Word: esperanto
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Since the dawn of time, Prestige and Mobility have spoken truth to power, power to truth, and Esperanto to the people of the world [1], meaning we’ve missed out on some of the spectacular Harvard social life. Since we’ve been exhausted from trying to catch up on four years of missed fun, we tried to use WolframAlpha.com to write this column, but he just gave us the weather on the day of David Ortiz’s birth. [2] So, inspired by Rocky Balb-onion, the Italian scallion, we return to the one thing...
What surprised you most about the Klingon and Esperanto conferences that you attended? With Esperanto conferences, it was the level of fluency. I sort of thought it would be like watching a video of "Chapter 1: Dialogue" in a language class, like "Where is the library?" But it was very fluid, like watching someone speak Spanish. So seeing that happen convinced me that it's a real language; it's not people playing dress-up with a different vocabulary. You can speak textbook Esperanto or you could be especially Esperanto by using an unusual word as a verb just because...
...ever find yourself unintentionally speaking these invented languages in your daily life? I definitely had a little bit of that when I can back from one of the Esperanto conferences. I had gotten very used to these little set phrases like jes, the Esperanto word for "yes." I would be ordering a sandwich at the counter, and the cashier would ask, "Do you want a bag for that?" I'd say, "Jes," with this weird pronunciation...
...mention in your book how these language inventors and the followers of these languages are often viewed as eccentrics and how you became both embarrassed and defensive about being associated with them. If you decide to get into Esperanto, that means you're not listening to all the people who say, "Why not learn a real language?" or "Isn't that the crazy utopian-cult thing?" So there's an element of eccentricity in that, but also an element of toughness. You can stand up to the judgment and negative reactions and do it anyway. There's something admirable...
Have you gotten any feedback on your book from members of the Esperanto or Klingon communities? There aren't a lot of works by outsiders that aren't dismissive. I've gotten good reaction from members of the Esperanto community. I haven't heard so much from Klingon speakers, but, you know, the Klingon culture is not known so much for their communication...