FAQ: Scouting and Esperanto
Allan E. Fineberg
PLEASE SEE THAT ANY PREVIOUS VERSION OF THIS FAQ
IS DISCARDED,
AND THE PRESENT VERSION USED IN ITS PLACE.
This information is updated and corrected regularly and will
appear on or about the 14th of each month.
What is Esperanto?
Esperanto is the easy-to-learn language devised by Dr. L.L. Zamenhof,
who was an oculist in Warsaw, Poland, at the end of the 19th Century.
Zamenhof was born in Bialystok, a town where several nationalities
lived.He saw how people were separated by language barriers.
Esperanto is used as a second language for all peoples.
Is Esperanto supposed to replace the national languages?
No. It is a neutral bridge-language between peoples of different
language communities.
What is the connection between Scouting and Esperanto?
In his book, "Scouting for Boys," Lord Robert Baden-Powell,
Scouting's Founder, recommends the use of Esperanto as a
"secret language" among scouts. The first steps to create the Skolta
Esperanto-Ligo (Scout Esperanto League) took place in 1918, after
the appearance of Alexander William Thompson's book proposing
the establishment of a League to promote Scouting among
Esperanto-speakers, and Esperanto among Scouts. That has been
SEL's purpose ever since then. Through the years, there have been
international camp-outs, and SEL has taken part in World Jamborees.
The last Jamboree, in August in the Netherlands, attracted SEL members
from around the world. An information booth was staffed by SEL, and
scouts visiting the booth were introduced to the basics of the
Esperanto
language.
Why is Esperanto called a "neutral" language?
It is neutral in the sense that it carries with it no political,
cultural,
commercial or national/ethnic "baggage." This cannot be said for
the national languages, each of which has its own agenda, or way
of looking at the world. The only agenda Esperanto has is to serve
as a second language between language communities. Of course,
it has its own "universal" culture as well.
How can I find out more about Skolta Esperanto-Ligo?
The Editor of La Skolta Mondo (Scout World):
Anna Margareta RITAMAKI
Peltolovagan 6 B 36
FIN20720
Abo/Turku
Finland
e-mail: arit...@ra.abo.fi
President of SEL:
Franco ABRIANI
Via Falconetto 24
I 37131 Verona VR
Italy
General Secretary:
Hector R. CAMPOS GREZ
Casilla 331, Curico
str...@chilepac.net
Chile
Treasurer:
David H. WITHEY
21 Brookfield Avenue
Waterloo, Liverpool
Great Britain L22 3YE
National Representatives:
AUSTRALIA
Jennifer DIMO
9 Rocky Gully Road
Coominya
Queensland 43311
tel: (0)74-264299
AUSTRIA
Martin BAEHR
Rasumofskygasse 2/26
A-1030 Wien
e-mail: mba...@info.archlab.tuwien.ac.at
mba...@email.archlab.tuwien.ac.at
ba...@math.uni-hamburg.de
BELGIUM
Arie BOUMAN
Diesdreef 8
B-9030 Gent
tel: +32-9-227 48 41
BRAZIL
Hiroshi AKAMINE
Uniao dos Escoteiros do Brasil
Regiao do Sao Paulo
Rua Maquerobi 93
Placa da Arvore
Sao Paulo Cep 04053
tel: (011) 372318
BULGARIA
Christo MANDEV
bul. Mogilev 2 II 19
Gabrovo 5306
tel: +359-66-23647
CANADA
U. Paul RONALD
45 10th Avenue
Roxboro, Quebec H8Y 2N3
CHILE
see under General Secretary, above
COSTA RICA
Marvin SEGURA
Aptdo 1913
San Jose
tel: (01) 585561
CZECH REPUBLIC
Pavel SITTAUER
Hartmannova 1128
CS-67401 Trebic
tel: (0) 618-21909
DENMARK
Bjarke NIELSEN
Erdalsvej 30
DK 2600 Glostrup
FINLAND
Carola ANSKOG
Mattkarr
