Line #87 UsefulNotes/EsperantoTheUniversalLanguage


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Ho_Mia_Kor.jpg]]
2
3	->''En la mondon venis nova sento,''
4	->''tra la mondo iras forta voko;''
5	->''per flugiloj de facila vento''
6	->''nun de loko flugu ĝi al loko.''
7	-->-- [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Espero La Espero]]
8
9	[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto Esperanto]] is a {{Conlang}} made by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 designed to be an easy-to-learn language that would help with communication between countries of different languages and maybe even create world peace. The vast majority of the vocabulary is based on European roots, about 2/3 being Latinate derivations from French and about 1/3 being Germanic derivations from English and German, with only a handful of derivations from other sources; whether this makes it appreciably more difficult for non-Europeans to learn is a topic of much discussion among fluent Esperantists, many of whom have non-European mother tongues. Sadly, it has yet to achieve the full extent of Zamenhof's ambitions, thus spawning occasional mockery in modern media[[note]]and murderous rage on the part of those who oppose movements that attempt to bridge social gaps; as mentioned below, [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany the Nazis]] outlawed Esperanto and even sent some of its speakers, including Zamenhof's children, to the death camps[[/note]]. Even then, it's still a thriving language within its own media, and there are a few people around the world who have grown up with Esperanto as a first language.[[note]]in addition to a natural language, obviously.[[/note]] Some stories set in TheFuture use Esperanto as if it has become the main language. It's also occasionally used AsLongAsItSoundsForeign.
10
11	Esperanto has the advantage of being more regular than naturally-evolved languages. It has only [[https://web.archive.org/web/20060517004542/http://donh.best.vwh.net/Esperanto/rules.html 16 grammatical rules]] at base (though it also has other [[http://jbr.me.uk/ranto/y.html folds and wrinkles]] at higher levels), and it never deviates from those rules; also, each letter is pronounced one way and one way only, each word is spelled exactly as it's pronounced, and there are no silent letters. By contrast, English (like all natural languages) is full of irregularity, such as all kinds of weird, inconsistent spelling and grammar rules that make it much harder to learn than it should be. In addition, Esperanto words are much more easily creatable, using prefixes and suffixes around the root word to handily morph words in any way necessary, thus making sentences more concise and language more literal. (Opinions vary on the subject of how colorful language equivalents have solidly found their way into the language, morphable like any other word.) Written Esperanto presents a bit of a problem in the digital age, since 6 letters of the Esperanto alphabet -- ĉ, ĝ, ĥ, ĵ, ŝ, and ŭ -- don't appear in the standard ASCII/ANSI character set; many authors choose to simply write the letter without the hat on it and put an x afterward, like so: cx, gx, hx, jx, sx, ux.[[note]]Eventually, even Zamenhof decided that these funny-looking letters were a bad idea, and unsuccessfully [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformed_Esperanto tried to get rid of them]].[[/note]] However, with the widespread adoption of Unicode in digital environments today, this difficulty is much reduced; Esperanto diacritics are included in that character set.
12
13	Some informative sites about Esperanto (in English) are at [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto Wikipedia]], [[http://esperanto-usa.org/ Esperanto-USA]], and [[http://esperanto.net/info/index_en.html Esperanto.net]].
14
15	Despite its status as the best known artificial language, [[BrokenBase not everybody agrees]] with all parts of it, ([[http://jbr.me.uk/ranto/ as you can read here]]) and thus it has spawned other languages that have tried to correct perceived flaws. These projects are collectively known as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperantido Esperantidoj]]; they include [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ido Ido]], and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novial Novial]]. For one reason or other, these languages have not been as successful as Esperanto.
16
17	A few Website/TVTropes pages are available in Esperanto translations, including this very page. To see the index, go [[Eo/VikiajTropoj here]].
18
19	For those who want to learn it, there is a [[http://pacujo.net/esperanto/course/ free E-mail course]], a virtually identical [[http://www.esperanto-usa.org/node/701 postal course]] (U.S. only, free except for postage costs), [[http://lernu.net Lernu.net]] and VideoGame/{{Duolingo}}'s [[https://www.duolingo.com/course/eo/en/Learn-Esperanto-Online free Esperanto course]]. More options [[http://www.esperanto.org/angle/kiel.html here]].
