Welcome to Spotlight.
I'm Liz Waid.
And I'm Adam Navis.
Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting.
It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Did you recognize that language?
It sounds European, a little like Spanish or German.
But it is neither.
It is called Esperanto.
You may have heard Esperanto before.
It is the most popular invented world language.
Today's Spotlight is on Esperanto.
Conflict and troubles affect people in different ways.
They make some people want to run and hide.
And they make other people feel angry at the world and the people in it.
But some people try and find a way to change things.
Ludewich Lazarus Zamenhof was one of these people.
Zamenhof was born in 1859.
He lived in the city of Jaustach, Poland.
At that time, the city was part of Russian territory.
There were three major ethnic groups in the city.
Poles, Belorussians and Yiddish-speaking Jews.
The conflicts between these groups saddened the young Zamenhof.
As a Jew, life was not easy.
Several hundred years ago, many Jews fled to Poland for safety.
But conflicts continued.
Even children were part of the conflicts.
They had fights. in the schools and on the streets.
Zamenhof grew up in an environment of deep hatred and fear.
However, Zamenhof did not feel hatred and anger in his heart.
Some people say that his mother helped to create his good nature.
His mother believed that all human beings were children of a loving God.
The young Zamenhof began to think of ways to change the hostile environment he lived in.
Zamenhof believed that language barriers were a big part of the problem.
He thought that if all people could speak the same language, they would communicate better.
As a child, he believed that a common language would end hatred.
He dreamed of an end to political and racial hatred.
He dreamed of a united world.
Zamenhof began experimenting in creating an international language.
In the beginning, he tried to create a language with rich grammar.
But this became very complex.
Zamenhof learned many languages, including German, French, Latin, and Greek.
He decided that the international language must be as simple as possible.
He worked hard for many years.
He began by testing the language.
How do you test a new language?
Well, Zemenhof tried translating existing books, stories, prayers, and parts of the Christian Bible.
Let us hear how Esperanto sounds.
Everything happened to him, and apart from him, nothing happened.
Nothing happened.
In English, this means, and with this word, God created all things.
Nothing was made without the word.
Everything that was created received its life from him.
And his life gave light to everyone.
The light keeps shining in the dark.
And the darkness has never put it out.
After Zamenhof, had tested the language he needed to publish his book.
He called it, Lingvo Internacia Antoparolo Cae Plena Lerno Libro.
This means, international language, forward and complete textbook.
Zamenhof did not put his real name on the book.
Instead, he used the name Doctoro Esperanto.
This means Doctor Hopeful.
So let us take a closer look at Esperanto.
About 75% of the words come from Latin and Romance languages like French.
About 20% come from German and English.
And the rest come from Russian, Polish and Greek.
28 letters form the Esperanto alphabet.
And the language is phonetic.
You say every word exactly as it is written.
There are no exceptions.
Most of the grammar of Esperanto follows one of 16 basic rules.
In Esperanto, all nouns end with O. For example, the noun bird is birdo.
If you have more than one bird, it becomes birdoi.
Here is another interesting thing.
If you add mal to the beginning of a word, it gives the word the opposite meaning.
For example, Alta means tall.
Malalta means short.
Seka means dry.
Malseka is wet.
Pura is clean.
Can you guess what dirty is?
Malpura!
No one knows exactly How many people speak Esperanto?
Some people estimate around two million.
This is based on information such as sales of Esperanto language books and internet users.
Esperanto is most common in Central and Eastern Europe.
Speakers of Esperanto have developed some similar customs.
But many people argue that an international language should not have its own culture.
They say that an international language should avoid cultural and racial divides.
Speakers of Esperanto say that the language makes communication easier when traveling.
They say that Esperanto is a good second language, better than others like French, Spanish or English.
People in many places in the world use these languages, more than Esperanto.
But there are also many native speakers of these languages.
The idea of Esperanto is that it makes everyone equal because it does not belong to any particular group.
It belongs to the international community.
Zamenhof hoped that this would unite people and help create a peaceful world.
Most people argue that language alone cannot create peace.
People in the same country, with the same language and culture, still argue and fight was an idealist.
He believed that the world could change.
After all, the language is called esperanto, one who hopes.
And a person who has hope can do more than a person without hope.
Zamenhof did not see his dream in his lifetime.
There is still misunderstanding between people.
But Esperanto has united many people across the world.
It has crossed at least some cultural and racial divides.
On an international website for Esperanto speakers.
One person wrote Being a speaker of Esperanto means that I am part of a worldwide community.
They are people who believe in equality, like me.
There are sayings like, we are all born equals.
Esperanto lets people express these ideas.
The writer of today's program was Marina Santee.
The producer was Rena Dam.
The voices you heard were from the United States.
All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight.
You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at www.radioenglish.net.
This program is called, A Global Language.
We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program.
Goodbye.
