was referred to the Committee on Rules
and, of course, I could not get any action in that committee, and for
that reason I introduced the bill in its present form, which merely
provides that Esperanto be taught as a part of the course of study in
the schools of Washington, this being the only jurisdiction we have in
the matter of education.
We Americans are known the world over as being deficient in the
knowledge of languages. I think we might as well admit that. While
every other nation is teaching two or three languages in its schools we
have failed to do so, and yet the requirements of international trade
and commerce make it absolutely essential that our young men should be
taught at least one language or two languages besides their own. Now,
this being the case and Esperanto now being taken up by nearly all the
civilized countries as an auxiliary language, how easy it would be for
us, instead of compelling our children in the schools to learn Spanish,
French, and German, to simply take one lesson a week in Esperanto and
thereby enable this nation to correspond and communicate in a common
language with all the other nations of the world.
The CHAIRMAN. Your idea would be that the various nations would
understand Esperanto, and that whenever they would use that language all
would understand and comprehend it? Is that your idea?
Mr. BARTHOLDT. Yes. I want to say that there is a movement on foot in
nearly every civilized country to make Esperanto a part of the course of
study in the schools. If that were carried out, each country would learn
its own language and Esperanto, in England English and Esperanto, and
so on, so that the international language would really be Esperanto. As
one who has studied languages to some extent I can feel the shortcomings
and handicaps of a man who, for instance, having studied French for some
time, comes to Paris. The very moment you open your mouth the people
will notice that you are "a foreigner," no matter how well you speak
French, so that the other man, the native, has a certain advantage over
you. But if that Frenchman were obliged to speak Esperanto with you then
you would be on a common level and neither would have an advantage over
the other. I have read in several of the Esperanto newspapers that, for
instance, in England the great manufacturing establishments are now
printing their catalogues and price lists in Esperanto, and that other
publications are sent all over the world printed in that language, in
matters of trade and commerce. So you can see it is coming. And since
we have not overcrowded the minds of our children with languages as
yet, I think it would be advisable and profitable for us to start with
Esperanto.
I want to add that it is a very easy language. I have learned it in four
lessons. Of course I have not had the time to keep it up, and you must
keep in practice.
The CHAIRMAN. Does Esperanto partake more of the Spanish language?
Mr. BARTHOLDT. No. For an English speaking person it is very easy to
learn, because it is composed of words taken from the English language,
some from the German language, and some from the Latin. But the whole
construction of the language is so remarkably simple, that you will
wonder why it is that a universal language of that kind has not been
introduced before for the use of civilized men.
That is all I wish to say, gentlemen, and I take pleasure in introducing
Prof. Christen, of New York, to you, whom I regard as one of the
greatest living experts in that language and a missionary for Esperanto.
STATEMENT OF PROF. A. CHRISTEN,
46 MANHATTAN AVENUE, NEW YORK CITY.
Prof. CHRISTEN. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, this is quite a novel
experience to me. I do not even know how these hearings are carried on,
but I am entirely at your disposal and shall be very glad to answer
questions. If I had my own way I would like to speak for at least an
hour and a half or two hours, but I understand that you can not give
me so much time. Therefore, it will be rather difficult to put in
all the information I would like to lay before you. I should like to
tell you something about the absurd and ridiculous linguistic chaos
to which the world has been brought through those great agencies of
progress which have now practically abolished distance and brought
the ends of the earth nearer to each other than were the opposite
frontiers of the smallest kingdom 400 years ago; (1)[1] then about the
advisability, nay, the absolute necessity of an international language;
how various attempts have been made to meet this growing demand for a
special international language, not for home consumption but only for
intercourse with all other nations, and why this one is, in my opinion
and in that of many wiser men, bound to succeed, and that is because it
absolutely fills the bill and is fool-proof; as a scientific and at the
same time practical scheme, it can not be improved upon. Next, I should
like to speak about the reason why neither English, nor any other living
language, can ever become international. No living language can become
international because they are all too difficult, too complicated, and
not neutral; (2) and then, perhaps, I ought to give you a few outlines
of the construction of Esperanto to show you why it is so easy, how
it meets all the requirements of the case, and is going to succeed.
However, I do not suppose I shall be able to do all of this, and,
therefore, will merely take a few points.
[1]See additions to verbatim report of hearing.