20
21	Incidentally, "Esperanto" is of course itself an Esperanto word (or name, to be precise; it comes from Zamenhof's pen name, Doktoro Esperanto, and translates literally, ‘one who hopes’), hence is pronounced "ess-pear-AHNT-o", not "ess-per-rant-o".
22	----
23	!!Examples:
24
25	[[foldercontrol]]
26
27	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
28	* In ''Anime/{{RahXephon}}'' the TERRA organization's name is an [[FunWithAcronyms acronym]] for "Tereno Empireo Rapidmova Reakcii Armeo", which is ''supposed'' to be Esperanto for "Earth Empire Rapid Response Army". [[MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels Except "Tereno" means "terrain", "Empireo" is nonsense, "Rapidmova" means "rapidly-moving", and "Reakcii" means "to react".]] (They got "Armeo" right, though.) In proper Esperanto, the name should be "Rapid-responda Armeo de la Tera Imperio"...which, unfortunately, kills the acronym.
29	** Not to mention that in the first episode, Ayato and Mamoru greet each other with "Ĝis!" which is supposed to be used as a goodbye. Further amusement can be had from the fact that the dubbing team didn't seem to understand this and translated it as "Cheese!"
30	* ''Manga/{{ARIA}}'' has the scene in ''Origination'' when [[http://youtu.be/RXGUqYTbAwY Alice performs a canzone]], of which the first couple of verses are in Esperanto.
31	* The vocal theme of ''Anime/PatemaInverted'', "Patema Inverse" by Estelle Micheau, is entirely in Esperanto.
32	* Esperanto is mentioned in episode 8 of ''Literature/HaruChika''. Naoko's aunt used to be involved with a man named Benjant who liked to call her "Pura Stelo" (esperanto for pure star) and liked to call himself "Venganto" ("avenger").
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Comic Books]]
36	* 25th century Creator/DCComics character ComicBook/BoosterGold speaks Esperanto as his first language.
37	* In Creator/GrantMorrison's ''ComicBook/{{Seaguy}}'', the universal language is Esperanto, but it's only revealed that everyone has been talking the language in the third, final, book of the first limited series. This is probably done to throw the reader off and make them see Seaguy's world as even more bizarre. It's mentioned again in the second book of the second limited series.
38	* ''[[ComicBook/TenJarojnPoste 10 Jarojn Poste]]'', an independently published science fiction comic book from 1984, is written almost entirely in Esperanto.
39	* The Creator/GoldKeyComics ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' comics of TheSeventies for some reason explained away the "English" on new planets as the natives speaking Esperanto, rather than the UniversalTranslator from the TV show.
40	* The "Blue language" spoken by the people of Wreath in ''ComicBook/{{Saga}}'' is actually badly translated Esperanto.
41	* A ComicBook/CaptainAmerica antagonist, Flag Smasher, was described as being fluent in multiple languages including Esperanto, having grown up the son of a career diplomat posted in numerous countries.
42	* The ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' comic book saga "Showdown at the Shady Shoals" features the City of Urbo, where everyone speaks Esperanto. (Indeed, "urbo" is the Esperanto word for "city".)
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:Fan Works]]
46	* ''Fanfic/RocketshipVoyager''. When Tom Paris first meets HalfHumanHybrid B'Elanna Torres, he introduces himself in Esperanto, which is used as a lingua franca by the Tri-World Federation. [[SwitchToEnglish However she replies]] in [[PlanetTerra Terran]]-English, having been raised in a Catholic convent on Venus.
47
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
51	* In the ''WesternAnimation/SupermanBatmanApocalypse'' animated movie, the Kryptonian that Franchise/{{Superman}} and the newly-arrived ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} speak to each other is Esperanto.
52	* In the ''Anime/NightOnTheGalacticRailroad'' anime movie, the signs are in Esperanto and Japanese. Esperanto appears also in various places throughout the film. This was most likely because Kenji Miyazawa, the writer of the original novel, was interested in the language.
53	* In ''Anime/PatemaInverted'', [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x21652j_sakasama-no-patema-theme-song-sung-by-estelle-micheau-in-esperanto-english-subbed_music the song played during the end credits is in Esperanto, sung by the French singer Estelle Micheau]].
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
57	* ''Film/TheGreatDictator'': While the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Ger... Tomanians]] spoke AsLongAsItSoundsForeign GratuitousGerman, the population of the Ghetto had all their signs written in Esperanto. This is oddly fitting, since the language was invented by a Polish Jew.
