Universal Language: lectures from Dalarna University

Three out of four high-quality lectures on the history and perspectives concerning the quest for a universal language have been released on video from Dalarna University. The videos themselves can be found on YouTube:

"The Universal Language" by Konstantin Andreev: Part 1 ( 18:03) - lingua franca: history of national languages as languages of wider communication: their rise & decline

The Universal Language Part 2 (16:21) - how English became the most successful lingua franca in human history

The Universal Language part 3 (26:01) - on planned languages (Volapük, Esperanto, etc.) & factors influencing their fate, the linguistic features of pidgins & their suitability as a model for a universal language

Part 3 is very professionally done; the treatment of Esperanto is very fair. This series would be quite useful for Esperantists to upgrade the maturity of their public outreach efforts. Here is the video itself:



Part 4 is supposed to be about future perspectives for a universal language, including the role of technological developments in realizing the possibilities or rendering the question irrelevant. Apparently, this series was abandoned before this lecture could be delivered or recorded.