The Truth about Esperanto and Ido

Witteryck, Antoon Jozef, 1865-1934Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.3

Word count: 63K words
Chapters: 7

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.De waarheid over Esperanto en Ido = La vérité sur l'Esperanto et l'Ido by WitteryckAuthor: Witteryck, Antoon Jozef, 1865-1934,Language: Dutch, Class: PM: Language and Literatures: Indigenous American and Artificial Languages, Release Date: Nov 14, 2012

Editor's review

This is a public-domain pamphlet by the Belgian author Antoon Vittek, written in Dutch with a title given in both Esperanto and French, discussing the supposed "truth" about Esperanto and Ido. It belongs to the early polemical literature of the constructed-language movement; its value lies not in language teaching but in presenting one position and mode of argument within the early twentieth-century split between Esperanto and Ido. Readers can observe how supporters of the time compared the two schemes and argued for the merits of each, making it primary material for the history of language planning and the auxiliary-language movement. It is short and in Dutch, which poses a barrier for most Chinese readers; it is better consulted as specialized historical source material than read cover to cover. Its strengths are a clear stance and a strong period flavor, and it can be read alongside histories of the Esperanto movement; note its polemical character, and readers should keep a critical distance rather than treating one side's claims as settled fact.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Linguistic readers studying Esperanto, Ido, and the history of the constructed-language movement
Historians of early twentieth-century language-planning debates who need primary sources
Language enthusiasts with Dutch reading ability interested in the auxiliary-language movement
Collectors and archivists gathering public-domain pamphlets and organizing specialized materials

Not a good fit for

Systematic learners seeking a textbook to learn Esperanto or Ido
General readers without Dutch reading ability and without access to a translation
Readers expecting a neutral overview and unwilling to weigh polemical positions

Reading tips

First learn the basic facts of the Esperanto–Ido split, then read this book to locate its polemical stance
While reading, mark the author's specific points of comparison between the two languages and make a comparison checklist
Read alongside neutral histories of the Esperanto movement to balance the bias of a single position
If you do not read Dutch, use translation tools to grasp the gist, focusing on checking terminology and arguments

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a textbook for learning Esperanto or Ido?

No. It is a polemical pamphlet discussing the dispute between Esperanto and Ido, focused on comparison and the expression of a position rather than grammar teaching. Those wishing to learn either language systematically should choose a textbook instead.

Why does the title appear in Dutch, Esperanto, and French?

According to the source, the book is written in Dutch and gives the title in Esperanto and French as well, reflecting the cross-linguistic reach of the auxiliary-language movement at the time and indicating that it addressed a multilingual readership.

Can I use this book without knowing Dutch?

You can use translation tools to grasp the gist and focus on the arguments and points of comparison. For serious research, consult a reliable translation or secondary literature to avoid misreading the original through the language barrier.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Witteryck, Antoon Jozef, 1865-1934 Author · Belgian · 1865–1934

Public biographical information on Antoon Jozef Witteryck is limited. He is known as a Flemish Belgian writer and publisher, born in 1865 and died in 1934, and as an active promoter of the Esperanto movement. His writing and publishing activities were closely tied to discussions of international auxiliary languages. His representative work is De waarheid over Esperanto en Ido, meaning "The Truth about Esperanto and Ido," which also carries the French title La vérité sur l'Esperanto et l'Ido. The work shows his concern with the comparison and controversy between Esperanto and Ido, and its argumentative, clarifying style aims to explain the actual situation of the two auxiliary-language proposals to readers. Although only one of his works is held in the collection, making a full assessment of his literary achievement difficult, the title indicates that he held a clear position within the language movement and was willing to take part in public debate through publication.