Why did Esperanto fail as a universal language?

Answer 1

It didn't. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world use it to communicate across linguistic and cultural barriers. It has more speakers now than ever before in its 120 year history, and a thriving international culture, including music and literature. (An Esperantist poet, William Auld, was even nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.)

Esperanto hasn't yet attained its goal of being the most widely used second language for international communication, but since its beginnings in the 1880s, it has brought millions of people from different cultures together and enabled them to communicate, share ideas and build friendships and even families. It is the only instance of an artificial language transforming into a truly living language. Given that it started as the pet project of an idealistic schoolboy, I'd hardly call that a failure.

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Success is arguable, and anything can be declared a success if someone wants it to be. That Esperanto has survived is obvious, and as a SECOND language it could be argued with validity that Esperanto has succeeded. Yet, the question asked why Esperanto failed as a UNIVERSAL language. This contributor has met people from many parts of the world, speaking many languages, and he has never met one who claimed to speak Esperanto. Of all the motion pictures ever filmed, this contributor is aware of only one filmed in the language of Esperanto. To become a secondary language for all people in the world, Esperanto still has a long way to go.

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I would add that several of the claims in the original answer seem questionable. For example, what is the evidence that Esperanto has more speakers than ever? According to the Encyclopedia of Associations, the membership of the Universal Esperanto Association is about 20,000, or half its peak membership. Has the number of speakers increased while the number of members declined?

Moreover, it's difficult to imagine a sense in which Esperanto has somehow transformed into a living language while other auxiliary languages have not. Both Interlingua and Ido are used in much the same way as Esperanto. Interlingua has a strong base of speakers, an abundant literature, a radio show, and many prominent writers, such as Giovanni Blandino and prize-winning economist Leland Yeager. At least historically, Ido has been in a similar position, and Volapuk once was as well. Esperanto is one of a few successful auxiliary languages, but it is not the only one.

Answer 2

Esperanto failed to become a universal language mainly due to lack of widespread adoption and support from governments and institutions. Additionally, the dominance of English as a global lingua franca has made it challenging for Esperanto to gain traction as a widely accepted language for international communication. Critics also argue that the perceived lack of cultural richness and historical depth in Esperanto may have hindered its appeal.