More good points...
Rick van Opbergen said:
But what's the use of giving the schools the own choice of deciding whether Esperanto will be part of the schoolprogram? I hardly believe a majority will be in favor of doing so (extra teachers, extra lessonmaterials etc.). And Esperanto is not a language with a stable base. As you can learn Russian if you want to go to Russia, or Turkish if you want to go to Turkey, that will not be case with Esperanto. I know that that part is seen as an advantage, for Esperanto can not be applied in some sort of nationalistic, racist etc. way, but on the other hand, I guess it will be harder to determine where, or even when, to use it. And if you are not certain of that, of the practical use of Esperanto, I can understand people (or schools) are really not interested in learning (or teaching) it.
From my experience (and I have exchanged ideas on this with many a schol headmaster), you're right. Most schools wouldn't be interested in the least. Some, however, would. Bear in mind also that at the moment, due to China's Englih elarning policy, there is now a critical shortage of speakers of other langauges in the country, and the government is slowly starting to acknowledge it. In Nanjing, for example, high quality jobs for Englsih-speakers can run at 200RMB/hr, whereas the same job for speakers of langauges other than English could run at 500rmb/hr. The tourist industry and many companies are already competing tooth and nail for these people, including Arabic, Swahili, French, Polish, and especially Spanish. Many companies and universities have even given up looking for Spanish speakers despite the fierce demand, so that whole industry is soon going to crash in China if it doesn't change soon. Granted this doesn't apply to Esperanto, but it still means that English will fall in favour of the other languages mentionned above and others. So where does Esperanto fit into all this? Well, first off, it's not just a matter of hiring the Spanish speaking teacher, interpreter, etc. It's also a matter of ensuring the Spanish speaker can communicate with the employer, students and others. After all, if the boss only knows English and Chinese, and the students only know Chinese, how will a Spaniard who doesn't know either Englsih or Chinese teach? And even if he did know English, what use is it if the student doesn't know English. And even if the Spaniard knew Chinese, then he'd go into interpretation and translation for the money, unless he just loves teaching of course. So the problem can't be solved so easily, logisticaly. In the case of Esperanto, however, there are already over 30 universities teaching it, over 10,000 speakers of the language, and a booming Esperanto-industry. Just this month a friend of mine has gone to Poland to sign a contract between Beijing Software University and 'Studumo pri Turismo', whereby Chinese students could learn Esperanto for their bachelors, and then study their Master's in Poland via Esperanto. I've also met foreign Esperanto-tourists on a regular basis for the last two years. And all this without government suport, with English being an obligatory course in school, with exams and business opportunities in English, a general opinion in China that everyone in the world speaks English, and yet Esepranto is still growing after more than 100 years. So I can only immagine that allowing schools to choose could only increase, not decrease, this rate of success.
So I'm sure some Chinese primary and middle schools will try to use Esperanto as a strategy to give students a solid linguistic base before learning other European langauges, once the Chiense government no longer makes English a required subject. This could also solve logistical problems as well, since then the language of instruction itself could be Espranto while they learn other languages or do business in the language.
And as for history and culture, Esperanto is very much a part of the historical fabric of Chinese culture. Mao Zedong, Luxun, and Song Kai Shek supported it, and Cai Yuanpei and Bajing spoke the language. Green May, a Japanese woman, even collaborated with the Chinese against the Japanese during the Sino-Japanese war. The Chinese likewise respect Leo Tolstoy verym uch, and he was also a speaker of the langauge. In China, history plays a large role in people's thoughts.
Cai Yuanpei, whom they look up to, even said:
“The Chinese language is very different from Western languages. However, it is essential for China, at this point in its history, to establish communication with other countries so that it can learn from them. In order for that to happen, China needs an auxiliary language and Esperanto is the most suitable. If many Chinese knew Esperanto, then any foreigner wishing to come to China would only need to learn that language. And that would increase the number of Esperantists in the world and help to propagate the language, as is our duty...It is much harder for Chinese people to learn other languages than it is for Westerners. However, once we have learned one European language, then we are no different from a Westerner who wishes to learn another language. If that first language we learn is Esperanto, it will definitely help us to learn other European languages.”
Granted the quote above is a little dated (prior to the establishment of the people's republic, in fact), but it does illustrate an important part of Chinese history. And even though only a limited number of schools would show interest, that would still be an improvement. And considering Esperanto has been able to succeed without help, political backing, economic or military clout, one can only immagine what it could accomplish if governments simply stepped out of the way and simply allowed schools to adopt it as a second language.
Now, in what way is Esperanto easier to learn than lets say English? And by that, I mean for people who do not have an Indo-European language as their mother tongue, and who do not use the Latin alphabet. And when do you think the time is right to impose Esperanto en la lernejo? ( :wink: )