Un interview con un esperantista native

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, English)

Ecce un interview con un esperantista qui apprendeva le lingua in su familia de parentes qui sempre parlava in Esperanto:

QUESTION: Vos vos identifica como un nativo de Esperanto del secunde generation. Esque illo significa que un de su patres esseva un nativo del lingua?

RESPONSA: Si. Le patres de mi matre sempre parlava esperanto in su focar proque illes se habeva cognoscite in un congresso de esperantistas, e illo esseva su lingua principal post que illa nasceva.

QUESTION: Esque vostre proprie patres parlava a vos solmente in esperanto?

RESPONSA: Si. E io ha memorias de deber facer traductiones inter mi soror plus juvene e mi granpatres, qui non sapeva parlar esperanto. Io habeva apprendite un pauco de anglese in mi schola, e illa non habeva comenciate su annos scholar.

QUESTION: Durante le prime parte de vostre vita in Anglaterra, esque vos habeva multe contacto diarie con le anglese?

RESPONSA: Io non habeva nulle contacto con le anglese ante que mi fratre plus vetule comenciava su annos scholar. Mi patres non habeva multe amicos, e illes voleva que io apprendeva le anglese solmente in le schola.

QUESTION: Si io ha ben comprendite lo que tu me ha dicite, tu non cognosceva le anglese quando vos comenciava vostre annos scholar. Quales esseva vostre problemas quando vos comenciava a apprender le anglese, e esque vos habeva problemas social in vostre schola? Esque vos haberea preferite que tu patres non habeva inseniate esperanto a vos?

RESPONSA: Il esseva obvie al altere studentes in le schola que mi familia esseva differente. Io crede que la cosa le plus difficile esseva le cultura del esperantistas. Io nunc crede que assertiones que “Esperanto es multo plus facile que omne le altere linguas del mundo” e “Si solmente omne le mundo parlava esperanto, nos haberea pace in le mundo” es multo naïve.

Quando io esseva juvene, io repeteva tal assertiones sin pensar criticamente de illos. Plus tarde il deveniva obvie a me que illos esseva como assertiones religiose. Durante que io maturava, io re-evaluava iste assertiones, e io apprendeva que advocar los constantemente comenciava damnificar mi stato social inter mi amicos.

QUESTION: Io audi que multe nativos del esperanto sovente vade al Universala Kongreso e passa multe tempore con altere nativos juvene cuje lingua native es esperanto. Como esseva vostre experientias in iste ambiente social?

RESPONSA: Mi matre participava in le organisation del Congresso Internal de Juvene Esperantistas, e le experientia esseva como esser in un altere schola con mi matre como le professor. Plus tarde, in nostre adolescentia, nos comenciava a participar in altere eventos, e io controlava le organisation de un de iste eventos pro unes annos.

In un occasion, io vadeva a Japon, e mi patres decideva accompaniar me. Io me trovava in le ambiente de un pais asian que io trovava multo stranie, ma io habeva le familiaritate de mi familia e del cultura de esperanto durante omne le tempore que io passava in Japon.

QUESTION: Ahora que vos es plus vetule, esque vos totevia es active con esperanto? Esque vos crede que le major parte del nativos de esperanto remane in le communitate? Esque vos crede que il ha un un differentia social inter illes qui lo parla nativemente e illes qui lo apprendeva como un lingua foranee?

RESPONSA: Il non ha ulle division social significante inter le nativos del lingua e le personas qui ha apprendite esperanto como un lingua foranee e sape parlar lo vermente ben. Il ha un certe nivello de exasperation inter personas de mi generation qui ha conflictos inter le mundo real e le cultura de esperanto e vermente non accipe le ideales del cultura. Illes senti un certe conflicto con le generation plus vetule qui dedica lor vitas al organisation de eventos pro promover le uso de esperanto, miscite con le conforto de un ambiente familiar que dominava lor vitas quando illes esseva infantes juvene.

Nos es le filios de un ideal, de un sperantia false, ma illo es nostre cultura. Nos ha solmente un stella verde pro identificar nostre cultura sin un urbe capital o un centro de population. Ma le cultura de esperanto continua a superviver post cento annos de existentia. E su adherentes continua a advocar lo como marineros in un nave que se affunda.

