Esperanto and its rivals : the struggle for an international language /

During the period spanning the late 1800s to the onset of WW I, there was a strong drive for an international lingua franca that did not originate with a particular nation or ethnicity. In this relatively short but dense volume, Garvía (sociology, Univ. Carlos III de Madrid) explores the origins and social movements that created and sustained three artificial languages: Volapük, Esperanto, and Ido. In four main "clusters"--one each on Volapük and Ido and two addressing the rise of Esperanto and the language communities of the Esperantists--Garvía documents the individual personalities behind each language movement as well as the ways the languages gained traction on the international stage through organizations, clubs, journals, academies, and conferences. Though Esperanto succeeded as the paramount constructed language through a combination of historical contingency, path dependence, and ideology, it did not truly become a global language; English slotted into that role. Garvía's prose is clear and accessible to most postsecondary readers, and selections from the text will provide useful addenda to courses on linguistic and social history, the growth and spread of nationalism, and international organization and cooperation. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries. --Erin Pappas, Georgetown University