58	* The company Esperanto Filmoj is credited as producer of several films involving director Creator/AlfonsoCuaron, including Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee ''Film/{{Gravity}}''.
59	* The ''Film/StreetFighter'' movie has the fictional country of Shadaloo that speaks Esperanto.
60	* Two movies from TheSixties were filmed with dialogue entirely in Esperanto:
61	** The nearly-lost 1966 ReligiousHorror film ''Incubus'' starred Creator/WilliamShatner and was produced by most of the first season ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963'' production team. Rather infamously, it was filmed entirely in (poorly written and pronounced) Esperanto to sound more exotic, as well as to supposedly appeal to a broad market given Esperanto's international reach, [[GoldenMeanFallacy only for it to tank as not enough people in any general population speak it]]. Amusingly, Creator/GeneRoddenberry became a fan of Esperanto partly due to Shatner's attachment to the film, and had briefly considered filming ''Franchise/StarTrek'' in the language -- [[WhatCouldHaveBeen lord knows how well that would've gone over]].
62	** The other film was the French-made thriller ''Film/{{Angoroj}}''.
63	* Esperanto is the second language of the unnamed city in the ''Film/{{Blade}}'' movies. ''Incubus'' can be seen playing on a television at one point.
64	* In Murnau's ''Film/TheLastLaugh'', all the signs are in Esperanto.
65	* Though all of the main characters of ''Film/{{Gattaca}}'' speak English, the announcements on the Gattaca Corporation's public address system are all in Esperanto. The Esperanto Society of North America is thanked in the credits. Which could mean that [[TranslationConvention the characters are actually speaking Esperanto]].
66	* ''Film/GerdaMalaperis'' ("Gerda Disappeared") is a film completely filmed in the language.
67	* The original stage version of ''Theatre/IdiotsDelight'' is set in Italy and involves a war that starts when Italy attacks France. To avoid offending UsefulNotes/FascistItaly when the play was adapted for film in 1939, the setting was changed to a non-specific location, and all the local characters speak Esperanto.
68	* Most of the films making up Creator/ChristopherRMihm's Film/{{Mihmiverse}} have an Esperanto dub track.
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Literature]]
72	* Creator/JamesJoyce included references to Esperanto and lines written in the language in his novel ''Literature/{{Ulysses}}''.
73	* In Creator/HarryHarrison's ''Literature/TheStainlessSteelRat'' books, all the characters are understood to be speaking Esperanto. Esperanto is the universal second language in his ''Literature/{{Deathworld}}'' series. Harrison was a notable Esperanto buff himself, so it's quite understandable.
74	** Although in ''The Stainless Steel Rat for President'' he subverts this in having the inhabitants of a Spanish-speaking planet being completely unable to understand what Jim [=DiGriz=] is saying to his wife in Esperanto. [[note]]While many Esperanto words have a Latin origin, there are enough differences to make spoken Esperanto and Spanish mostly mutually unintelligible. Esperanto phonetics are closer to Polish or Russian than Spanish; the grammar was influenced by early speakers who mostly spoke Polish, Russia, German, or French; many common Esperanto words are made by adding Esperanto prefixes and/or suffixes to a Latin-based root; etc.[[/note]]
75	* The ''Literature/{{Riverworld}}'' books, in which the language is deliberately spread by a post-resurrection religion so that they can proselytize more easily.
76	* Creator/DamonKnight's story "You're Another" had a dictator in the far future speaking with an Esperanto accent, with occasional words and phrases in Esperanto.
77	* In Isabel Allende's novel ''Literature/TheHouseOfTheSpirits'', the character Clara frequently mentions her belief that Esperanto is the ideal language and ought to be taught in schools.
78	* The ''Literature/MortalEngines'' series of four features a language called "[[IncrediblyLamePun Airsperanto]]," supposedly the language of those who fare the skies. It doesn't get too much prominence in the series, though.
79	* In ''Literature/TheYiddishPolicemensUnion'' by Creator/MichaelChabon, our hero lives in the Hotel Zamenhof. "When the hotel was built 50 years ago, all of its directional signs, labels, notices, and warnings were printed on brass plates in Esperanto."
