Amazing World

This language was supposed to be the language of the future, but instead, during World War II, everyone who spoke Esperanto was persecuted and killed. We have collected all the most interesting facts about artificial languages ​​that will really surprise you.In 1887, on a small booklet, the Polish ophthalmologist Ludwik Lazar Zamenhof wrote a few sentences in a language still unknown to the world, which he called Esperanto (translated as "hopeful"). In 1990, Esperanto was presented at the International Exhibition in Paris. The newly created language quickly became popular and, according to the author's plan, it was supposed to become the only language of international communication, second only to the native language for every person in the world. That is why Esperanto is a fairly simple language - it has 28 letters in its alphabet and only 16 grammatical rules. Most of the words are borrowed from French, English, German and Italian languages. Esperanto also had its language flag colors - green and white, which symbolize hope and peace, and its emblem - a five-pointed star, which symbolizes the five continents. There was even an attempt to create the country of Amikeho, whose inhabitants would speak Esperanto. Esperanto was also supposed to become the official language of the newly created League of Nations, but France voted against it. And Doctor Zamenhof was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 14 times. However, World War II changed everything. Two dictators - Stalin and Hitler persecuted, thrown into concentration camps, and killed Esperantists, one of them saw this language as a tool of Zionism, and the other did not like the supposedly anti-nationalist ideals of the community. Those speakers of Esperanto who managed to survive were united in communities, but they were no longer taken seriously.In addition to Esperanto, there are many artificial languages ​​in the world, such as Interlingue (Occidental). This language first appeared in Europe in 1922 and was invented by the linguist Edgar de Waal. As in Esperanto, this language also borrows words from the Romano-Germanic group. This language was also persecuted because of its first name occidental, which means "western" in Latin, and the countries of the communist bloc generally considered it a threat that could bring anti-revolutionary ideas.&nbsp;Volapük is another artificial language, which, according to its history, was dreamed up by the priest Johann Martin Schleyer in 1879. According to him, God appeared to him and ordered him to invent and write down his own language, which the priest did immediately. All night he wrote down grammar, the meaning of words, and sentences, and then generally wrote poems in this language. The basis for creating Volapük was German words and individual words twisted from French and English. The author gave up the letter "r", according to his idea, this letter will be difficult to pronounce for Chinese who want to learn Volapük. After the coming to power of the Nazis, who banned foreign languages, the popularity of Volapük quickly declined.In 1955, linguist John Cook invented the Loglan language as an alternative to "normal" non-ideal languages. But the language, which was created mostly for scientific research, became quite popular. What's more, it lacks such concepts as time in verbs or time in nouns. But there are many exclamations in the language, which should express the whole range of feelings - from love to hatred.But the simplest artificial language was invented quite recently - in 2011, Canadian linguist Sonja Elen Kisa invented Topikona. There are only 118 words in her dictionary, each of which has several meanings. The author is sure that thanks to Topikon, she got closer to the "language of the future".

Depositphotos_113183812_XL-2.jpg

Esperanto and other invented languages of the world. Who created them and why?

On the night of October 31 - November 1, people celebrate mystical Halloween! The traditions of its celebration are different in each country. It's most celebrated in the USA, Great Britain, and European countries. On this night, people stay awake and hold costume parades and parties in the style of "horror". We have selected the most interesting traditions for celebrating Halloween in different parts of the world! Let's start!USAAs we have already mentioned, that Halloween is a popular and long-awaited holiday in the USA. Before the celebration, Americans decorate their houses with bright pumpkin lanterns, figurines of skeletons, ghosts, vampires, witches, black cats, and artificial spider webs. Such decorations look very atmospheric! Jack's lamp, a pumpkin lantern in the form of a human head, is the main symbol of this "scary" holiday. By the way, many years ago people made this decoration from a turnip.In addition, it's hard to imagine American Halloween without themed masquerade costumes. Most of all, Americans like to dress up as monsters and scary characters from famous movies. Some Americans invite friends to watch their favorite horror movies in their homes.A tradition without which American Halloween cannot exist is called "Trick-or-treating". Children and teenagers in scary costumes walk around the houses, shouting "trick or treat", and expect to receive candy from house owners.Great BritainHalloween is also one of the loudest and funniest nights in Great Britain when the whole country stays awake. This night the English traditionally decorate towns and villages with pumpkins and candles. They like to dress up in witch costumes with skeletons in their arms and walk the streets there. The British also love vampire and ghost outfits.Ireland<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The spookiest festival of the year is back ? Do you dare visit the island of Ireland at Halloween? <a href="https://t.co/xadnw0SpG8">pic.twitter.com/xadnw0SpG8</a>— Tourism Ireland (@GoToIrelandCA) <a href="https://twitter.com/GoToIrelandCA/status/1584552859642826754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In the evening, the people of Ireland gather in large groups to enjoy a festive dinner together. There is also a custom of baking pies in which small gifts are placed, for example, coins and rings. Irish people like to dress up as zombies on Halloween. To make their costumes especially creepy, the Irish sprinkle them with artificial blood.FranceThe French love Halloween too! On this day, they prepare thematic dishes and delicacies. French Disneyland transforms on Halloween. Ominous and frightening characters from cartoons, fairy tales, trolls, and sorcerers roam its territory. The children are so delighted!Japan<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tokyo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tokyo</a>'s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Shibuya?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Shibuya</a> on high alert for return of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Halloween?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Halloween</a> crowds <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Japan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Japan</a> <a href="https://t.co/VvhvNqSlg8">pic.twitter.com/VvhvNqSlg8</a>— Hans Solo (@thandojo) <a href="https://twitter.com/thandojo/status/1585965958207664132?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The Japanese celebration of Halloween stands out from the rest. On the eve of Halloween in the capital of Japan, the city of Tokyo, a parade of werewolf cats takes place. Parade participants dress up as cats and paint their faces like cat faces. The fact is that Japanese Halloween is dedicated to the hero of Japanese folklore, Bakeneko, a ghost cat who received supernatural powers. More than 2 thousand people take part in the parade!China<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Not quite a cat, not quite a bat? 'Cattus Volans' is perfect for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/batweek?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#batweek</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Halloween?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Halloween</a>! From Athanasius Kircher's China Illustrata (1667) in our digital collections?<a href="https://t.co/8270Fm4NUB">https://t.co/8270Fm4NUB</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/rarebooks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#rarebooks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/costumeideas?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#costumeideas</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/unnaturalhistory?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#unnaturalhistory</a> <a href="https://t.co/OKPUWgDeil">pic.twitter.com/OKPUWgDeil</a>— USF Special Collections &amp; University Archives (@usfca_scua) <a href="https://twitter.com/usfca_scua/status/1585308822012248064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Chinese hold the Festival of Hungry Spirits on Halloween, where they offer various gifts and treats to lost souls. The Chinese believe that on Halloween, souls who are unhappy in life return to our world, so they try to appease them.

Amazing World

Esperanto and other invented languages of the world. Who created them and why?

Parade of werewolf cats and other interesting facts about how Halloween is celebrated in different countries

Tags