Esperanto

Esperanto is the artificial language invented by Dr. L.L. Zamenhof in 1887 in the hope that it would serve as the universal language promoting understanding and peace.

Esperanto movement and belief in the shining future it could help bring was most widespread in the early 20th century, and so the language was popular also among early fans in the 1930s. Most notable were Forrest J. Ackerman and Myrtle R. Douglas, who in fact met at an Esperanto event. They used Esperanto to coin their nicknames (Fojak, quite correctly though untypably Foĵak, and Morojo - this should, in contrast, be pronounced -yo); also, their joint pseudonym and then collective designation was Mirta Forsto, Esperanto for Myrtle Forest. A few more Esperanto nicknames, less succesful or well-known, were Morojo's cousin Pogo and son Vodoso.

In addition, one Esperanto expression crept (or was pushed) into Fanspeak, "ktp" for kaj tiel plu, "and so forth", instead of etc. This would likely be forgotten fast, like Foĵak's other Esperanto loans, but it was used throughout Fancyclopedia and then Fancyclopedia II. — Interestingly Fancy 1 left the letter K empty, "temporarily unsullied by stfandom", and only Fancy 2 explained the abbreviation as an entry on its own, mistakenly ascribing it to "Speer"; this was changed in the 1960 Additions and Corrections, which also attempted to explain "the reason for having all these variations".

The Esperanto craze was mostly an amusing relic by the 1950s. The two Fancyclopedia articles below, from 1944 and 1959, accurately reflect the decline. However, a few Esperantists pop up in every fannish generation; Orange Mike is one.

Among the pros, Charles Hornig promoted Esperanto in Science Fiction Stories editorials. Harry Harrison was also a fan, mentioning Esperanto as the future language in many of his books, and a (honorary) member of several Esperanto associations.

Ed Baker (aka Ejobo, also mentioned as "Esperanto Eddie") was such a zealous wearer of the Green Star (the Esperanto symbol) that as a member of The Cult he published Fantasy Rotator 116 (1962) entirely in Esperanto. (The Cult immediately found an excuse to drop him and several more to keep him out, but that's another story.)

There was also Dawnish, a language created by Don Wollheim during a period when he was feuding with Ackerman. Dawnish, by definition, was universal, in that no one understood it.

From Fancyclopedia 1, ca. 1944

An artificial language invented for international auxiliary use. The roots for its words come from European language [sic], the root being chosen in each case which occurs in the greatest number of languages; most of them are therefore Latin or Germanic. The spelling is nearly phonetic, and the grammar highly simplified; in addition, there are a number of prefixes and suffixes to extend the vocabulary. Esperi means to hope, espere means hopefully, espero means a hope, and esperanto means one who is hoping; Esperanto was the pename used by the originator. Invented late in the 19th Century, the language became the leading contender for general recognition as an auxiliary language, is taught in many schools, and has thousands of advocates scattered over the world, among whom are Ackerman and Morojo, who have made some converts among fans.

From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959

An artificial language invented for international auxiliary use. The roots for its words come from European languages, the root being chosen in each case which appears in the greatest number of languages. The spelling is nearly phonetic, and the grammar highly simplified. This language has a few thousand advocates scattered over the world, among whom were Ackerman and Morojo. They made some converts among fans.

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