Angry Esperantists to Protest G-8 Summit in Japan

Travel Blog  •  Elyse Franko  •  06.06.08 | 10:53 AM ET

Speakers of the artificial international language, Esperanto, are expected to descend on Hokkaido, Japan, just in time for the G-8 summit in July. Their beef? Not unfair trade, human-rights violations or war, but the global linguistic dominance of the English language.

Tags: Global Village, Asia, Japan, News and Briefs

Elyse Franko is a Long Island native, a graduate of the American University School of Communication in Washington, D.C., and a former World Hum intern. During her time at university, she wrote and edited for several campus publications and fostered her love for traveling by spending time abroad in Istanbul, Turkey, and Berlin, Germany. She currently works as a teaching assistant in Vienna, Austria.


2 Comments for Angry Esperantists to Protest G-8 Summit in Japan

Bill Chapman 06.06.08 | 1:38 PM ET

Very interesting! I think these protestors have a point. However, they don’t necessarily reflect the viewpoints of all Esperanto speakers. For agood introduction to this planned language, look at http://www.esperanto.net

Brian Barker 06.06.08 | 3:47 PM ET

Eight British MP’s have nominated Esperanto for the Nobel Peace Prize 2008.

Unfortunately none of these are anarchists, which is why they may not be on the boat to join the protest!

Esperanto is a living language tho’ Please check http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8837438938991492670

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