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From: hinsenk@cyclone.ERE.UMontreal.CA (Hinsen Konrad)
Subject: Re: Great Esperanto literature (was: Re: Esperanto? The EU?)
In-Reply-To: frenkel@ox.tcs.uh.edu's message of 21 Feb 1995 00:21:01 GMT
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In article <3ibbld$4hj@masala.cc.uh.edu> frenkel@ox.tcs.uh.edu (David Frenkel) writes:

	I am not sure people are all morons, some do like good books.

Some yes, but publishing good literature is still a risk, in any
language, unless the author is already established.

	Well, we are talking about literature.

We are talking about whether Esperanto is a suitable language for
international communication. Literature is but one aspect of that.

	As far as language of science it is definitely English right now
	anyway, at least in my field.

Right now, maybe. It hasn't always been, and it needn't always be.

      It is also what I see as a potential problem for Esperanto,
      it was born in a rather intellectual fashion, and I doubt
      that it has fully escaped from the shackles of what that
      entails for its vividness. Just guessing.

Initially that was certainly true. But due to the many international
meetings that take place all over the world, Esperanto has become
a language of daily use, with all its consequences.

	Actually, funny as it may sound, I see it as quite a serious 
	problem for Esperanto, if it is to be an exchange language
	for Europe. For all the jokes about bureaucratese and
	lawerese, lawyers are clever guys, and not having had the legal
	languange of Esperanto polished in real court battles is 
	surely a major drawback.

I am not an expert on legal use of Esperanto (and don't want to become
one). But I can imagine that the Esperanto's flexibility in word
formation should make it quite attractive for lawyers and the like.

   >Esperanto has been used by all "classes", from workers to academics.

	I want to meet those "workers". :)

In the 20s Esperanto was a very popular means of communication between
the "working classes" of Europe, supported by the Soviet government.
This even lead to a split in the Esperanto movement, and the
communist/socialist/whatever association (SAT) still exists today,
although it has lost most of its importance.

--
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