Language and the Bahá'í Faith | Bahá'í.FYI

The foremost of the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh is that humanity is one family sharing one planetary home. Humanity must unite to end conflict and bloodshed and establish universal peace. One of the principles upholding universal peace, Bahá'u'lláh states, is the adoption of a universal auxiliary language (UAL). More than simply a cosmopolitan convenience, the use of a single language written and spoken by all of humanity is a powerful means to promote understanding, unity, concord and peace.

In the Bahá'í Writings

The Bahá'í Writings indicate that the choice of a UAL will be made in the future by a gathering of authorized representatives of the world's peoples.

Bahá'u'lláh does not indicate which language will be chosen, but rather calls on humanity "either to choose one language from among those now existing or to adopt a new one, and in like manner to select a common script, both of which should be taught in all the schools of the world." (Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, pp.127-128) 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the son of Bahá'u'lláh and His appointed successor, states that in the future, "two languages will be taught in the schools, one the native tongue, the other an international auxiliary language." (Divine Philosophy, p.145)

Among the world's languages, the virtues of three are explicitly mentioned in the Bahá'í Writings: Arabic, Esperanto, and English. All three languages are noted as having strengths and drawbacks, and all three are implied to be inadequate, as they are or were at the time of writing, to fill the role of a UAL.

The Bahá'í Faith and constructed languages

Esperanto

Esperanto is currently the most popular and widespread of the world's constructed languages (conlangs). It was developed by Ludvik Zamenhof, who published it in his book "Dr. Esperanto's International Language" (Unua Libro) in 1887. His goal was to create an easy and flexible language as a universal second language to foster peace and international understanding. Today, the number of Esperanto speakers in the world is estimated at between 30,000 to 2 million, including 1,000 native Esperanto speakers.

During His visit to the West on 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá encouraged the learning and use of Esperanto. Many of the same people who were interested in the Bahá'í Faith at that time were also interested in Esperanto; many early Bahá'ís were also Esperantists. Notably, Zamenhof's daughter Lidia was a member of the Bahá'í Faith.

Despite highlighting it as an inspired endeavour to promote universal understanding, 'Abdu'l-Bahá stated that Esperanto needed further development, and that "as it stands [Esperanto] is very difficult for some people." (Paris Talks, p.156) He prediced that "later on a language more complete than this, or the same language will undergo some changes and alterations and will be adopted and become universal." (Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Vol. 3, p.692)

The Bahá'í Esperanto-League (BEL) is an organization of Bahá'í Esperantists which formed in 1973 and currently claims several hundred members around the world.

Toki Pona

Toki Pona is a constructed language created by Sonja Lang (jan Sonja) in 2001 as a personal endeavour to help her "understand the meaning of life in 120 words". From humble beginnings, it has gained a wide and active following online on a variety of platforms.

Some time after creating Toki Pona, jan Sonja encountered the Bahá'í Faith and, while continuing to study and apply the Qur'an and Sunnah, accepted the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh. This led to increased exchange between communities of Toki Pona speakers and Bahá'ís. Of course, many Bahá'ís already showed interest in conlangs due to the Faith's connections to Esperanto, and a community of Bahá'í Toki Pona speakers began to emerge. Many of these now participate in semi-regular discussions on the Bahá'í.FYI Discord, including jan Sonja herself. She has also translated some Bahá'í Writings into Toki Pona, and operates a Bluesky account on which she shares Bahá'í quotes in Toki Pona.