I wrote this about 10 years ago and this is a slightly edited version - Enjoy!
I discovered Esperanto a couple years ago and thought the use of an international auxiliary language is a great idea. I taught myself some and enjoy the simplicity. If people from all over the world could communicate in an easy-to-use language perhaps there would be less conflict, or at least more understanding. 2 million people around the world may speak Esperanto. Unfortunately, I don't think Esperanto will ever attain what its founder had in mind. However, I do see his intention and others for learning it. I believe an international easy-to-use language could help in traveling and business. It would be a lot more fun to travel to a foreign country to a foreign country and meet with someone who knows the local language and a language you and he both know. He could help you learn about the culture, help you select local cuisine, and visit local sites. Because he knows the local language, he can communicate with the locals. Because you both know an international auxiliary language, you can communicate with each other. People have actually done this with Esperanto.
People have done this with national languages too. When I was in Korea, I noticed many Filipinos living and working there, who communicated in English with their employers who also spoke Korean. Customers consisted of GIs and businessmen and women from abroad who spoke English, as well as the local Koreans. The Filipinos knew Tagalog and basic English, but not Korean; the Koreans knew Korean and very basic English, but not Tagalog. So in this instance, English was used as an intermediary language.
English is used around the world in various forms. It is one of the official languages of the United Nations; The others are Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish, and Russian. However, the UN has relied on English too much and not enough on other member countries' languages. Twenty representatives of Spanish-speaking states pointed this out in a letter to the Secretary-General in 2001 (Document A/56/94). Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that due to budgetary restraints having all the documents translated in the six official languages was not possible; But that he would try to improve the linguistic balance (UN Resolution 63/100 and 63/306).
English is my favorite language, and I'm proud of my rich heritage and language. I grew up in the United States. The USA is the world hegemon, as a result of being on the victors' side of the World Wars and the Cold War. No country comes close to our dominance in the affairs of the world. My country contributed much culturally, economically, and scientifically. Before the USA, hegemony was in the hands of Britain (UK), France, and Spain. The British Empire stretched all around the world. Today, English is the 3rd most common language after Chinese and Spanish. Many countries, including India and Pakistan (formerly under the British Empire), use it officially but it is hardly spoken by the natives there. More often than not English words get mixed into the local language.
"Wherever English has been used, it has lasted. Cultural might outlives military rule. In the colonial period, the languages of settlers dominated the languages of the peoples whose land they seized. They marginalized them and in some cases eventually drove them to extinction. All the while they absorbed from them whatever local terms seemed useful. The colonists’ languages practiced a sort of cannibalism, and its legacy is still sharply felt. English is treated with suspicion in many places where it was once the language of the imperial overlords. It is far from being a force for unity, and its endurance is stressful. In India, while English is much used in the media, administration, education, and business, there are calls to curb its influence. Yet even where English has been denigrated as an instrument of colonialism, it has held on – and in most cases grown, increasing its numbers of speakers and functions" (Salon: What's the Language of the Future?).
English is the most commonly used language in the sciences, many times by people whose first language isn't English. English words and phrases are also used in aviation, but it is kept at a basic level. So how can English be the world language if only 375 million people speak it as a first language? Is it that easy to learn for foreigners? It takes many years of study to become somewhat proficient at the language. English is easier than some other languages; But what if there was another language that was so easy to read and write and unambiguous that people of various backgrounds could understand and use it almost immediately? With few grammar rules, and ways to make new words with affixes, could a created language, like Mondlango, Ido, Lingua Franca Nova, Novial, Interlingue/Occidental, and a multitude of others, be contenders for an inter-country language? Imagine if the UN and other organizations could write and/or translate their documents in an easy language that isn't attached to any nation. Those with a knowledge of the language could easily understand the document, and it would save money. The language would need to be very analytic and this inter-language should be easier to read and write than most languages. Anyone should be able to express a multitude of ideas. As a bonus, I'd prefer that it be an artful one as well.
Esperanto has its own community and has been used in some documents at the UN. Esperanto has over a hundred years of culture, including poetry and even music. Still, many people have created projects to improve Esperanto. I overlooked Ido for the longest time, because of the bad press it received from Esperantists. 'Esperantistos' have attempted to keep their language static, which makes sense because everyone has a different idea regarding what is "better". I won't delve into that so much, but there are ways of improving Esperanto and Ido that would help both communities.
I'm thinking that the best-constructed language is a conglomerate of the best features of various natural languages, including English. Many words are shared in different languages, sometimes even different language groups. Of course, nothing is 100% equal and fair; however, we can only try to construct something beautiful, with worldwide influences, that uses words common in multiple languages. The grammar should be made to be easy to understand, and the definitions of each word should be unambiguous. Features of many artificial languages, such as Esperanto, include the ability to know what type of Word it is, based on endings/suffixes, so that adjectives, adverbs, and verbs were easy to point out. I think having regularity in the verbs and adjectives will help distinguish the nouns.
I don't think the world needs another Esperanto. I think the world needs a language that is useful in every area, with words that can convey many facets of life, with a structure that is easy to understand, but still looks and feels natural. Perhaps the world can be made a better place by more free-flowing information. Maybe, we should attempt to make this language.
Update- I have started creating this language and welcome your ideas and any help you'd like to give!