51. English Comedian Discusses Esperanto at UN

Comedian, documentarian, Stephen Fry mentions Esperanto in his recent show "Planet Word" (links below), at first as something idealistic. At the end of the program he asks a UN translator/interpreter, Zaha Bustemi, if the world would be a better place if everybody were to speak Esperanto (He didn't say "only" Esperanto.) The translator responds. "Nooo---it is the beauty of languages, every language has its own beauty, its own music" and " it would be a great loss if all languages didn't exist". This is of course the opposite of the intention of most Esperanto speakers. Sadly, the tranlator is probably middle eastern, probably perpetuating the weak Esperanto movement in Arab countries in particular and negatively influencing the spread of Esperanto in Islamic countries generally. As a side-bar it may be noted that Fry is an openly gay secular Jew.

Fry menciis Esperanton. Unue kiel idealisma ideo... Je la fino de la programo, li demandas al tradukistino de la UN se la mondo estus pli bone se chiuj parolu Esperanto... La tradukistino respondas: "Neee! estas beleco en lingvoj, ĉiu lingvo havas sian propran belecon, propran muzikon" kaj "estos granda perdo se tiu lingvoj ne ekzistus!"

Mi vidis la tutan horan programon, rekomendas gxin ekster tiu lasta komento pri Esperanto. Mi aldonas precizajn minutoj de interesaj partoj. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2P6DcSyon4&feature=player_detailpage#t=570s Por elsxuti la programo Planet Word: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AS7VXCDN Por vidi rete: http://www.putlocker.com/file/8847BA37BC6314D2 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=MKBMYH21

Mi korespondis kelk-foje kun la asocia produktorino/enscenigistino, Annie Macnee, antau' jaro kaj antau' monato, originale cxar sxi sugestis pretecon intervjui novjorkajn esperantistojn por la programo. Tiu ne realigxis. Mi petis gxisdatigon pri mencioj de Esperanto, sed sxi ne certis antau' monato.

I corresponded a few times with the documentary producer, Annie Macnee, a year ago and month before writing this letter (in September?). Annie had considered interviewing New York Esperanto speakers but that couldn't happen. Recently I requested updates from her but she still didn't have information at her writing a month before my writing this.

Mi skribis al sxi antau' kelkaj minutoj denove pri tiu-cxi/nia diskuto. Kelkaj aktivaj esperantistoj ankau' havis kontaktojn kun sxi.

Mi sugestas ke ni disvastigu la precizajn minutojn de la traktitaj temoj de intereso de pluraj esperantistoj:

56:30-gxis la fino la esprimoj de la interpretistino.
55:00 Pri UNO lingva politiko
38:40-42:39 Pri plan-lingvoj/Klingon
43:00-49:00 Internacieco de gesto-lingvoj
49:00-55:00 La indo-europa familio de lingvoj

11-23-11

I wrote this a few weeks ago and distrubuted it to a few Yahoo groups:

Since I recently had contacts with several translators/interpreters (French dep.) at the UN this past Thursday and believe that I will eventually speak with the translator, Zaha Bustemi from the T.V. program, "Planet Word", I wanted to analyse better the words of the interviewer, Stephen Fry, a minute before and after the misrepresentation of Esperanto in front of possibly milions of people.

Cxar mi sukcese havis kontaktojn kun pluraj tradukistoj/interpretistoj (franca fako) cxe UNO (pasint-jaud'e) kaj mi kredas ke mi devas eventuale paroli kun la tradukistino, Zaha Bustemi, en televida programo "Planet Word" (Planedo-Vorto)

mi volis analizi pli bone la vortojn de la intervjuanto, Stephen Fry, minuton antau' kaj post la misreprezento de Esperanto antau' eble milionoj da homoj.

Mi prezentas la anglan dialogon pli detale cxi-tie kaj eventuale volas akiri tradukon/mem traduki gxin. Cxar ili parolis iom rapide kun akcento/akcxento (ne mia usona) mi eble devis au'skulti 30 fojojn la celatajn frazojn.

(Inter malmultaj // brakoj // mi aldonas klarigajn vortojn)

Minuto. 54:53

(Post 2 minutoj pri infan-lernado de patrino-lingvoj)

Somechildren do not stop learning one language... and there are plenty of other languages to choose from.

(Stephen Fry, enirante UNO-n)

There are currently 194 member states belonging to the United Nations with over 6,000 languages spoken in them.

Maybe many of our species troubles could be avoided if we understood each other better? Would having one world language--be it Esperanto, English or to be utterly neutral and positively perverse--Klingon, even be an advantage?

Perhaps in World Forums like here in the UN Security Council, which is currently in session discussing the Libyan Crisis it would.

But then it would also put /translator's like/ Zaha Bustemi out of a job.

Stephen Fry: How many working languages are there?

Zaha Bustemi: Two: English and French

S. F. Ony two...I see. And then there are the official languages?

Z. B. Six of them

S. F. Only Six!

Z. B The official language are English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Arabic, which is the most recent addition to the official languages.

S. F. "Zaha..it's rather wonderful watching you translate simultaneously..it seems to us like a...extraordinary..like a conductor able to read a music score..its an incredible thing that a human brain can do. I look down here //while in a UN tranlating booth// it's almost like a living symbol of the Tower of Babel...of the fact that mankind split into so many languages.

Stephen Fry: Do you sometimes think of...//that// the world would be better if everybody spoke Esperanto?

Zaha: 56:57

//Emotionally speaking//

No...there is a beauty to languages... every language has it's own beauty, its own music, it's own imagery, it's way of expressing the sentiments and the nature of the people who speak that language...it would be a loss if that language did not exist // and if everybody spoke Esperanto //

Oh...I'm very much in favor of the Tower of Babel.

//Malrapida klasika muziko au'digxas//

Stephen Fry paroladistas/narrates.

This building where the General Assembly of the United Nations meets perhaps symbolizes more than any other what happened to humankind after Babel:

Thousands of voices upraised in different mutually different, mutually incomprehensible tongues trying to comprehend to understand eachother, trying to build some kind of peace after the wreckage //li ridas iom moke al historio// of the 20th century. Well they sought to solve their problem by reducing all those lanugages to the 6 working languages of the UN in that way people do understand eachother. They understand how they think.. perhaps how they communicate a little bit of the history of each other.

Languages do so much more than that. Languages, in many respects define our identity.. who we are. And that's what I'll be looking at in our next time.

From Kenya to Israel, Ireland to Occitan, New Castle to (Brownsville (ne klare au'debla loko) I'll be looking how our 6,000 plus languges and myriad ---(actions--ne-klara vorto) are threatened with extinction as our global village becomes a reality.

Ni ne volas ataki la dialogantoj--ni konsideras ecx- inviti ilin al nia decembra programo.

Viaj opinioj estas bonvenaj.

Sincere, Nijl Blonstein
http://www.esperanto-un.org/