a very large volume indeed. It is a fact that all modern attempts at
making an artificial language, and their name is legion, especially
since the acknowledged success of Esperanto, are based on Latin.
Consequently also, the international language must be largely English,
because mostly those Latin words will be chosen that are common at
least to French and English. I have lectured to hundreds of English
audiences, and I have given them numerous examples of Esperanto words
in my lectures that could be easily understood by everybody. Take the
words "skribi," to write; "lerni," to learn; "mangxi," to eat; "trinki,"
to drink; "tablo," a table; "glaso," a glass; "nazo," the nose, and
"busxo," the mouth; "mano," the hand; take the adjectives, bona, bela,
granda, kapabla, etc. Few, indeed, are the Esperanto words that do not
connect at all with the English; in most cases, in at least 87 cases
out of 100, you will find those words connect with one or many English
words.

Mr. TOWNER. You mean that 87 per cent of the words now in the Esperanto
vocabulary are formative words?

Prof. CHRISTEN. Yes: they are connected with the English language, and
from each Esperanto word you can form mechanically absolutely every
word that sense and logic can possibly connect with the one and only
meaning of the original Esperanto word. I am accustomed to lecturing
before audiences and making this statement, which I make without fear
of contradiction, that "if all of you were to take up Esperanto now and
carry it on until you were as expert in it as I am, you would not in the
whole of your studies come across more than 60 words, probably not more
than 50 words, which are entirely new to you."

Mr. TOWNER. Of course, a vocabulary of 3,000 words is a very limited