
English: The New Esperanto? By Dr. Marco Benavides Languages are the lifeblood of human connection, shaping how we share knowledge, build relationships, and bridge divides. In the late 19th century, a visionary named L. L. Zamenhof introduced Esperanto to the world—a constructed language designed to be an easy-to-learn, politically neutral tool for fostering understanding between people of different native tongues. Despite its noble ideals and enduring community of speakers, Esperanto never achieved widespread adoption. Instead, in the 21st century, a new lingua franca has emerged to connect the globe: English. English, much like Esperanto, transcends borders and serves as a unifying medium for communication. Yet its rise to dominance was not by design but rather the result of historical, cultural, and technological forces. Today, English occupies a space on the internet and in global discourse that Zamenhof could only have dreamed of for Esperanto. This piece explores how Eng...