 What's up guys the evil deer here and today I wanted to speak to you about something that I've heard from a lot of English speakers But also from some Esperanto speakers, which I think is just a big misunderstanding in their concept now This was brought up again today in a red-edged conversation I was having with someone and what I usually say to people is when they ask a little bit about Esperanto I say that it is both. It's a language. However It's also a culture and a way of life now a lot of English people will just because they don't understand the language will say Well, it hasn't got any culture. It hasn't got a nation. Where's it from? And but also some Esperantists get this confused and they go no, it's just a tool for communication now I wanted to just give you my opinion. Of course, I'm welcome to your opinion You know throw it at me but this is what I believe and I think it needs to be said especially for those who are New to the language and learning about it because I don't want you to just think that it's just a tool and then that's it anyway So basically the definition of a culture is and I'm reading off of something here Ideas customs social behavior of a particular people or society. Okay, so the first thing it says is ideas Well Esperanto is definitely it has an internal idea with it now not everyone follows that idea in Esperanto There's this thing called la interna idea, okay? And basically it's talking about the whole original objective of Esperanto Which was to be a secondary language for all now a lot of people today say a secondary language for all But there's a lot of Esperantists even at the beginning and as time has gone by that They don't necessarily want it to be a secondary language for all they actually just enjoy the language for itself But that's one idea now I've spoken in previous V blogs about the different like political groups that exist within the Esperanto community itself You've got the Finn Venkistoy and you've got the Harao Mistoy But they're just two groups and then there's all these other different shades in between and people that just they don't care about that Stuff at all, but those are all ideas and now obviously the associations and all that type of stuff They're all got their own ideas of how it should be now the Harao Mistoy They've you know, they design all sorts of things like you got books you got artwork you got You know films and music and all this type of stuff now all this stuff is linked in some way to Esperanto It's based around it's either in the language about the language or about the culture that's been built on the language Now that is what I'm talking about With ideas now you got customs Esperanto are very open people you can contact them Straight out of the blue and they don't take offense now or they don't feel like they're being intruded upon This is something that's very different to many other cultures It's like for instance when I went to Switzerland I just shot an email off to the local Esperanto community there They sorted it out and organized accommodation for me That is a custom of Esperantui or the the worldwide Esperanto community. Okay now That's just one particular custom you've got other things like linguistic customs like you know Certain ways that we speak and like our own little slang and little you know oddities and stuff like that But that's just like one little thing that I'm talking about now That's all linked historically with like all all the way back to the beginning with Esperanto because we were all spread out It's like a dyspora. It's all over the world type of thing So obviously these customs have developed out of a need But now they're ingrained within the actual idea of the culture of the language It's no longer just a secondary tool for everyone to speak It's this is a language for everyone and everyone is welcome and in order to show that we are open to everyone We don't just judge you straight off like you wouldn't other languages like If you go around the world where they're like so what you speak my language that doesn't make us brothers by mess brand to you In Esperanto you're sorry Everyone is kind of like a brother and it's like I don't know you but it doesn't matter you speak Esperanto And the fact that you speak this language you went out of the way to learn this for no financial gain or anything else like that It just proves that you are someone I want to communicate with now Obviously Esperanus don't all agree and they do have battles and some of those battles can be quite brutal But even at the end of all that they still treat each other like brothers and that is something that is an Integrative part of the actual language now another thing is social behaviors Esperanus. We we all We've got our own little things like I was saying a little oddities and stuff like that But you know there's things like before I became an Esperanus there's things that I've never even heard of but they're like core parts of this Cultural community this worldwide community of Esperanto you're like this There's these things like a linguistic justice and stuff like that and certain things that like really Prelevant in the Esperanto community that lots of people are fighting for and going for and these are all like social behaviors in that sense But then you've also got things like with the language itself Like there's quotes and stuff like that and proverbs that we use on an everyday basis and people just think you know They just came out of the blue, but they have a historical backing like for instance I'm the same way of saying don't speak say your national language when you were father Esperanus is neck Crocodile it means in English don't crocodile now that makes no sense to us But