Full Description
This book explores how Esperanto - often regarded as a future-oriented utopian project that ended up confined to the past - persists in the present. Constructed in the late nineteenth century to promote global linguistic understanding, this language was historically linked to anarchism, communism and pacifism. Yet, what political relevance does Esperanto retain in the present? What impacts have emerging communication technologies had on the dynamics of this speech community? Unpacking how Esperanto speakers are everywhere, but concentrated nowhere, the author argues that digital media have provided tools for people to (re)politicise acts of communication, produce horizontal learning spaces and, ultimately, build an international community. As Esperanto speakers question the post-political consensus about communication rights, this language becomes an ally of activism for open-source software and global social justice. This book will be of relevance to students and scholars researchingpolitical activism, language use and community-building, as well as anyone with an interest in digital media more broadly.
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction: In the beginning was the word.- Chapter 2: And the word was made flesh, or how to narrate histories.- Chapter 3: Follow the (non-)native: Circulating, mapping and territorialising the Esperanto community.- Chapter 4: When Esperanto speakers meet, or what makes this community international?.- Chapter 5: Crocodiles, apples and owls: Language variation and standardisation in a no man's language.- Chapter 6: On moving and standing still: The movement from the standpoint of an Esperanto association.- Chapter 7: Communicating is freedom: human languages, programming languages and new technologies.- Chapter 8: Esperanto in the making, making through Esperanto: prefiguration and the building of alternative presents.- Chapter 9: Conclusion, or how not to put an end to the conversation.