Io crede que illes qui crede que le anglese es le causa de omne le problemas del mundo solmente es un fonte de alienation pro illes qui ha un perspectiva realiste sur le affaires del mundo. Io mesme nunc non participa multo in le cultura de Esperanto. Illo totevia es presente in mi vita. Ma post 30 annos de experientia con illo, io ha potite arrivar a un certe balancia inter le movimento esperantiste e le vita real.

Como in le caso del religion, io crede que le generationes del futuro debe poter seliger lor proprie valores e determinar pro lor proprie effortios le curso de lor vitas. Io non crede que le beneficios del cultura esperantiste les compensa pro le difficultates psychologic de maturar in un cultura que non ha multe sperantia o ulle valor practic. Io ha ganiate multo del cultura de esperanto, ma illo anque ha causate certe problemas pro me. Ma pro illes qui vermente crede in le futuro de esperanto, illo pote haber valores que es quasi religiose.

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An Interview with a Native Esperantist

Here is an interview with an Esperantist who learned the language in his family from parents who always spoke in Esperanto:

QUESTION: You identify yourself as a native second-generation Esperantist. Does that mean that one of your parents was a native user of the language?

ANSWER: Yes. My mother’s parents always spoke Esperanto in their home because they met each other in a congress of esperantists, and that was her principal language after she was born.

QUESTION: Did your own parents speak of you only in Esperanto?

ANSWER: Yes. And I have memories of having to translate between my younger sister and my grandparents, who did not know how to speak Esperanto. I had learned a little English in school, and she had not started her school years.

QUESTION: During the first part of your life in England, did yo have much daily contact with English?

ANSWER: I did not have any contact with English before my older brother started going to school. My parents did not have many friends, and they wanted me to learn English only in school.

QUESTION: If I have understood well what you have told me, you did not know English when you started going to school. What were your problems when you started to learn English, and did you have social problems in your school? Would you have preferred that you parents had not taught Esperanto to you?

ANSWER: It was obvious to other students in the shool that my family was different. I believe that the most difficult thing was Esperanto culture. I now believe that statements that “Esperanto is much more easy than all the other languages of the world” and “If only the entire world spoke Esperanto, we would have peace in the world” are very naïve.

When I was young, I repeated such assertions without thinking about them critically. Later on it became obvious to me that they were like religious statements. As I grew up, I re-evaluated these statements, and I learned that constantly advocating for them started to damage my social status among my friends.

QUESTION: I hear that many native users of Esperanto often go to the Universala Kongreso and spend a lot of time with other young people whose native language is Esperanto. What were your experiences in this social environment?

ANSWER: My mother participated in the International Congress of Young Esperantists, and the experience was like being in another school with my mother as the teacher. Later on, in our teenage years, we started to participate in other events, and I controlled the organization of one of these events for a few years.

On one occasion, I went to Japan, and my parents decided to go with me. I found myself in the environment of an Asian country which I found very strange, but I had the familiarity of my family and of Esperanto culture during all the time I spent in Japan.

QUESTION: Now that you are older, are you still active in Esperanto? Do you believe that most of the Esperanto natives remain in the community? Do you believe that there is a social difference between those who speak it natively and those who learned it as a foreign language?

ANSWER: There is no significant social division between native users of the language and those who have learned Esperanto as a foreign language and know how to speak it really well. There is a certain level of exasperation among people of my generaton who have conflicts between the real world and Esperanto culture and really do not accept the ideals of the culture. They feel a certain conflict with the older generation who dedicate their lives to the organization of events to promote the use of Esperanto, mixed with the comfort of a familiar environment that dominated their lives when they were young children.

We are the children of an ideal, of a false hope, but it is our culture. We have only a green star to identify our culture without a capital city or a population center. But the culture of Esperanto continues to survive after 100 years of existence. And its adherents continue to advocate for it like sailors on a sinking ship.

I believe that those who believe that English is the cause of all the problems of the world only are a source of alienation for those who have a realistic perspective on the affairs of the world. I myself no longer participate very much in Esperanto culture. It is still present in my life. But after thirty years of experience with it, I have been able to arrive at a certain balance between the Esperanto movment and real life.

As in the case of religion, I believe that future generations should be able to choose their own values and determine through their own efforts the course of their lives. I don’t believe that the benefit of Esperanto culture compensates them for the psychological difficulties of maturing in a culture that does not have much hope or any practical value. I have gotten lot out of Esperanto culture, but it also has caused certain problems for me. But for those who really believe in the future of Esperanto, it can have values that are almost religious.