 "Photo: Nathan Brown")
Anyone interested in learning a new and unique language can take advantage of an informal club that meets weekly to discuss Esperanto, a language developed in the late 19th century in part to facilitate European diplomacy.
"Basically, we're interested in promoting Esperanto in a personal way with people and spreading the use of the language," said Anderson Mills, an electrical and computer engineering graduate student and member of the Esperanto club.
Mills said the group holds no elections and has no officers. It's just a small group of people who enjoy speaking Esperanto. In addition to weekly meetings, club members also attend conventions held in Austin and around the world.
"It turns out this next summer we'll be hosting the National Esperanto Convention in Austin," Mills said.
In July, some members traveled to Sydney, Canada, for a convention. One group member traveled to Beijing to participate in an international meeting of Esperanto speakers, Mills said.
"I just got back from a big trip to China where there were 2,000 people from 50 countries," said club member Russ Williams. "In the evening I'd go out to dinner with a group of about eight people from all over the world - Germany, Japan, China, Slovakia and France - and we'd talk in the same language."
Williams emphasized the peace-oriented nature of the language. He said the language was developed by a man named L.L. Zamenhof, who was living in a Polish village at the end of the 19th century where five different languages were routinely spoken. Zamenof said this was often a cause of conflict and misunderstanding among the residents.
"He figured if there was a common language that could be spoken, it'd be a good step towards peace," Williams said.
Mills estimated that there are 20 to 25 Esperanto speakers in the Austin area and as many as two million speakers world-wide.
Mills said he learned the language from a Web site.
"I went to an internet chat channel, and with an electronic dictionary, I was able to pretty much keep up," he said.
Austinite Robert Read said the language appeals to him because it is easy to speak and there is a lot of free information available.
"On the internet, you can find a lot of free literature," he said. "In the first couple of months, I could do a lot, and now I'm almost fluent."
Read said speaking Esperanto is a good way to learn other languages. Learning Arabic or Chinese, he said, is like lifting 500-pound weights without any training.
Club members enjoy playing Esperanto Scrabble and singing songs in Esperanto. The 1965 film "Incubus," starring William Shatner has become a cult-classic among speakers and is regularly viewed by convention attendees.
"The whole film was in Esperanto," Mills said. "It's kind of famous and infamous in Esperanto land."
Mills said several people have expressed interest in the language since the group posted fliers around campus. He said the group is considering conducting an informal class this spring to help newcomers learn the language.
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