Dr. Bartholdt has mentioned to you the movement that is already in
existence for Esperanto. Here is the official yearbook of the Universala
Esperanto-Asocio (3), the best-organized international society that
the movement has yet produced. This society is called the Universal
Esperanto Association. It is not a propaganda society, but purely a
commercial league for the coordained use of the language, not merely
for the spread of it, but for its practical use among those who have
already learned it. This association has 698 branches throughout the
world, and is in its sixth year. Here is a map showing the places in
which the society is represented, and to-day, if I want any information
on any industrial, commercial, educational, scientific, or any other
matter--say, in Portugal, Russia, Japan, Spain, Belgium, Holland, or
China, etc.--I look up the place nearest to the district from which
I want that information and find the address of the Esperanto center
there. Then I write to the delegate and ask for the information in
Esperanto, and no matter what language he speaks at home I will get a
reply in Esperanto, and he will take any amount of trouble to satisfy
my demands. This society has done a remarkable amount of excellent work
in the last five years, and Esperanto is more and more used for all
practical international purposes.
Now, Dr. Bartholdt told you about many commercial houses in different
countries already using Esperanto practically, that is to say, actually
using it for their business purposes internationally, printing their
circulars, price lists, catalogues, and so on, in Esperanto, and using
it for correspondence.
I am reminded that seven years ago, in the north of Scotland, I saw
a communication to a Scotch railroad company from a French railroad
company written in English, but across the communication there were
stamped the words, "We correspond in Esperanto." And that was six or
seven years ago, and since that time Esperanto has made very great
strides.
I have here a number of trade catalogues in Esperanto, and you will
see from the nature of them that they are really very elaborate things
and on which these firms have spent a great deal of money, which they
would not do if they did not think the thing was actually paying. I have
only about 40 such samples here because I can not carry them all about
with me. For instance, here is a very elaborate, costly, and handsome
catalogue from the biggest firm of photographic instrument makers in
Germany, and, I believe, in the world.
Here is a pamphlet issued by the Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles,
a very attractive pamphlet. That was published in order to attract
European immigration to that portion of California, and that same
chamber of commerce has made large use of Esperanto for that purpose.
Two years ago they sent a man to lecture all over Europe and in some
parts of Asia on the attractions of California. That lecturer visited 27
different countries; he lectured in 120 different towns during 18 months
and every one of his lectures was given in Esperanto, and in several
places he was obliged to give his lecture two or three times, because
the crowds that came were so large that it was impossible for everybody
who desired to hear the lecture to get in at the same time. There were
large numbers of people in every place who actually understood him;
all did not understand him, but a large number did in every town. For
instance, in Paris and Barcelona there are many thousands who understand
Esperanto. Here is another German firm in Berlin. Here is a bookseller
in Paris issuing a catalogue entirely in Esperanto. Here is a leaflet
about the Panama Exposition published in Esperanto. Here is the town of
Baden, a watering place near Vienna. They publish a guide of their town
in Esperanto. Here is a catalogue issued by the Oliver Typewriter Co.
printed in Esperanto. Cook's famous touring agency has used Esperanto
for the last seven years. Here is a Scotch tea firm publishing a
circular in Esperanto. Here is a bicycle-saddle maker in Germany using
Esperanto for publicity. Here is a Berlin taximeter catalogue in
Esperanto. Two years ago there was held in Leipsic the greatest hygienic
exposition ever held anywhere. It was the most successful of its kind up
to date, and hundreds of thousands of people attended from all over the
world. In that exposition Esperanto was used to a great extent and the
exhibition authorities published a guide to the exposition in Esperanto.
Here is a railroad company that uses Esperanto. A great many railroad
companies in Europe already use it. They issue regional guides to the
most attractive parts of their districts in Esperanto. Here is a Paris
automobile company with a circular in Esperanto. Here is the biggest
iron works in England, the Consett Iron Co., of Durham, a firm that
employs 30,000 hands, and that firm publishes its catalogues and price
lists in Esperanto. This is only one of their Esperanto publications.
Here is a circular issued by a Paris department store. All the big
department stores of Paris not only use Esperanto in their publications,
but actually have interpreters for Esperanto in their stores. The
biggest ink firm in the world--the Stephens Blue Ink Co., in London--use
this language for their correspondence. About six years ago they began
to use Esperanto and published their advertisements and their circulars
for foreign trade entirely in Esperanto. The town of Antwerp publishes
an illustrated guide of the town in Esperanto. Here is a very big
Anglo-American firm of medical supplies, Burroughs, Wellcome & Co.,
and they use Esperanto in many of their circulars. The Government
of Brazil three years ago sent a man to lecture in Europe as to the
attractions of Brazil. That man lectured in Paris to an audience of
3,000 people entirely in Esperanto, and the Government published his
lecture in that language. Here is a curious document. This was issued by
the anti-alcohol congress in Italy last year, and you will notice that
Esperanto is used, and that it is recommended as the only remedy against
the language trouble which entirely hampered the deliberations of this
congress, as it does all international conventions of every kind. I will
hand this to Mrs. Crafts, because she will be able to tell you more
about it, since she was there.
