Verbal Communication

Esperanto
15
, which means “hopeful,” is the most well-known
and widely used auxiliary language that was intended to serve as a common
international language. Esperanto was invented by a Polish eye doctor at the end of
the 1800s and today has between one and two million fluent speakers worldwide.
Many works of literature and important manuscripts like the Bible and the Qur’an
have been translated into Esperanto, and many original works of literature and
academic articles have been written in the language. Some countries also broadcast
radio programs in Esperanto. Several barriers will have to be overcome in order for
an auxiliary language like Esperanto to gain international acceptance. First, there
would have to be a massive effort put into a period of simultaneous
learning—otherwise it is difficult to motivate people to learn a language that is not
necessary for their daily lives and that no one else speaks. Second, as we have
learned, people take pride in their linguistic identity and find pleasure in playing
with the rules of language, creatively inventing new words and meanings that
constantly change a language. Such changes may be impossible to accommodate in
an auxiliary language. Lastly, the optimism of an internationally shared language
eventually gives way to realism. If a shared language really brings peaceful
coexistence, how do we explain all the civil wars and other conflicts that have been
fought between people who speak the same language?
As new languages are invented, many more languages are dying. Linguists and
native speakers of endangered languages have also rallied around so-called dying
languages to preserve them. In the United States, Cajun French in Louisiana, French
Canadian in Maine, and Pennsylvania Dutch are examples of language communities
that are in danger of losing the language that has united them, in some cases for
15. The most well-known and
widely used auxiliary language
that was intended to serve as a
common international
language.
Chapter 3 Verbal Communication
3.2 Functions of Language
147

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hundreds of years.Nancy C. Dorian, “Abrupt Transmission Failure in Obsolescing
Languages: How Sudden the ‘Tip’ to the Dominant Language in Communities and
Families?”
Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society
(1986): 72. Although American English is in no danger of dying soon, there have
been multiple attempts to make English the official language of the United States.
Sometimes the argument supporting this proposition seems to be based on the
notion that a shared language will lead to more solidarity and in-group
identification among the speakers. However, many of these movements are
politically and ideologically motivated and actually seek to marginalize and/or
expel immigrants—typically immigrants who are also people of color. The United
States isn’t the only country that has debated the merits of officially recognizing
only certain languages. Similar debates have been going on for many years
regarding whether French, English, or both should be the official language in
Quebec, Canada, and which language(s)—French, Dutch, or Flemish—should be used
in what contexts in Belgium.Judith N. Martin and Thomas K. Nakayama,
Intercultural
Communication in Contexts
, 5th ed. (Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2010), 251–52. In such
cases, we can see that verbal communication can also divide people.