80	* ''Polar Star'' (the sequel to ''Literature/GorkyPark''). An American sailor who learns Esperanto as a hobby mentions a meeting his group organised between two famous practitioners of the language. "It took us five minutes to realise they couldn't understand what each other was saying. One's asking for the wine, the other's telling her the time."
81	* ''Literature/TheShadow'' novel ''Malmordo'' has the title villain's name coming from bad Esperanto, and his international gang speaks the language. The Shadow, of course, is fluent in Esperanto (and UsefulNotes/{{Romani}}, the other non-English language important in the story.)
82	* Creator/IsaacAsimov wrote a short story, "Literature/HomoSol", about humanity being inducted into a galactic [[TheFederation federation]]. The welcome message from their diplomats is delivered in Esperanto.
83	* In ''Literature/MeinKampf'', UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler claims that when The All-Powerful Jewish Conspiracy Of Doom takes over, a universal language will be instituted, and suggested it will be Esperanto. This led to Esperanto speakers being persecuted during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and Zamenhof's family in particular being singled out. All three of Zamenhof's children died in UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust, and Esperanto became legally forbidden in 1935 (in Germany).
84	* ''Literature/Magic20'': In ''Off to Be the Wizard'', all [[PowersAsPrograms spells]] used by the "wizards" are activated with phrases in a bastardized version of Esperanto. Basically, they know the words but not the grammar, substituting English grammar instead. When asked by Martin why they don't use Latin, like most stories about magic, Phillip explains that a good number of locals (in 12th century England) understand at least some Latin. The most commonly used spell is "flugi" ("fly"), which does exactly what you'd expect.
85	* ''Literature/DreamPark'': In ''The Moon Maze Game'', the MultinationalTeam of terrorists-for-hire speak Esperanto to obscure their national affiliations.
86	* ''Marooned on Mars'' by Lester Del Ray. The protagonist is from the Moon, where Esperanto is the common language because its citizens are from all parts of Earth. Ironically this only helps foster a sense of nationalism there.
87	* The Catholic end-times novel ''Literature/LordOfTheWorld'' claims that, after [[DirtyCommunists Marxists take over the world]], they’ll destroy the heritages of the nations by replacing their languages with Esperanto. Despite this, everyone still speaks English, and this isn’t just because of TranslationConvention. The book was written a few years after the Esperantist community suffered a major schism (leading to the creation of Ido) that scuttled any hopes of an international language actually being adopted worldwide, but [[{{Zeerust}} no one could have predicted that at the time]]. Though the author was a Catholic priest, so his objection seems to have actually been that a perfectly good language with no native speakers had been used for international communication for centuries: [[GratuitousLatin Latin]].
88
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:Live Action TV]]
92	* ''Series/RedDwarf'' is a bilingual mining ship; signs are written in English and Esperanto (for instance, each floor is labeled with "Level" and "Nivelo"). Rimmer is occasionally seen working on his Esperanto. This was eventually dropped when Grant Naylor decided it was just silly. (The novel adaptation has everything in English, French and three dialects of Chinese).
93	** Rimmer also refers to Esperanto speakers as a distinct group, the "Esperantinos". (''Esperantino'' in Esperanto actually means "a woman who [[strike:hopes]] is hoping." The proper term in Esperanto would be ''Esperantisto''.)
94	Also, plural isn't marked by an 's' but by a 'j'. So it would be the "Esperantistoj".
95	** You get the impression the dual-language thing is more political than practical-- as everybody in-universe speaks English all the time, and it's a plot-point that Rimmer doesn't even know Esperanto. (Lister seems ok at it, though.)
96	*** Lister apparently learned it accidentally, being forced to hear Rimmer practicing.
97	** The catch all response to both of the above is Rimmer is an ''idiot'' because he can't even learn such an easy language; more so in the first and second series where the Esperanto signage appeared (it wasn't a feature of the set in later seasons).
98	*** In point of fact, in one episode it's suggested that Rimmer has only mastered one Esperanto sentence: "Estas rano en mia bideto." ("There's a frog in my bidet.")
99	* On ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' the gang meets a [[CasanovaWannabe sleazy lounge singer]] who hits on Roz. She doesn't speak Spanish, but he is sure that she is "schooled in the international language." Frasier is unimpressed, quipping "Yes, Roz. Say something amusing in Esperanto!"
100	* A flashack episode of ''Series/TheDrewCareyShow'' revealed that Lewis took Esperanto in high school, assuming it would actually be useful in the future.
