Newsgroups: soc.culture.esperanto,sci.lang
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From: lilandbr@scn.org (Leland Bryant Ross)
Subject: Re: INVENTOR OF ESPERANTO UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE WAS A JEWISH?
Message-ID: <Dwnuoz.8IE@scn.org>
Sender: news@scn.org
Reply-To: lilandbr@scn.org (Leland Bryant Ross)
Organization: Seattle Community Network
References: <4vdhe0$mq7@hasle.sn.no> <3218AE92.6BFD@HELTHNET.COM>
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 21:07:46 GMT
Lines: 23


In a previous article, ajwk@sn.no (Arne Kolstoe) says:

>Esperanto is an interesting philological experiment, although not
>uniquie, but I don't use time and effort learning an experimental
>language which contains neither history nor culture.

I would agree that *as a philological experiment* Esperanto is not 
unique, but I must respectfully state that Esperanto is *not* by any 
stretch of the imagination devoid of history and culture, and that it is 
precisely in its historical and cultural (including but not only literary)
dimensions that Esperanto is both *most* interesting and, yes, unique.  
And it is in these dimensions that it is most opaque to the non-Esperantist
would-be observer.  The materials for a proper appreciation of Esperanto 
are not accessible to the non-Esperantist, at least for the most part 
they aren't, but that doesn't mean they don't exist any more than just 
because *I* don't know much Norwegian, therefore Ibsen's plays are 
significant only by virtue of their English translations.
--
Liland Brajant ROS'                "Sed krom se iuj el la  homoj  malsategas,
P O Box 30091                      kiel do la socio povas posedi strukturon?"
Seattle, WA 98103 Usono            -Gulivero (Ted Danson) en la nova televida
Tel. (206) 633-2434                 versio,  citita  en  "Baptist Peacemaker"