FIN 25700 Kimito
tel: (9)25-423133
FRANCE
Samuel GAILLARD
50, Avenue du Livradois
F-63800 Cournon-d"Auvergne
tel: +33-73-84.31.31
e-mail: goe...@mcom.mcom.fr
GREAT BRITAIN
see under Treasurer, above
HUNGARY
PESTI Alexander
To-u 20
H-6723 Szeged
ITALY
see under President, above
JAPAN
Fumiko KAMACHI
205 Rumieru Kishi
6-21-5 Kokuryo-cho
Chohu, Tokyo 182
KOREA
LEE Seung Yun
(HL 10DL/Yunchyo)
162-7 Hwigyong-I Dong
Tongdaemun (130-091)
Seoul
MALAGASY REPUBLIC
Rog. RANDRIANEKANA
T.P. Box Postale 14
Ambatondrazake
the NETHERLANDS
J.K. HAMMER
Taxusstraat 7
NL 1505 AA Zaandam
tel: (0) 75-166931
NEW ZEALAND
G. SUTTON
12C Herbert Gardens
186 The Terrace
Wellington 1
tel/fax: (0)4-473847
POLAND
Jaroslaw A. FOTYGA
ul. Harnesie, 21/34
PL-20-857 Lublin
tel: +48-81-711065
e-mail: upfo...@if.uj.edu.pl
upfo...@klio.umcs.lublin.pl
ROMANIA
Kornelia NAGY
R-4150 ODORHEIU-SECUIESC
Intr. Garofitei 1/18
tel: 2-11488
RUSSIA
Sergej MALCEV
a/ja 28 Abinsk
Krasnodarskij Kr.
RU-353320
SLOVAKIA
Miroslav HAVRANEK
Plzenka 7
SK-8303 Bratislava
tel: 07-335809 (work)
65411 (home)
SPAIN
Luis GILPEREZ FRAILE
Aptdo Postal 7131
E 41080 Sevilla
tel: 95-4570849 (work)
SRI LANKA
Roland PERIES
4 Sri Vijaya Road
Colombo 6
SWEDEN
(see Finland)
UNITED STATES of AMERICA
Allan E. FINEBERG
28-24 Sherman Place
Fair Lawn, New Jersey 07410-4208
tel: 201/797-4884
e-mail: fin...@pilot.njin.net
afin...@njlink.pppl.gov
fine...@bc.cybernex.net
How can I learn Esperanto?
Get the SEL textbook "Jamborea Lingvo" with text
by J. L. Hammer, and illustrated by his son, the
noted Netherlands graphic artist Melle Hammer.
Write to:
SEL
Postbus 433
NL-1500 EK Zaandam
the Netherlands
cost: 6 Netherland Guilders + postage/handling (approx. $3.00+ US)
The book is also available through most Esperanto Book Services,
including:
Esperanto League for North America
P.O. Box 1129
El Cerrito, California 94530
(el...@netcom.com)
In many countries, SEL runs courses for scouts.
Or, you can get an Esperanto textbook at a public
library or bookstore.
Find out if an Esperanto course
is being offered in your area.
Take the Free Esperanto Course via e-mail.
Chinese version: lin...@shts.seed.net.tw
English version: Marko.R...@tekelec.com
French version: ri...@vxcern.cern.ch
German version: nef...@cs.tu-berlin.de
The same course is available via snail-mail,
from several national Esperanto associations.
A wealth of information about Esperanto can be
found at these sites:
SEL's own WWW pages:
http://www.archlab.tuwien.ac.at/~mbaehr/scouting/sel/sel-faq.html
http://www.webcom.com/~usej/selfaq.html (better for Western
Hemisphere)
http://www.cs.chalmers.se/~martinw/fla-pa/flavaj-pagxoj.html
ftp://ftp.cs.chalmers.se/pub/users/martinw/fla-pa/flavaj-pagxoj.html
ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/el/elna/Yellow-pages/
Use the last one if you're accessing from the U.S.; from Europe the
first addresses (in Sweden) may work faster.
What does Esperanto look like?
D-ro Zamenhof kreis Esperanton por helpi al internacia, intergenta
komunikado. Bela, facila, Esperanto estas la racia solvo al la monda
lingvo-problemo.
Scouting Terms Skolta Terminaro
Girl Guide/Scout Skoltino
(Boy) Scout Skolto
Cub Scout Lupido
Scout Leader Skoltestro
Camp Tendaro
Be Prepared! Estu Preta!
Thinking Day Interpensa Tago
Anna Margareta Ritamaki
Allan E. Fineberg
SEL FAQ Administrators