101	* Referred to in ''Series/{{QI}}'' in the "Future" episode, where Creator/StephenFry says, as an example phrase: "Mia kusenventurilo estas plena de angiloj." (MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels)
102	[[/folder]]
103
104	[[folder:Music]]
105	* The credits to Music/ElvisCostello's ''Music/BloodAndChocolate'' album are in Esperanto, although some of the words are misspelled (it's "gitaro", not "guitaro").
106	* Legendary free jazz/underground rock label [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESP-Disk ESP-Disk]], best known for signing Music/TheFugs, was originally intended to specialize in Esperanto music; its first release was a collection of folk songs in the language titled ''Ni Kantu En Esperanto'' (''Let's Sing in Esperanto'').
107	* From the Music/TheyMightBeGiants song "Alienation's for the Rich": "And the TV's in Esperanto/You know that that's a bitch".
108	* The opening track in Creator/MaayaSakamoto's album ''Kazeyomi'', "Vento" ("Wind"), is in Esperanto.
109	* ''[=SYR3=]: Invito Al Ĉielo'' (''Invitation to the Sky'' or ''Invitation to Heaven'') by Music/SonicYouth has all its song titles, credits, and even the full title of the EP written in Esperanto.
110	* The artwork for Music/{{Radiohead}}'s ''Music/OKComputer'' album (or, if you prefer, ''Bone Komputilo'') includes a few phrases in Esperanto, including "danĝera najbaro" (dangerous neighbor/hood).
111	[[/folder]]
112
113	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
114	* ''TabletopGame/{{Champions}}'' features Danar Nicole, a former European Parliament member embittered by his failures to unify Europe into a singular state, who reinvents himself as the super-terrorist "Fiacho" ("Very Bad") now convinced the only way to create the European superstate he dreams of is to ''force'' it to unify under his iron fist. The obvious symbolism of the language and word chosen are explicitly noted by the sourcebook to encapsulate his character.
115	* In ''TabletopGame/{{Crimestrikers}}'', Esperanto shows up in a few places. The two major [[FishPeople Hydreran]] characters, Donacina ("little gift") and Rasavanto ("racial savior"), both have {{Portmanteau}} names derived from the language. It's also used for some location names, such as the nation Alta Montejo ("high mountain"), the space station Stelamiko ("star friend"), the casino Bona Fortuno ("good fortune"), and the two deserts, Senfina ("endless") and Ora Morto ("golden death").
116	[[/folder]]
117
118	[[folder:Video Games]]
119	* ''VideoGame/BlazingDragons'' contains a throwaway gag by the caretaker for the Cave of Dillema where he offers to teach Flicker Esperanto.
120	* "Memoro de la Ŝtono" ("Memory of the Stone") from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' is sung in Esperanto.
121	* In ''VideoGame/IWasATeenageExocolonist'', Congruence teaches in her Humanities class that Esperanto is the primary language of the Vertumna Group, which was invented to bring them together as they prepared to leave Earth for Vertumna. The language is being taught to the protagonist's generation of colonists, [[TranslationConvention although everyone speaks English for the player's convenience.]]
122	* One of the songs in ''[[VideoGame/MegaManZero Mega Man Zero 4]]'''s soundtrack is literally called "Esperanto".
123	* The ingame ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'' book ''[[http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Easter_Eggs#N.27Gasta.21_Kvata.21_Kvakis.21 N'Gasta! Kvata! Kvakis!]]'' is in Esperanto.
124	* In the Telltale ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'' games, an Esperanto bookstore is one of the businesses on their home block. Like most enterprises by the corner of Straight and narrow, it's ''closed''.
125	* In ''VideoGame/TidalTribe'', the signs made by the villagers are in Esperanto.
126	* ''Franchise/TouhouProject''. As shown in [[spoiler:Marisa B's]] Good Ending in ''VideoGame/TouhouKoumakyouTheEmbodimentOfScarletDevil'', [[spoiler:some of Patchouli's books]] are written in Esperanto.
127	* In ''VideoGame/WanderingHamster'', the bubble-mage James is a member of the Esperanto League of Flanat (ELF). Bob the Hamster completely misunderstands both the acronym and the conversations that James has with the local guildmaster (he assumes that the two are talking mean about him). It's hilarious for the player, not so much for Bob.