there's actually historical meaning behind all that and I read an article just the other day about how that all came To be and there's heaps of things like a lot of people would just say jisla nocto nocto fin And it's it's just seems like this catch a little thing But it's actually based off of Esperanto song that exists So these things are now ingrained into the language itself and it's a part of its culture in order to understand it You need to understand the musical culture behind it or the literature behind it And it's not just that again It's a literature or you've got you know the films that have been an Esperanto there isn't that many films But there is certain classics which exist in Esperanto These things don't exist outside of the Esperanto language like ne crocodile you don't have that type of word and any other language It's purely an Esperantial and it's based around the language itself and the history of it and why it exists So there's that now it says in the definition of a particular people or society now as I've said Esperanus We all come from different backgrounds, but we all have the same Belief that joins us all together that and that belief is that the secondary language is needed for everyone Okay, now this takes me right to the end where most people would be saying well, it's still a tool Yes, it is a tool, but it is a tool that is a hundred and fifty years old That's been passed through generations for some people. I've sat down with Esperanus whose Native language is obviously the language of the land but also Esperanto and their children speak Esperanto They're showing me family albums going back almost a hundred years and saying you know This was my great-grandfather He did this in the movement and then my father did this and this and we're ingrained in this and they're really proud about the Fact that someone worked on this magazine or someone was like you know the president of this Association and managed to pull this off and got this recognition, but it's a part of their family if you told them Hey take that away. What is left? They'd be like There is nothing this is who I am and I've spoken to even Esperanus here in Sydney and I've said Is this more than a language for you and they're like this is who I am this is part of me So this is my this is my culture now Obviously I live within the culture of my society where I am maybe Australia the US You know wherever you're from but it's also a secondary culture It can be a adopted culture But it's also the culture of some people in the sense that it's been in their family for several generations Now remember a lot of people and this isn't just for dinner school I you know native speakers of Esperani, there's people who aren't native speakers of Esperani But have a long tradition with Esperani. They've got family members who in it They never learned it as a kid But then later on because of previous family members learned it They went back to like learn it themselves just so that they can understand their own family line Why these choices were made and you also have to remember that Esperanos had a rocky history We've had internal battles over linguistic reforms. We've had external prosecution and These things have all glued this like the language society together and made it what it is today Made it so like how strong it is like a lot of people ask why Is Esperani the only successful constructed language and I think it is because of the things It's had to survive through in order to get to where it is today It's because of that International culture that has developed now it is an international culture But it's also an Esperanto culture because it is unique to the language There's so many things that if you don't speak the language you would not understand And if you don't know the history of the language the music the videos the The works that have been written in it then again, you wouldn't understand So yes, it is a tool that has a purpose to be used as a secondary language for all That was its original purpose, but it has gone beyond that and for a lot of people including myself It's no longer just a language. It is a culture and a way of life one for me. I've adopted but It's just as strong as my Australian heritage in that sense. I wouldn't give it up for anything this is who I am now and Like nearly everything I do in my spare time is some way related to the language It's reading books in the language watching music listen to the radio chatting with my friends from around the world You know stuff like that. So it's a part of who I am now anyway I've been ranting for way too long But I wanted to get this out there because a lot of people misunderstand what a culture is and I also Because I have a lot of learners on this channel and I want to give you guys an insight into what you're learning Yes, it's a language and you can use it however you want But if you want to explore the culture itself, it is massively in depth that it it's Crazy how like fire and depth you can go with this language. You got to think about it's got somewhere between a 100,000 to 2 million plus speakers for 150 years of history That is a lot of history a lot of culture that exists for you to explore and you know what? We will all welcome you to that culture. We will welcome you into it So if you've if you've got any questions fire away down in the comments below and even myself or another Esperanto will get back to you So if you've liked this video give it a like share it around with your friends you never know maybe they'll be interested in learning more about the Esperanto culture and Subscribe to the channel if you haven't already and if you don't guess what will happen Well, I'm not gonna be very brotherly about it