That is the commercial side of it, and these are only a very few
samples of the actual and practical use being made of Esperanto in
this one alone. I could produce, no doubt, a great many more such
examples, but I can not carry them all about with me. Here are some 60
to 70 guide leaflets published by so many different towns in France,
in Italy, in Austria, in Germany, in England, and in several other
countries--leaflets printed in Esperanto for the use of foreigners and
tourists. They give them information in Esperanto about the various
things they might first need to know on arriving at those cities. For
instance, here is Milan, Italy, and Poitiers, France, and Insbruck.
Austria, and Tavia, Italy, and Davos, Switzerland, and so on. In the
same line here are 20 more elaborate guidebooks to various towns in
Europe, published entirely in Esperanto by the local authorities. Of
course, you will not have the time to look at all these things just now,
but I will leave them with you. Then, again, I think I can safely say
that there are over 100 periodicals published in Esperanto in different
countries.
Esperanto is making very rapid progress in Japan and China; for
instance, I have here an excellent Esperanto paper published by a native
society in Japan.
The CHAIRMAN. In what nation is it progressing most rapidly?
Prof. CHRISTEN. That is difficult to say, but seven years ago France was
at the head, and Germany did not take it up for a long time. Then about
five or six years ago England shot ahead of France, and then suddenly
Germany took it up, and now I think Germany is ahead of all the other
countries in the practical use of Esperanto. But it is making good
progress everywhere--in France, in England, in Denmark, in Bulgaria, in
Spain, in South America, in Germany, in India, in China, and in Japan.
In Germany the authorities and scientific people have very strongly
espoused Esperanto. For instance, the Government of Saxony sustains
financially an Esperanto institute in Dresden, and that does a great
deal of good work. The Government of Saxony is also a large contributor
to an Esperanto library, which is the biggest in the world, as yet.
And in many towns in Spain, in Germany, and in France, especially in
France, whenever an Esperanto lecturer goes into a town he gets a
stipend from the town; the town pays out of the city funds the expenses
of his propaganda, or partly pays them; they contribute 50 or 100
francs, and frequently more, according to the size of the place. That
is the practice in many places in other countries besides France, but
especially in France. Even the Russian Government gives financial aid to
Esperanto propaganda.
The CHAIRMAN. As I understand it, this is not supposed to be a universal
language?
Prof. CHRISTEN. No; an international language.
The CHAIRMAN. But at the same time it is a language in which all the
universe can meet upon a common plane and converse?
Prof. CHRISTEN. That is the intention, to give the whole of the
civilized world one and the same secondary language.
The CHAIRMAN. In which they can all meet on a common plane?
Prof. CHRISTEN. Yes; no matter where you may go, if you know Esperanto,
you shall not be a foreigner anywhere. The intention is to do away with
this terrible handicap of being unable to converse with your fellow men
of the various countries you may visit unless you learn all or most of
those languages, a thing which, as you know, is in most cases quite
impossible. It is the intention to have all the nations understand
Esperanto, and by that means make it possible for all the peoples of
the world to commune directly with each other. The time has come in the
world's history when a common vehicle of human expression is absolutely
necessary, and the barrier of Babel must fall, as mostly all other
obstacles to free intercourse have already fallen, before the triumphant
advance of modern science and technology. It is positively fatuous and
futile to ask the modern man, be he in commerce or science or what not,
to become an expert in his particular line of endeavor and a polyglot
besides. It can not be done. Languages are too many and each one too
complicated for our crowded curricula. The obligatory study of foreign
languages belongs to a remote past when there existed no sciences and
no industrial arts, when life was less crowded and when there were
fewer world languages. Even less than a hundred years ago a man was an
accomplished cosmopolitan if he knew French and his own mother tongue.
To-day he wants and ought to be conversant with French, German, and
Spanish, at the very least, besides English, and before long he will
have to tackle Russian and Japanese. As a matter of fact in some of the
European countries and in South America the school children actually
spend from 35 to 60 per cent of the school time in acquiring that sort
of an education, which is really not education at all but only a means
to an end.
