Baháʼí Faith and auxiliary language

Bahá'í principle that an international auxiliary language should be adopted

The Baháʼí Faith teaches that the world should adopt an international auxiliary language, which people would use in addition to their mother tongue. The aim of this teaching is to improve communication and foster unity among peoples and nations. The Baháʼí teachings state, however, that the international auxiliary language should not suppress existing natural languages, and that the concept of unity in diversity must be applied to preserve cultural distinctions. The Baha'i principle of an International Auxiliary Language (IAL) represents a paradigm for establishing peaceful and reciprocal relations between the world's primary speech communities – while shielding them from undue linguistic pressures from the dominant speech community/communities. Baha’u’llah "Now praise be to God that Dr. Zamenhof has invented the Esperanto language. It has all the potential qualities of becoming the international means of communication. All of us must be grateful and thankful to him for this noble effort; for in this way he has served his fellowmen well. With untiring effort and self sacrifice on the part of its devotees, Esperanto will become universal. Therefore, every one of us must study this language and spread it as far as possible." – ‘Abdu’l Bahá, In: Dr. John Esslemont, Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, p. 182 (2006 ed.). "Therefore I hope that you will make the utmost effort, so that this language of Esperanto may be widely spread." – Abdu’l Bahá in Paris, France, in: Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, p.183. "Bahá’ís shall consider the study of this language [Esperanto] as an incumbent duty upon them and it will be to them a religious duty." – Abdu’l Bahá, In: The Greatest Instrument,. "All through America I have encouraged the Bahá'ís to study Esperanto; and to the extent of my ability I will strive in its spread and promotion." ‘Abdu’l Bahá in "Star of the West", 1912

Mark Vernon in his renowned secular work "Chambers Dictionary of Beliefs and Religions" also observed the links between the Baha'i faith, Esperantism and Esperanto.

The teachings of the Baháʼí Faith have a strong focus on the unity of humankind. The Baháʼí teachings see improved communication between peoples throughout the world as a vital part of world unity and peace. The Baháʼí teachings see the current multiplicity of languages as a major impediment to unity, since the existence of so many languages cuts the free flow of information and makes it difficult for the average individual to obtain a universal perspective on world events. The principle of the selection and institutionalization of a Universal/International Auxiliary Language is among the Baháʼí Faith's key tenets. Baháʼuʼlláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, writing in the Tablets of Ishráqát and Maqṣúd, taught that the lack of a common language is a major barrier to world unity since the lack of communication between people of different languages undermines efforts toward world peace due to misunderstandings of language; he urged that humanity should choose an auxiliary language that would be taught in schools in addition to one's own native language, so that people could understand one another. He stated that until an auxiliary language is adopted, complete unity between the various parts of the world would continue to be unrealized. ʻAbdu'l Bahá, the son of the founder of the religion, called the promotion of the principle of the international auxiliary language "the very first service to the world of man" and its realization as "the greatest achievement of the age in conferring profit and pleasure on mankind." Baháʼuʼlláh stressed, however, that the auxiliary language should not suppress existing natural languages, and that the concept of unity in diversity must be applied to languages. The Baháʼí teachings state that cultural heterogeneity is compatible with unity, and that the Baháʼí teaching of unity requires the embracing of cultural diversity since humanity is enriched by the various cultures throughout the world. The Baháʼí teachings state that having an international auxiliary language would remove the pressure from the natural aggrandizement of majority language groups and thus preserve minority languages, since each person would keep their own mother tongue, and thus minority cultures.

The Baháʼí teachings on an auxiliary international language does not in itself threaten living languages or cultures; they do not call for cultural uniformity. Instead, the Baháʼí teachings value and promote cultural diversity by stating that there should be unity in diversity. The term "auxiliary" in Baháʼí scripture means that the international language will be taught in addition to first languages and that it will be secondary to those. Since the auxiliary language is meant for community external, inter community communication, it is functionally separate from one's primary language. While secondary to the primary language of one's culture, it establishes reliable communication between members of differing primary speech communities. The Baháʼí teachings see minority group members as full members of the broader society, and thus see the need for unique cultural rights. Language is strongly attached to culture. In Baháʼí literature, one's mother tongue is described as "the most profound characteristic of a people", "the garment of the spirit of the people", the "native air which we need for living and dying, which surrounds us from cradle to grave, which is and remains our most personal property." Whereas both cultural and linguistic change are normal and ever greater world unity expected, the precipitous extinction of non dominant languages and cultures is therefore undesirable. Since the Baháʼí teachings on oneness of humankind emphasize the value of both diversity and unity in the sense of harmony rather than simple sameness, minority cultural rights can be seen as a matter of cultural justice, and language rights a subset of those cultural rights.