World Language

**Brian Lehrer** (0:10)
Brian Lehrer on WNYC.
Now we'll talk about the movement to unify the world through a global second language. The language is called Esperanto. Maybe some of you even speak it already. We'll invite you to call in and say something in Esperanto if you do.
One way into this topic is through the World Cup. Being watched by fans from all over the globe, the shared enthusiasm for soccer is a hopeful reminder that some things can unite people from all different backgrounds, especially at a time when communicating and cross divides can seem harder than ever, right? But what if there was a universal language, other than soccer, that could connect people across the world and let them communicate freely and equally no matter their native language? Sounds utopian, right? And no, we're not talking about emojis. Maybe you've heard of Esperanto. It's a constructed language that was created in the late 19th century by a Polish Jewish ophthalmologist named LL. Zamenhof. He thought if everyone spoke the same language, there would be fewer conflicts between individuals, maybe even fewer conflicts between governments. The language sounds a little like Spanish. I think you can say it's designed to be easy to learn. It's even available to learn on Duolingo. Though it hasn't stuck around as prominently as its creator might have hoped, enthusiasts still exist today. In her recent article in Harper's titled Love Language, journalist Katie Thornton went to the Czech Republic to report on an annual gathering of Esperanto speakers and even learned some of the language herself. She's here to talk about what speaking Esperanto might mean to the world and does already mean to some people. Hey, Katie, welcome back to WNYC.

**Katie Thornton** (1:56)
Hi, Brian. Thanks. Nice to talk with you.

**Brian Lehrer** (1:59)
And, listeners, can you speak Esperanto or have you ever tried to learn? Call in and say something, anything that the FCC will allow, in Esperanto, if you can. 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692.
I guess you could text us also, but in that case, it included translation. So, Katie, I know you from some of your other very relevant to the moment reporting, what got you interested in Esperanto?

**Katie Thornton** (2:31)
Yeah. Thanks, Brian. So, I, like many people, learned about Esperanto, this constructed language, back when I was a teenager, a very cool older friend of mine introduced it to me, and he was speaking it himself, had been speaking it for multiple years, and he told me the idea behind it, and it was interesting to me at the time, the idea was that there was this language that was so irresistibly easy to learn, that everybody in the world would voluntarily speak it as a second language, and from there, of course, peace and mutual understanding would follow. I forgot about it for a long time until reporting The Divided Dial, Season 2 with On the Media, WNYC, and learned that there are multiple powerful institutions who currently or until very recently still broadcast in Esperanto on shortwave radio, and I just knew that I had to learn more.

**Brian Lehrer** (3:25)
So it actually came out of your amazing series with On the Media, The Divided Dial because you heard Esperanto on shortwave?

**Katie Thornton** (3:32)
It does indeed. Yes, I learned that the Chinese national government and until very recently, the Catholic Church both still broadcast on shortwave in Esperanto, and that really piqued my interest. I had to know what was going on in this world.

**Brian Lehrer** (3:47)
So what was the timeline here? Did you learn that there was an Esperanto conference taking place in the Czech Republic, and then study up a little bit yourself before you went to prepare for that? Or what was the timeline for your immersion in the language?

**Katie Thornton** (4:01)
Yeah, that was pretty much exactly it. Through the listening on shortwave radio, I learned that this is still very much a thing, this world, and I ended up getting a grant from NYU, the Matthew Power Literary Reporting Award, to spend some time learning the language and go to this annual Congress. It was the 110th annual World Esperanto Congress. It's been held all over the world. This year, it was in the Czech Republic, or last year, I suppose, was in the Czech Republic, and I was able to study up on Duolingo and go to the Congress last summer.

**Brian Lehrer** (4:36)
So would you say something in Esperanto for us?

**Katie Thornton** (4:39)
Sure. I mean, of course, I think many people may know, saludan is hello. I know for me, I have a tendency to panic when I am confronted with real-world conversations, especially after learning Esperanto only on Duolingo, and so I had some go-to lines going into the Congress. I would repeat to myself and to others, mi estas comenzando, ban volu paroli malvarpide, I'm a beginner, please speak a little bit more slowly, things like that.