Esperanto Language Blog

A few days ago, somebody requested a post on how to use the American-English acronym “LOL.” For those of you who have never encountered it, “LOL” is a common bit of Internet slang that means “laugh out loud” or “laughing out loud.” While I haven’t been able to find a common Esperanto equivalent, I thought it would be pertinent to attempt to show a possible acronym that could be used instead.

To begin, let us take the Esperanto verb for “to laugh,” “ridi.” The word for “out,” in this instance, would need to be an adverb, so let us use the word “ekstere.” Then, we need a word for “loud.” Here, “lauxta” is an appropriate translation. Thus, we have the acronym “REL.”

Whether or not other Esperantists would know what you’re saying, I do not know. But hey, go ahead and use it. Maybe it will catch on!

Here’s something to think about today. If Esperanto happened to become the world’s second language, as we all hope it someday will, do you think that it would cause a homogenization of cultures? Or perhaps it would consume every culture and unite it under the single banner of Esperanto culture?

My neighbor, a student of history, asked me to consider the above. He reasoned that language constitutes a large part of a culture’s identity, and if so, it is possible that multiple cultures when utilizing a shared language might experience some blending of their respective cultures. The result on a large scale could be a single, motley culture that arises from the combined aspects of various ways of thinking!

On the other hand, there is always the chance that world cultures could remain relatively stagnant as they are. The sole change from having Esperanto be the world’s second language could be that a definitive Esperanto culture would arise at last – and it would be the aggregate of all the world’s cultures! It’s a bit difficult to envision, I admit, but perhaps it’s not too improbable.

Per usual, any thoughts? There have been some good points made in previous discussions. Let your voice be heard!

It’s a simple fact that languages, given time, will evolve. If ever you have the chance, take a look at the Oxford English Dictionary, and track the evolution of any random word. Sometimes, the years required for a word to radically alter its meaning are few – take today’s contradictory-seeming definitions of the word “oversight,” for example. One definition means a moment of neglect in which crucial details are missed; the second refers to near-omniscient monitoring of an institution!

The thought of evolving languages always creeps into my mind when I think of Esperanto. I love the language, and want to see it succeed. Yet I cannot help but wonder whether, if it did become the global second language, how long it would last before it evolved differently in varying parts of the world. Perhaps it would take some time…Decades, centuries, eons, I don’t know. Eventually, though, Esperanto would evolve, and again we would have the same diversity of languages that once more begs for a middle ground among them.

Then again, since Esperanto is not intended to be everybody’s first language, there is always the possibility that it would evolve considerably slower that a widely-spoken first language, especially given the contexts in which Esperanto would be used. I imagine may of us have a vision of Esperanto being used in world governments, and as such, it would be a tool for conducting official business. Under those circumstances, perhaps Esperanto would be better off in a static state. Politicians would likely not opt to use words that have come into the regional parlance, but are utterly meaningless to someone from a different milieu.

What do you all think? Is the quest for a global language destined to revert back to the same place from whence it started? Or will it be more tenable once it is finally attained?