The (old) Licquia Family Blog
This is the old blog site, powered by a simple blogging system called Blosxom. It's here to keep old links from breaking, and for whatever historic interest might remain.
Here's the current site.
This is the old blog site, powered by a simple blogging system called Blosxom. It's here to keep old links from breaking, and for whatever historic interest might remain.
Here's the current site.
My old fool's errand has returned. I've taken up learning Esperanto again.
Those who are unfamiliar with the history of Esperanto will find it difficult to find a more idealistic story. Esperanto was constructed entirely by a Jewish oculist in Warsaw named Lazar Zamenhof in the 1870s and 1880s, finally seeing print in 1887. Zamenhof's original motivation arose from his belief that many disputes and wars arise from miscommunication brought on by poor translation. By learning one easy-to-learn language, people could communicate with each other without one side or the other needing to learn a difficult national language (or, in the case of some groups, several national languages each), and international understanding could be greatly enhanced. Its subsequent history has seen quite a few ups and downs; you can read more about the story here.
Today, Zamenhof's goals are seen as a little optimistic, to say the least. Nevertheless, there is a robust Esperanto community that spans the globe, with representation in nearly every country in the world, particularly in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East. Online, there's quite a bit of activity, including a robust Usenet news group and many Web sites.
My knowledge of the language is getting to the point where I can read online sites with the help of my trusty dictionary. Curiously, I'm learning as much about my own country as I am about the rest of the world. An online Esperanto news site, Gxangalo, for example, posted this story about PETA's latest antics. A partial translation:
A leader of a group defending animals says that she has signed a will ordering that her flesh should be made into food (roast meat, served during a group meal, in the manner of a party). She also asks in the will that her skin be used to make leather goods. The idea is to protest the treatment of animals by humanity.
Ingrid Newkirk, 53, president of the animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), stated to journalists that she decided to donate her body to the organization as a way to protest.
Ick. I imagine that PETA's antics have burned out the Anglosphere press, which is why I first heard of it on a foreign-language site as a curiosity. So now, one can laugh at their silliness in two languages.
May 02, 2003 | Comments are no longer available