VALUE OF ESPERANTO

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 185, 2 May 1940, Page 7

VALUE OF ESPERANTO

At a recent meeting of the Wellington Esperanto Club, the president, Mr. V. .1. Lock, quoted the following from an article by Mr. Bernard Long, 8.A.. of Cambridge:— “The confusion of tongues is often regarded not only as a norma! condition of human existence, but as something that, will have Io be endured indefinitely, however great may be the resulting inconvenience. But we do uol assume this helpless attitude in the face of other natural obstacles. We tunnel Ihrough mountains, we bridge rivers, we build ships to traverse the sens; and though the mountains, rivers, and seas remain, they no longer present effective barriers to hitman intercourse.” ‘'This same principle might be carried into effect in the realm of languages.” said Mr. Lock, “not by a fantastic attempt to do away with our mother tongues. but by a direct attack on the very barrier presented to us. in other words, by adopting an easy, expressive, neutral language—bv adopting Esperanto.” At the finish of the class hour .Mr. A. Vogt demonstrated how it wits possible to use the words of songs in everyday ■aversatiou. The evening concluded with -•(immunity sing.