Student to Form Esperanto Club

"Mi pensas ke oni devus utiligi la lingvon esperanto," Russell G. Stevens '62 told the CRIMSON in a telephone interview last night.

Under the impression that the CRIMSON reporter did not understand, Stevens translated into English: "I think Esperanto should be used in the United Nations."

The reporter was astounded. "Kial?" he asked.

'Kreskus internacian komprenemon," was the reply. Lapsing into English again, he continued: "Because it would increase international understanding."

Stevens, who according to his roommate "eats up all languages," hopes to start an Esperanto club. Together with Jonathan R. Pool '64, he is offering free instruction to anyone interested in learning Esperanto.

In spite of his strong Pennsylvanian accent, he speaks Esperanto quite fluently. He has used it in various parts of the globe--the Netherlands, for example--when he couldn't make himself understood any other way.

Simplicity Aids Learning

"Anyone can learn the language well in 50 hours," he said. "It only has half as many roots as other languages." Another reason for its simplicity, he explained, is that suffixes and prefixes are used to indicate changes in tense and gender.