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Scottish Esperanto Study Weekend
Donald and Tom in front of the Chapter House
Bill leaves the monastry!
One of the main events on the Scottish Esperanto calendar is the Study Weekend at Dunblane. The aims of the Weekend are: the increase of general knowledge by means of Esperanto; language practise; and language lessons for learners and intermediate students. During a well organised weekend, the 26 participants enjoyed a diverse programme, top level lectures, an excursion to the Priory on the Lake of Menteith and also friendly chat in an ethos of internationalism. Alex Mollison, an expert film-maker with 40 years of experience, illustrated and described the astonishing technical progress during that period. We had the privilege of seeing some of his award-winning films, and even hearing music composed by him for his films. Sian Leitch, a renowned computer expert, demonstrated a special program for producing musical notation. He emphasised that the technique had extraordinary economic implications; and also refreshed our minds concerning musical theory. Connall McKay in his lecture described the evolution of the guitar: an infinitely more complex process than we had ever imagined! Being a classical guitarist enabled him to give many musical examples which added to our pleasure. Hugh Reid summarised the theories of Steven Pinker concerning the acquisition of language by children, He emphasised Pinker’s debt to Chomsky. Vigorous debate followed! Always a sign of a good lecture! Ed Robertson, demonstrated his encyclopedic knowledge of linguistics, when he described the methodology used to decipher the language of the Etruscans. We noted the fact that Esperanto has a number of Etruscan words in its vocabulary. This came as a surprise to most of us! Jack Casey stimulated our language knowledge by means of a series of ingenious language exercises which he had devised. His offering a bottle of wine as a prize was well received by the participants! The Weekend was organised by Jean and David Bisset for the Scottish Esperanto Association. It was a stimulating mixture of old and new. Why not give it a try? Mia Casey
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