Essay Esperanto anyone? By Tony Laszlo	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
エスペラント語はいかが？ 言語習得には、一般的に長い時間が必要だと考えられているが、 実は近道があるのをご存じだろうか。言葉や民族の壁を越えるために考案 された人工言語であるエスペラント語に最初に接していれば、その次 の言語習得が比較的容易になるという。小学校に導入するのなら、 英語ではなくいっそエスペラント語にしてみたらどうだろう。

One of my favorite old jokes is the one about the tourist in Manhattan who stops a man in the street to ask, "Tell me, how do I get to Carnegie Hall?" The New Yorker looks at him quizzically for a moment and then responds, "Practice, practice."

I'm not quite sure why that joke makes me laugh. Perhaps it's because the tourist's question was misunderstood in a peculiar kind of way. Or perhaps it's because his problem remains unsolved (he's still lost). Or it could be because the story contains a kernel of truth. The way to excel in music (and someday make it to the stage at Carnegie Hall) is, indeed, to practice day in and day out.

I've always thought that, similarly, excelling in a language is just a simple matter of putting in the hours. And that there are no shortcuts.

Well, I may have been wrong

In fact, it seems that there may be a way to shorten the amount of time needed to learn a language. It involves studying a certain other language first, and then moving on to the target language. Esperanto, a constructed language introduced back in 1887, is one such language. L.L. Zamenhof, its creator, hoped that the ethnically neutral Esperanto would break down barriers between peoples and help them to see each other as neighbors. Today, it's said that upwards to a couple of million people worldwide have some fluency in the language

According to a string of studies done over the years, people who first study Esperanto can often acquire a better command of their target language than those who only study the target language. That's because students can get a handle on Esperanto relatively quickly due to the fact that its rules for grammar, pronunciation and word-building are very logical and regular.

They can then move on to subsequent languages, confident that they are capable of learning languages, and knowing that any struggles they might have with more complex systems are not their fault. And they tend to acquire a good general overview of language structure. That makes it easier to dissect a subsequent language and decide how to best go about learning it.

In Japan, public opinion now seems to be split on a recent proposal that English as a second language be made mandatory at primary school. Opponents of the idea are suggesting that such a program would erode the young students' Japanese language skills. Advocates say the program is crucial, some claiming that English studies should actually begin in pre-school

I can think of a compromise. Instead of English, let the students study Esperanto in primary school. Not necessarily for a year: They can probably make good progress in just a few months. If they respond at all like the students in the above-mentioned studies, this exposure should improve their learning of English at junior high, without eroding anything. As a bonus, the youngsters will become able to communicate with people around the world in a truly international language. That's not peanuts.

Of course, no one is suggesting that Esperanto is just for young people. To the contrary. Worldwide, speakers seem to be spread out pretty well through the age bands. Next year, thousands of people will arrive in Yokohama to attend the annual World Congress of Esperanto. Do, karaj legantoj, kiam vi komencos lerni Esperanton? (So, dear readers, when will you begin learning Esperanto?)

Shukan ST: June 16, 2006

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