help to alleviate some of the misunderstandings among cultures.
In Zamenhofs first attempt at a universal language, he tried to create a language that was as
uncomplicated as possible. This first language included words such as ab, ac, ba, eb, be, and ce. This
did not result in a workable language in that these monosyllabic words, though short, were not easy
to understand or to retain.
Next, Zamenhof tried a different way of constructing a simplified language. He made the words
in his language sound like words that people already knew, but he simplified the grammar
tremendously One example of how he simplified the language can be seen in the suffixes: all nouns in
this language end in o, as in the noun amiko, which means "friend," and all adjectives end in -a, as in
the adjective beta, which means "pretty" Another example of the simplified language can be seen in
the prefix mal-, which makes a word opposite in meaning; the word malamiko therefore means
"enemy," and the word malbela therefore means "ugly" in Zamenhofs language.
In 1887, Zamenhof wrote a description of this language and published it. He used a penname,
Dr. Esperanto, when signing the book. He selected the name Esperanto because this word means "a
person who hopes" in his language. Esperanto clubs began popping up throughout Europe, and by
1905 Esperanto had spread from Europe to America and Asia.
In 1905, the First World Congress of Esperanto took place in France, with approximately 700
attendees from 20 different countries. Congresses were held annually for nine years, and 4,000
attendees were registered for the Tenth World Esperanto Congress scheduled for 1914, when World
War I erupted and forced its cancellation.
Esperanto has had its ups and downs in the period since World War I. Today, years afer
it was introduced, it is estimated that perhaps a quarter of a million people are fluent in it.
Current advocates would like to see its use grow considerably and are taking steps to try to make this
happen.
1. The topic of this passage is
2. According to the passage, Zamenhof wanted to create a universal language
3. Look at the word simplified in paragraph 3.
is the word or phrase in paragraph 2 that is closest in meaning to simplified
4. It can be inferred from the passage that the Esperanto word malespera means
.
5. Look at the expression popping up in paragraph 4. This expression could best be replaced by .
6. Click on the square in the beginnng of the sentence in paragraph 4 that explains why Zamenhof chose the name that he did for his language.
10. The following sentence could be added to paragraph 6.
This may seem like a large number, but it is really quite small when compared with the billion English speakers and
billion Mandarin Chinese speakers in today's world.
Where would it best fit into the paragraph? Click on the square () to add the sentence to the paragraph.
