A few months ago I commented on a series of articles on Esperanto that was published in a Mexican paper. The author explained the history of Esperanto and its importance for the past, present and future. My first comment concerned the idea of a world language. Today I have some thoughts and questions that concern communication in general .
Communication is not only about words. A person can understand the single words and the rules according to which they are put together, but sometimes this can still mean, the person does not understand the message. We all know about things like humour or irony, where we say one thing and mean another. This becomes even more complicated when you consider cultural differences. In one country it may be custom to use words like "dear/dearest" frequently and they mean just normal appreciation. In Germany, however, "liebste/liebster" is used only in very close relationships . So, how do Esperantists bridge differences like these ... do two people really mean the same when they say "Kara..." ?
Another example is literature. Literary texts express to a great extend the personality of the writer, which is formed by his/her cultural background. It is very difficult to translate idioms , proverbs and even metaphors into another language, as they are based on the historal, social and religious background of the country in question. I find it hard to imagine that Esperanto literature really works without being influenced by the cultural background of the writer. On the other hand, maybe the Esperanto community will develop a cultural background of its own ... or does it already exist ?
As the language of a country is part of its culture, I like studying languages, even if I won't be as fluent in most languages as I am in English. But I get a glimpse of the culture this way.
All this does not mean that I want to belittle the idea of a language that provides an easy- to- learn means of communication. I have read some criticism of Esperanto which I don't want to go into here, as my own observation is that Esperantists are peaceful people interested in the world, its human beings and their culture.The Internet provides new opportunities for this - and who knows, Zamenhof's vision might become true one day.
The author finishes his articles with some personal remarks describing his own benefits from being an Esperantist. Of course, they are the same that I have from being a Jackie Chan fan (finding friends and learning about the world) - common goals and visions connect people across all borders !
I refer to :
Guillermo Macías y Díaz Infante: Pasado, presente y futuro del Esperanto (Primera de cuatro partes), in: La Jornada Aguascalientes, 2nd September, 2010, p. 6 (written in Spanish and Esperanto, part two to four on following Wednesdays)
My Dear!
ReplyDelete"Kara" can mean anything sweet till insulting depending of the intonation or body language.
"I find it hard to imagine that Esperanto literature really works without being influenced by the cultural background of the writer."
It is influenced and should. That's the way we like it. Footnotes are seldom necessary as the language is sufficiently flexible.
"On the other hand, maybe the Esperanto community will develop a cultural background of its own ... or does it already exist."
Diversity and acceptance of the diversity is the culture. Esperantists generally do not classify people too soon as weird, without attempting to understand their point of view.
Thank you for your attention. I hope I made it clear that I did not classify anyobody as weird. After some research into this topic I had some genuine questions and I am glad you took the trouble to answer them. I am well aware that one of the assets of the Esperanto community is how they embrace the diversity this world has to offer and take it as an advantage (a point-of-view I share). And I just realize that my questions mainly concern written communication, as in face-to-face situations body language etc indeed is of a great help.
ReplyDelete... depending of the intonation, body language ... or context.
ReplyDeleteIn replies to blogs, it's not always easy to understand the intention of the writer, because the context is often meagre.
In Esperanto, the same risk exists as in English.
(btw ref. to "weird" : there was no hidden attack in my reply)
Esperanto is a normal human language with all advantages and disadvantages of what humans do; it's only more regular and faster to master (certainly in writing).
Remuŝ
Thank you again for taking the trouble to reply. My intention is to start an exchange of thoughts so that we can learn from each other - which is an idea I also find on Esperanto websitess. Generally, I treat the topics of my blog seriously and with respect - and thank you for doing the same with this discussion.
ReplyDelete