144 lines
6.4 KiB
Plaintext
144 lines
6.4 KiB
Plaintext
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* I thought it died out in the 50s.
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* Great idea--too bad it never caught on.
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* I remember reading about it somewhere.
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* Wasn't your granddad into that?
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* I sort of wish it was still around.
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<*> IT IS!! <*>
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READ ON--AND SATISFY YOUR CURIOSITY ABOUT
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ESPERANTO
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WHAT IS ESPERANTO?
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Esperanto is a language developed to make it easier for people of dif-
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ferent cultures to communicate. Its author, Dr. L. L. Zamenhof (1859-1917),
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published his "Lingvo Internacia" [International Language] in 1887 under the
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pseudonym "Dr. Esperanto" [one who hopes]. What's so special about it? What
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makes it any more international than French, English or Japanese?
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Esperanto is specifically intended for international/intercultural
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use, so those who use it meet each other on an equal footing, since neither
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is using his native language. With national languages, the average person
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isn't able to express herself as well as the native speaker or the gifted ling-
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uist. Thanks to its simple, logical, regular design, anyone can learn
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Esperanto fairly rapidly.
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AN EMERGING GLOBAL CULTURE
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Because Esperanto has been promoted for over a century as a language
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for international understanding and communication, those who learn it tend to
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be people who "think globally"--and global thinking has never been more impor-
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tant than in this Electronic Age when the "Global Village" is beginning to
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live up to its name. A sense of community has begun to emerge as the media
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flash audio/visual images from the other side of the planet right into our
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living rooms. And we find that people on the other side of the planet have
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many of the same hopes and fears and wants that we do--even if their basic
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culture is very different. Indeed, a global culture has begun to coalesce on
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a level distinct from the national or regional ones.
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A UNIVERSAL NETWORK
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The growing Esperanto movement, comprised of local, national, and
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global segments, is one manifestation of this universal sense of community.
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Universala Esperanto-Asocio (UEA) is the global association, based in
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Rotterdam, The Netherlands. UEA has a consulting relationship with UNESCO in
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regard to language problems and planning, and administers a network of 2,300
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delegates who provide services to UEA members and information to the public
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in 70 countries. National and regional associations, as well as groups based
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on common interests from art to vegetarianism, provide services and contacts
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to Esperantists. There are also hundreds of international meetings each year
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which use Esperanto as a working language. The annual Universala Kongreso de
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Esperanto (or "UK") attracts an average of 1750 people from between 40-50 coun-
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tries--the 1986 UK in Beijing was the largest international meeting in China's
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recorded history.
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Thousands of people use Esperanto-speaking travel services every year
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to visit old friends and make new ones in foreign countries. There are a num-
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ber of reciprocal hosting programs where Esperantists receive travelers in
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their homes. Thousands more get to know each other through correspondence.
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WORDS AND MUSIC
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The personal contacts people make through this network are only one
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part of the picture. Periodicals from the educational to the esoteric reach
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a worldwide audience--a fact recognized by advertisers such as Mitsui & Co.
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and Siemens AG. UEA's book service catalogue boasts thousands of titles, and
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on average, a new title is published in Esperanto every day. Esperanto litera-
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ture includes not only original works and translations of well-known classics,
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but also important translations of works originally written in languages (e.g.
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Lithuanian or Swahili) which would not afford them an audience outside their
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own culture. In Esperanto translation, everyone can enjoy easy access.
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Esperanto is also used in broadcasting and in the performing arts.
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Shortwave radio stations from Berne to Beijing, as well as local AM and FM sta-
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tions in Europe and South America, broadcast several thousand hours of
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Esperanto programming annually. Stage productions of "La Eta Princo" [The
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Little Prince] and "Kato Sur Varma Lado-tegmento" [Cat On A Hot Tin Roof] were
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enthusiastically received at the 1989 UK in Brighton, England. And the popular
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Czechoslovakian rock group TEAM'--whose 1988 debut album went gold overnight,
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placing them at the top of the Eastern European charts--performs selections
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in Esperanto at concerts, and has released an Esperanto album (with another
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in production). Many other talented artists perform and record in Esperanto.
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A LIVING LANGUAGE
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Esperanto is a living language, used for everything people use any
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other language for. But it's much easier to learn than a national language.
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Even people who can't remember a word of a language they studied for years in
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high school or college need only months to become fluent in Esperanto. It is
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also more useful than national languages if your goal in learning a language
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is to get to know people from different places, since virtually everyone who
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speaks Esperanto has learned it for this reason.
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For more information on Esperanto in the United States, the address
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of your local group, and the first lesson in a free postal course, write or
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call the Esperanto League for North America:
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ELNA
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Post Office Box 1129
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El Cerrito CA 94530
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(415) 653-0998
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For information about the Esperanto movement in Canada, write to:
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Kanada Esperanto-Asocio
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C.P. 126
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Succursale Beaubien
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Montreal, Quebec H2G 3C8
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ESPERANTO--LA INTERNACIA LINGVO
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Another file downloaded from: NIRVANAnet(tm)
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& the Temple of the Screaming Electron 415-935-5845
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Just Say Yes 415-922-1613
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Rat Head 415-524-3649
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Cheez Whiz 408-363-9766
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Reality Check 415-474-2602
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Specializing in conversations, obscure information, high explosives,
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arcane knowledge, political extremism, diversive sexuality,
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insane speculation, and wild rumours. ALL-TEXT BBS SYSTEMS.
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Full access for first-time callers. We don't want to know who you are,
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where you live, or what your phone number is. We are not Big Brother.
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"Raw Data for Raw Nerves"
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