The CHAIRMAN. What progress has Esperanto made in the United States?
Prof. CHRISTEN. In this matter the United States is behind all other
progressive countries. There have been many sporadic efforts made and
there are Esperanto groups in different places from New York and Boston
to Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Tacoma, etc., but as
a national movement it is not what it should be, and the difficulty
is, to far as I can make it out, the enormous size of the country. It
is difficult for a society, without very large funds, to carry on an
effective propaganda all over the country.
Then another difficulty is that Americans are not generally very much
given to what I should call ethical ideas of this kind, that offer no
immediate and sudden cash returns, until they really become a craze or
until a certain class, perhaps, takes them up. (4) Let us not forget
also that the American people are not so much in touch with the language
difficulty as are other countries, and they do not yet appreciate the
enormous use that Esperanto will be to them, for, in my opinion, no
white people will benefit more from Esperanto than will the American
people, chiefly because like all English-speaking nations they are very
poor linguists. Then it is becoming more and more acknowledged among
educational people that the English language is the only language that
can not be taught. It is well known that if you put educated people from
different countries together the Anglo-Saxon will invariably be the one
who understands his own language least. That is due to the peculiar
construction of the English language.
However, Esperanto would not be difficult for the American people
because it is so scientific, so logical, and entirely free of all
irregularities. Prof. Mayer, of the University of Oxford, learned
Esperanto in his seventy-ninth year. I heard him make a speech in
the language about six or seven days after he took it up, and he
declared that Esperanto ought to be introduced into the educational
system of the country. He was professor of the Latin language at
the Oxford University. He declared Esperanto ought to be introduced
into the schools, into the kindergartens, where children of 5 years
of age should begin with Esperanto, and I hold with him, because
if children were to learn Esperanto it would be of help to them in
their English. It is extremely easy to learn and can be learned in
a very pleasant fashion, because it is so scientific and so simple. (5)
If children understood Esperanto, they would understand English better,
and much of the time we waste in trying to teach them English would be
profitably spent, for they would have something to go upon, something to
compare English with, and that something so scientific and so logical as
Esperanto. Take, for instance, analysis. I will not say it is difficult
but I will say it is impossible to analyze an English word, because
every word can be so many things. It can generally be an adjective,
a noun, a verb, a preposition, a conjunction, and an interjection,
that is, the same word, without any structural change, so that it is
difficult for a child to discriminate and label the word. Take the word
"benefited." That might be used in the past tense (I benefited), or as
a past participle: (We may have benefited), and it is impossible for
a child to sense the difference, and such confusion occurs to a great
extent with most words in the English language.
I am a teacher of languages and have done nothing all my life but study
and impart languages. If I had to teach you gentlemen, say, French
upon the theory that you were going on an important mission this day
12 months, and that it was absolutely necessary that you should speak
French (or any other language that I could impart you) by that time, I
would say it was impossible for a number of busy men to acquire a new
language inside one year; that I could not guarantee useful results,
but that if you would take two months to start with for the learning of
Esperanto, then I might be able to teach you the other language in the
rest of the time, because Esperanto is the best foundation for learning
any language. And, as I say, an English-speaking student, be he young or
old, knowing Esperanto would more easily distinguish the parts of speech
in English and possess a real and valuable "linguistic feeling" (which
he now entirely lacks) because of his Esperanto.
The CHAIRMAN. Is Esperanto made up of the derivatives of the various
languages?
Prof. CHRISTEN. I will explain that, if you like, in a very few words.
Esperanto is the work of a Polish scholar, Dr. Ludovico L. Zamenhof,
who started with an inspired mind. I should say he was a great genius.
He had studied a large number of languages, for, as a boy, nay, as a
child in the cradle, he spoke four languages, because so many different
languages were actually spoken in his home town. Then at school he
learned several more and it is due to this polyglotic experience and the
evils caused daily by Babel in his own circle that as a child, almost,
he conceived the idea of constructing a language that should at once and
for all time put an end to a foolish and intolerable situation. He must
have been inspired in what he did, because he at once hit upon the only
possible solution of the thing, and he hit upon it without knowing that
scores of others, older and more learned, had tried the same thing and
failed. His first stroke of genius was in the composing of his entire
vocabulary by borrowing all his words from well-known sources. With the
true insight of the genius he decided that the words of an artificial
international language must be taken from international sources, and so
he first of all hit upon the good idea to use first of all those words
which are already common to most languages, and there are a great many
more such words than we have dreamed of. He decided that that should be
the starting point of his world tongue, because everybody would know
those words to start with. Take the names of animals and produce that
come from certain parts of the world and carry their names with them,
such as elephant, tiger, lion, camel, and a great many more. Take the
rose: the rose is a rose in every language; so an orange, a lemon, a
nut, and tea, coffee, and tobacco, etc., are the same in most languages.
