Esperantic Identity

How does knowing Esperanto make people feel about people, life, and themselves?

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

You know English, I assume, since you are reading this.

How does knowing English make you feel? Hoe does it affect your identity and sense of your place in the world?

You may or may not have thought about that, but most people probably never gave it a thought. They just know that language, use it, and that’s it. Of course, if they start thinking, they will reach some conclusions like “being part of the leading cultural sphere”, or perhaps “allowing me to talk to people around me”.

You can have many other feelings and perceived benefits and problems out of knowing English. But are you a member of an association of English speakers, for instance? Or eager to tell other people about that great language, so that they might consider learning it?

I doubt.

But many other languages have such features to them. Minority languages of all flavors, all over the world, will often see groups of people establish themselves as spokespeople for their country acknowledging those languages as official – to be used in public communication, and as a teaching language in schools, for instance.

And you can find “anglophiles”, “francophiles” and others, who are enthusiastic about anything related to a certain country – usually not their own, native one – including the language. And they could easily want to promote the language and tell everybody how great it is to know exactly that language.

I believe that by far most speakers of any language, anywhere in the world, are just speaking it. Using it. Living with it without thinking too much about it. They have possibly been through a learning process to learn and become good at their native language, sometimes also one or more foreign languages, but then it just slips in as yet another skill, along with cooking, computer programming, sewing, or whatever they know of.

And they don’t feel any special association to other speakers of that same language, nor to anything else connected to it. Having learned French doesn’t necessarily make people want to eat baguettes and brie cheese.

People with all kinds of thoughts and interests may similarly either just keep them for themselves, or feel a desire to shout to the world.

Right now, I am “shouting” about Esperanto, on this Substack, even though I try to do it in a rather low-key way.

But Esperanto would never have become a thing if there weren’t people who were enthusiastic about it. Zamenhof himself, when spending years on creating the language, and then a considerable part of his life afterwards on promoting and supporting it, and all the hopeful people in the world who gathered in clubs of “international languages”, trying to make exactly this one become the one – that language that, eventually, would be used in all international contexts.

It was long ago, but not too long to be remembered. The enthusiasm around the language and the feeling of hope, and need for telling about it, is somehow still a major part of the language. Hence, we can talk about a movement, not just a language, because the language is being wrapped up in all such additional thoughts and activities.

Many other groups of people in the society, and sometimes also individuals, feel a need to emphasize one particular feature of themselves or something they know or are part of. You can find Star Trek enthusiast clubs, for instance, who want to make knowing that TV series a significant part of their image, and who want to keep the memory of the series alive, through role plays, carefully made masks of Klingons and a lot more. They often carry a phazer gun set to “stun”, just to be fully enrolled in the world of the trekkies.

Many other groups exist, and some are specifically focused on being outgoing – so it is not so much about living in a fantasy as it is about missioning or spreading the word, trying to convince other people about what they believe in.

Esperantists are somehow to be found in all camps.

Some are just using the language without trying to promote it, and without believing that is needs to become more widespread - they just use it, like others use English or French. Not many are like that, I suppose, since there can’t be many places in the world where people can just use Esperanto as a daily language, except for, perhaps, at home in their own family.

Some are members by plight (or a feeling of such) of something, or subscribe to newsletters or magazines in Esperanto, even though they aren’t active in any way. They may believe in something – such as the language being a good way of communication across the world – but they are not actively doing anything for making that happen, except for one important detail: they have shown an interest for the language, perhaps learned it, and they are somehow supporters of it, even if passive.

And, of course, some are enthusiasts and “Esperantophiles” – however they are typically called Esperantists. By themselves, and by others.

I recently read a comment in a forum by an Esperantist, that he felt it to be an improper word to use – he felt like if it equaled him with some kind of member of a secret organization.

And I feel with him – you wouldn’t, as an English speaker, call yourself an “Englist”, I suppose? It would indicate that English would be a major defining characteristic of you, and that would be too much for most people – they know English, yes, but they are so much more than that.

The identificator “Esperantist” somehow makes you a slice of the Esperanto-salami, identical to all other Esperantists.

Also, sometimes being an Esperantist is considered by others with some level of suspicion. “Why can’t that person just not be like the rest of us, why pretend to be special like this?” – they may think. And they may look at you like they look at vegetarians, members of odd religious groups, etc., and can’t really see you through the filter of all the prejudices they have about such people.

Even just telling about Esperanto, like I do now, makes some people feel that I try to pretend that I am something different, or that I try to take over part of their life by telling them how they should think and act.

I remember, when golf became big in Denmark. It had long existed as a sport for the privileged, but something happened in society – in Denmark actually a bit later than in some other countries, like Sweden – that made almost everybody consider golf as a sport for them. Or, “sport” might be a strong word to use here – more of a spare time activity, not unlike going swimming at the beach, or having a barbecue at home.

At first, it was almost impossible for the pioneers in this movement to talk about golf. They were considered “rich snobby people” by most others, and nobody wanted to hear about their drive lengths and one-puts.

But later, when more people had got involved in it, there was an almost fanatic attitude around it – typically so that those who had never tried it still considered it an absurd thing to do, while those who did try it just once often began speaking heartwarmingly about how wonderful it was that they had found that hobby.

And then, everybody began talking about products and brands, which somehow had survived from the snobbish days of the sport, and you couldn’t have a conversation with a golf player without talking mostly about their new set of Titleist forged irons, which was just like whoever-golf-idol used.

That split the world in two: those who could survive talking about golf, and those who ran away if that topic came up.

Esperanto has a bit of that aura around it too, except for the important details that it is not snobbish, and not about products and brands.

But the fanatism can still be felt with some Esperantists, and everybody else involved with the language in any way also wants to talk to others about it, hence, feels a need to tell about it first – as quite many people know nothing about Esperanto beforehand.

In other words, what seems like fanatism is often just a wish to, sort of, legalize their interest in the circles they attend.

But it works, nevertheless, often like golf did during many years – people around the Esperantists decide that it is somehow a freaky thing to be interested in, not a general conversation topic, and they then run away from it, trying to freeze it out of their world.

The individual who is occupied with the language, no matter their motivation for doing it, will, hence, need to seek up some other circles where it is accepted to talk about it. And that makes it such a topic that tends to polarize or split people and put them in either the okay camp, or the forget-it camp of conversations.

This then becomes a strong identifier for the person. And, hence, mostly people seeking such a strong identifier – which will often be young people – are interested. Those people who would rather try to fit into their surroundings, not stick out in any way, in order to live a presumed normal life, they will often avoid it.

That explains the need for Esperanto youth organizations, for instance. Young people who need to build identity can potentially do it there.

It also explains why the “not youth” Esperanto societies have very few members who are in the life-building phases of their lives – mid-ages people with children in the kindergarten and school ages, who really want to be considered normal by their surroundings, can’t have Esperanto in their lives. If they ever had, while being young, it will become a hidden experience they rarely talk about.

But English and French aren’t equally problematic. You can positively be mid-aged and life-building and still know, or even study, one of those languages, because they are considered normal.

So, be prepared to be a bit of a freak in the eyes of others, if you pay interest to Esperanto. And consider talking about it as just a language, not a secterial movement of some kind.

Remember – people who have not tried golf, tend to see it as weird and belonging to a snobbish upperclass idea of bragging about surplus time and money – and Esperanto may actually have somewhat of the opposite shine over it, being seen as anti-society, anti-kapitalist, and anti-a-lot-more by people who have never tried it.

Or, you could just allow this all to become part of your identity. Your choice!