128	* The scenes before and after one mission in ''[[VideoGame/KatamariDamacy We Love Katamari]]'' have the King of All Cosmos working on his Esperanto.
129	** Only in the localization, as the original Japanese version had him practicing his English.
130	[[/folder]]
131
132	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
133	* The [[YuriGenre Yuri]] visual novel ''VisualNovel/TheExpressionAmrilato'' is about a Japanese high school girl named Rin that ends up in another world where everyone speaks Esperanto (called Juliamo in-universe).
134	** ''VisualNovel/DistantMemorajo'' (''Distant Memory'') is the sequel to ''VisualNovel/TheExpressionAmrilato'' and takes place in the same world and its Esperanto based language.
135	[[/folder]]
136
137	[[folder:Webcomics]]
138	* In ''Webcomic/CwynhildsLoom'', Esperanto is the official language of UsefulNotes/{{Mars}} and is found on signs throughout the comic as well as on any type of computer output.
139	* The name of ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'''s Kankri Vantas is derived from the plural form of the Esperanto word for "crayfish," in keeping with the crustacean theme of his descendant/ancestor, Karkat.
140	[[/folder]]
141
142	[[folder:Web Original]]
143	* In ''Website/AtlasAltera'', the nation of Silistria has Esperanto as its official language.
144	* ''Literature/TrintonChronicles'' have a few places where characters speak in Esperanto (actually IN Esperanto) and hold a tiny set of sentences in Esperanto.
145	* The Centaur language in ''[[Literature/TheIntercontinentalUnionOfDisgustingCharacters The Intercontinental Proliferation of Disgusting Characters]]'' is actually Esperanto (as described at the beginning of [[http://www.rogermwilcox.com/ADnD/IPDC7.html chapter 7]]).
146	* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' has Simmons learning Esperanto mistaking it for Spanish, with the others noting it is a dead language in the show's futuristic setting (like [[Franchise/{{Halo}} its source material]], the show is set in the 26th century).
147	* At Rational Wiki, [[https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Category:Esperanto several articles]] are available in Esperanto translations, including the article on the language itself.
148	[[/folder]]
149
150	[[folder:Western Animation]]
151	* ''WesternAnimation/TheJetsons'' took a long trip across the solar system to see a circus. There, the owner of a trained-flea act sold them his fleas [?]. George Jetson picked the fleas up and heard them making some noises. He knew they were trying to talk to him, but he couldn't understand what they were saying. George turned to his son, Elroy, and said, "You're the one taking Esperanto lessons? You talk to them!" Elroy was able to translate for the fleas!
152	* The ghost Wulf in ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' talks in broken Esperanto, and only Tucker can understand it at first. Danny and later Sam take Esperanto lessons.
153	* ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventuresHowISpentMyVacation'' [[ParentalBonus astonishingly]] has a joke about Esperanto, which is found in the quotes page.
154	* Mocked by an alien in ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'': "Actually, Tick, I've taught myself to speak all your Earth languages. Except Esperanto. chuckles You could see ''that'' one was going nowhere."
155	* Cikatro Vizago is a minor character in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels''. He's a smuggler whose name is Esperanto for "scar face".
156	[[/folder]]
157
158	[[folder:Real Life]]
159	* Baha'is were rather fond of Esperanto because they believe that a universal auxiliary (i.e. not replacement) language is necessary to facilitate world peace. This changed after they figured that it was [[MightyWhitey too Euro-centric]]. Nowadays, they're more fond of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lojban Lojban]], a derivative of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loglan Loglan]].
160	* And then there is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oomoto Oomoto]], in which Esperanto's creator is considered to be a god. (Being Jewish, Zamenhof would probably have been horrified.)
161	* The "Agressor Army" -- a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snCdEVIxXIs fictional enemy army]] which served in US Army war games between the late 1940s and the 1970s -- was expected to speak Esperanto.
162	* Yakult derives its name from "jahurto", Esperanto's word for yogurt.
163	* Critiqued by Creator/JRRTolkien in his academic study on ConLang, "A Secret Vice." Tolkien thought the language was well-constructed, but that it failed to take into account how real languages evolve alongside mythology, as Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium demonstrates. He considered the absence of any Esperanto myths or legends to be a deficiency, and possibly one reason it didn't catch on as much as it could have.
164	[[/folder]]

Context UsefulNotes / EsperantoTheUniversalLanguage