They may not be spelled the same or pronounced the same, but they are
international, and therefore they are Esperanto. That was the foundation
of the vocabulary in Zamenhof's new language--take words that everybody
would know and use them in Esperanto (6).
Mr. TOWNER. How do you determine those common names?
Prof. CHRISTEN. Well, he formed his vocabulary; he selected these words
because they were international--to the exclusion of anything else.
Mr. TOWNER. Well, that was not definite; it might be enlarged?
Prof. CHRISTEN. Oh, yes.
Mr. TOWNER. What was the vocabulary that he first issued?
Prof. CHRISTEN. Offhand, I think, about 963 words.
Mr. TOWNER. What is the vocabulary now?
Prof. CHRISTEN. Probably about 3,000 words. Now, I have dealt with the
so-called international words; but the bulk of every language consists
of what I would call home words, which every country has for its own;
and the only way to bring equivalents for such words into the language
was to select them from all the principal languages under consideration,
which means, of course, the European languages and to select these words
on the principle of greatest internationality--that is to say, such
verbs as to come, to do, to write, etc., or the nouns, hand, knife,
water, table, etc., or adjectives, like good, bad, healthy, etc. Before
he put these words into his vocabulary, Zamenhof had their equivalents
in all the European languages before him, and then he took from the
whole list the root which was the most prominent, the root that occurred
oftenest, and this became Esperanto, the idea being that the words
selected should be common to at least four or five different languages.
Mr. TOWNER. You do not mean that, do you? You do not mean that the only
words you would put into the Esperanto vocabulary would be those that
might be common to at least four or five of the principal languages?
Prof. CHRISTEN. Yes; whenever it is possible to find such words, and the
words do not conflict with the general harmony of the language.
Mr. TOWNER. That is what I thought you meant.
Prof. CHRISTEN. The consequence is that a language formed on these lines
must be a Latin or Romance language because Latin gave birth to at least
six languages: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Roumanian, and
English, and besides, Latin and French have influenced and enriched the
literature and languages of every other modern nation. The dictionary
of Latin words contained, for instance, in Russian or German would be
a very large volume indeed. It is a fact that all modern attempts at
making an artificial language, and their name is legion, especially
since the acknowledged success of Esperanto, are based on Latin.
Consequently also, the international language must be largely English,
because mostly those Latin words will be chosen that are common at
least to French and English. I have lectured to hundreds of English
audiences, and I have given them numerous examples of Esperanto words
in my lectures that could be easily understood by everybody. Take the
words "skribi," to write; "lerni," to learn; "mangxi," to eat; "trinki,"
to drink; "tablo," a table; "glaso," a glass; "nazo," the nose, and
"busxo," the mouth; "mano," the hand; take the adjectives, bona, bela,
granda, kapabla, etc. Few, indeed, are the Esperanto words that do not
connect at all with the English; in most cases, in at least 87 cases
out of 100, you will find those words connect with one or many English
words.
Mr. TOWNER. You mean that 87 per cent of the words now in the Esperanto
vocabulary are formative words?
Prof. CHRISTEN. Yes: they are connected with the English language, and
from each Esperanto word you can form mechanically absolutely every
word that sense and logic can possibly connect with the one and only
meaning of the original Esperanto word. I am accustomed to lecturing
before audiences and making this statement, which I make without fear
of contradiction, that "if all of you were to take up Esperanto now and
carry it on until you were as expert in it as I am, you would not in the
whole of your studies come across more than 60 words, probably not more
than 50 words, which are entirely new to you."
Mr. TOWNER. Of course, a vocabulary of 3,000 words is a very limited
vocabulary; it is a primitive vocabulary?
Prof. CHRISTEN. Yes?
Mr. TOWNER. How are you going to increase it? For instance, how are you
going to make it a literary language? How are you going to write poems?
Prof. CHRISTEN. Personally I should not want an international language
for poetry, although Esperanto does in fact lend itself excellently
to the purposes of the muses. But to answer your question: First of
all, the Esperanto language does not contain any words at all; I think
there are only 138 full-fledged words, prepositions, adverbs, and
conjunctions, but the rest of the vocabulary is formed of roots only.
