An international gathering in Czechia showed how an old linguistic experiment continues to function in everyday life. Its value now rests largely on the institutions and personal relationships maintained by its speakers. (...)
One day, as a 16-year-old in the late 2000s, I received an AOL instant message from my friend Kenyon. He wanted to know whether I had heard of Esperanto, the universal language. Kenyon was several years older than me, and something of a mentor. (...)