Esperanto: european or asiatic language?

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The national and local languages of the world are firmly linked to specific peoples and places. But the International Language Esperanto is identified with no particular nation or geographical area.

Nevertheless, scholars, particularly those who do not speak Esperanto, occasionally express doubts about this principle, which dates from the time of Zamenhof himself, who first created the language, “If Zamenhof really knew only European languages,” they ask, “how could he avoid building European grammatical and semantic principles into his language?” Even if a scientist feels obliged to caution that there are no purely European or purely Asiatic languages, and that semantic relations between words are primarily the result of the way a language is used by speakers and not of a priori definition, this perfectly serious question still merits a considered answer.

If in fact the language created by Zamenhof were shown to be linked exclusively to Europe, its claims to linguistic neutrality would obviously be compromised. One could then truthfully assert that, although it is easier than other languages now used in international relations and therefore deserves serious consideration as an international language, nevertheless it is not a neutral medium of communication among cultures.

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