Let us take the words "to sew," "to stitch." The root is "kudr." It is
only a root, and that alone stands in the vocabulary. Now, if you want
to make this root into a noun "o" is added to it, "kudro": if you want
to make it an adjective, you add "a" to it, "kudra"; if you want to
make it an adverb you add "e," kudre, which would mean by or through
sewing, "sewingly," if it could be so expressed in English; and if you
want to make it a verb it would be "kudri," because every infinitive
ends in "i." You see, with that root to begin with you can form four
words, and you can express a great deal more in Esperanto than anybody
can possibly imagine; in fact Esperanto is, on account of its perfect
and absolutely complete flexibility, more precise and more comprehensive
than any language under the sun. As I said before, you can form four
words from every root at the start if sense allows it, and sense allows
you a great deal more leeway in Esperanto than anybody can possibly know
about, because in no language are you allowed to proceed by sense. The
English language does not allow it, nor does any other, not oven German
or Greek, but it is allowed in this most logical of all languages,
Esperanto. (7)
Mr. TOWNER. Take the illustration you have just used. We say "The sewing
is beautiful." and "We find her sewing assiduously." Now, we use the
same word, but the formation of the sentence determines whether or not
it is a noun or a verb.
Prof. CHRISTEN. You mean the distinction between the participle and the
noun?
Mr. TOWNER. Yes.
Prof. CHRISTEN. With your permission I will not answer that
particularly, but will deal with the whole subject. I want to say that
from every root you form four words, the four principal parts of speech.
And the first thing to remember is this positive stroke of genius--that
every noun ends with "o," every adjective with "a," every derived adverb
with "e," and every infinitive with "i."
Mr. TOWNER. How would you carry that to proper names?
Prof. CHRISTEN. London would be Londono; Robert is Roberto, but proper
names you are at liberty to do with as you please; give them the
Esperanto ending or leave them in the original form.
Mr. TOWNER. What about Washington?
Prof. CHRISTEN. Washingtono.
Mr. TOWNER. I mean, you would really change it?
Prof. CHRISTEN. Yes; if you prefer it; that is, if it sounds better.
Mr. TOWNER. In the language?
Prof. CHRISTEN. Yes.
Mr. TOWNER. For instance, if you were speaking about the city of
Washington, you would not say Washington, but Washingtono?
Prof. CHRISTEN. You will find it frequently printed as Washingtono.
Mr. TOWNER. Why do you do that, because Washingtono is not the name of
the city?
Prof. CHRISTEN. Let me say that you say London in English, but that is
not French.
Mr. TOWNER. But we always spell Paris the French way, although we do not
pronounce it the same way; that is, "Paree."
Prof. CHRISTEN. But London is not London in French; it is "Londres" in
French.
Mr. TOWNER. Do you mean to say that if a letter were addressed to London
from Paris the Frenchman would not pronounce and write it London but
Londres?
Prof. CHRISTEN. Yes.
Mr. TOWNER. He does not say London?
Prof. CHRISTEN. No, he says Londres. And the same is true with Dover;
Dover is not French; The French would be Douvres. However, I want to say
this, that after the first three or four years after I took up Esperanto
geographical or proper names were left optional and they were not given
any particular spelling in the Esperanto language and are not now. Many
Esperantists now would say Washington and London. But you can make the
change if you want to.
Mr. TOWNER. Internationally, has not that come to be the custom, to
pronounce the geographical names and proper names in the way they are
pronounced in the country in which they originate?
Prof. CHRISTEN. I think so. As I said, there is no arbitrary rule about
personal names or geographical names. Now, let me proceed with this
marvelous scheme and repeat that every part of speech is distinctive
in itself; that is the reason a child, when it follows Esperanto, will
not find English so hard and will understand English better than in any
other way. Such a child will understand English far better than if it
did not understand Esperanto, and that is a statement I often make in my
lectures.
Mr. RIPLEY. We had a man here the other day who has a language which he
claims is an improvement on Esperanto.
Prof. CHRISTEN. Yes?
Mr. RIPLEY. He is from Ohio, I believe.
Prof. CHRISTEN. I know. Since Esparanto began to move forward there have
been at least 30 to 40 different schemes elaborated, and that is easily
done. You can do it overnight. But there is no scheme that has ever
touched and no scheme that can ever touch Esperanto, because it has hit
the mark from the first. (8)
Mr. TOWNER. What do you do with adverbs? Do they have a definite form?