The 'constructed language' Esperanto holds annual conference in Cleveland

"The Big Shrink" Cleveland's population was 930,000 at its height in 1950. Now, it's a little more than a third of that. With that population loss, comes fewer students enrolled in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. And those dropping enrollment numbers has led to the district needing to closure buildings and lay off hundreds of employees. Cleveland is far from the only district experiencing this issue, which one education researcher has called "the big shrink." Tuesday on the "Sound of Ideas" we'll learn more about what's happening with CMSD, and other districts across the state. You can read Ideastream Education Reporter Conor Morris's reporting on the issue here. Guests: - Conor Morris, Education Reporter, Ideastream Public Media - Meryl Johnson, Former Educator and State Board of Education Representative - Vladimir Kogan, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science, The Ohio State University U.S. Annual Esperanto Conference Vi aŭskultas la radioprogramon "Sono de Ideoj" de Ideastream Public Media. Mi estas Stephanie Haney, dankon pro via restado kun ni. What you just read translated to English reads, "You're with the 'Sound of Ideas' from Ideastream Public Media. I'm Stephanie Haney, thanks for staying with us." But you may not have understood it, because that first line was written in Esperanto. Esperanto was created in the late 1800s, meant to be a universal secondary language. It's not tied to any particular region in the world so it has no native speakers, and it's not intended to be anyone's first language. It's meant to be easy to learn, no matter what your background, and its goal is to promote international communication and even world peace. The language of Esperanto is encouraged here in the United States by a non-profit organization called Esperanto-USA, which is hosting a weeklong course and its national conference at Cleveland State University, now through July 6th. Tuesday on the "Sound of Ideas," we have leaders of Esperanto-USA and a Cleveland member joining us to teach us about the language and its Northeast Ohio connection dating back to the 1930s, and hopefully help us walk away knowing a few key phrases. Guests: - Brandon Sowers, President, Esperanto-USA - Amanda Schmidt, Executive Director, Esperanto-USA - Jeremy Genovese, Member, Esperanto-USA