Claus Killing-Günkel (born Günkel; 9 October 1963), in Esperanto also known as Nikolao J. Günkel, is a German teacher, esperantologist, and interlinguist, member of the german Society for Interlinguistics (Gesellschaft für Interlinguistik, GIL). He coined the term Esperantido.
Life Claus J. Killing-Günkel was born Claus J. Günkel in Eschweiler, a city in western Rhineland, where he grew up, attended Städtisches Gymnasium Eschweiler and lived from 1963 to 1989 and from 1999 to 2009. From 1982 to 1992, he studied mathematics, computer science and French at the RWTH Aachen University and the University of Paderborn. At the latter, in 1993 and 1994, he was a lecturer in the Department of Education. Since 1997 he works as a berufskolleg teacher.
He is also a city guideProgram 2005 of the EGV (PDF; 101 kB) from 9 October 2010 and until 2012 he was a member of the board of Eschweiler Geschichtsverein (EGV) (i.e. Eschweiler Historical Society)Newsletter of the EGV 2011 from 9 August 2013 and of the Fördererverein Nothberger Burg (i.e. Nothberg Castle Sponsors' Society). He has two children and currently lives in Cologne; since 2010 he is called Killing-Günkel.AK des Eschweiler Geschichtvereins from 9 October 2010
Activity related to Esperanto
In 1981, Killing-Günkel learned the constructed language Esperanto. In the Esperanto movement, he has managed publications, organized international meetings, founded an Esperanto youth group in Eschweiler and taught that language inter alia at the adult high school of Düren.
He is an Esperantologist, member of Gesellschaft für Interlinguistik (GIL) (Society for Interlinguistics) and of the scientists' staff of Akademio Internacia de la Sciencoj San Marino (AIS) as well as lector for mathematics of the international Scienca Revuo. In the 1980s and 1990s, he wrote articles for Kontakto, Monato and La Gazeto.
His field of activity within Esperanto Studies includes lexicography, etymology, Esperanto offshoots (called Esperantidos) and language propaedeutics within the scope of cybernetic pedagogy. First classifications of Esperantidos are made by him. Furthermore, he deals with Volapük, Interlingue, Interlingua, Glosa and Ido and edited an Esperantido magazine called Nova Provo (i.e. New Attempt) in the 1990s.GIL lecture on Esperantidos from 9 August 2013 He has contributed to various reference books and tools of Esperanto, including the Plena Ilustrita Vortaro de Esperanto of 2002.
Own projects At the 20th Annual Conference of the Society for Interlinguistics in November 2010 in Berlin, Killing-Günkel presented Cliiuy, an experimental constructed sociolect with a focus on youth language and informal communication, rather than an international auxiliary language.
At the 34th Annual Conference in November 2024, again in Berlin, he presented Atlamak, a constructed international auxiliary language, to an international audience.20th and 34th Annual Conference from 8 February 2026.
Fonts Esperantological publications Gunkela Vortaro. 1991. 4th edition 2002. Esperanto neologism dictionary with 1,764 headwords. Self-publishing.Bibliography of the Reta Vortaro from 9 August 2013 Vortaro Volapuko-Esperanto Esperanto-Volapuko kun etimologiaj rimarkoj (i.e. Dictionary Volapük-Esperanto Esperanto-Volapük with etymologic remarks). 1996.Detlev Blanke: Plansprachliche Wörterbücher, vide 6.2.3 (p. 17) from 9 August 2013 NOVO, Nova Provo: 7 jaroj kaj 11 numeroj – provo bilanci sen saldi. In: De A al B. Festlibro por André Albault (i.e. Festschrift in honor of André Albault). 2002, .
Publications on linguistic cybernetics Zur optimalen Dauer des Sprachorientierungsunterrichts (SpOU). In: Grundlagenstudien aus Kybernetik und Geisteswissenschaft. Tome 35, booklet 2, 1994. with Huang Yani: Transferefiko de ILo sur la anglan depende de la gepatra lingvo – konkrete okaze de la china, germana kaj franca (i.e. Transfer efficance from Esperanto to English depending from the mother tongue — concrete in the cases of Chinese, German and French).Summary from 9 August 2013 In: Grundlagenstudien aus Kybernetik und Geisteswissenschaft. Tome 41, booklet 3, 2000.
Poetry and fiction Poemete poeteme. 2nd edition. 1989.Entry in Originalaj poemaroj en Esperanto from 9 August 2013 (In 2004, one of his poems was set to music by Jak LePuil on his CD Mi estas (i.e. I am).Song no. 4 from 9 August 2013) amatory poems and funny stories in the Esperanto humor magazine La KancerKliniko Science-fiction short stories Letero el la jaro 2612 and Kredo.Review by Abel Montagut from 9 August 2013 In: Sferoj – Sciencfikcio kaj Fantasto. Tome 8, 1993. ; Ondoj.Review by Mariana Evlogieva from 9 August 2013Review by A. Giridhar Rao from 9 August 2013 In: Sferoj – Sciencfikcio kaj Fantasto. Tome 10, 2000. .
Lectures (excerpt) Berlin, 1994: Rechnerinterlinguistik und die Axiomatisierung der Esperantogrammatik (i.e. Computer interlinguistics and the axiomatization of Esperanto grammar) Berlin, 1995: Übersetzungsprobleme und Entscheidungsmechanismen bei der Revision kulinarischer Begriffe eines Esperantowörterbuchs (i.e. Translation problems and decision-making mechanisms in the revision of culinary terms of an Esperanto dictionary) Berlin, 1996: Der aktuelle Stand von Esperantiden – Vorstellung und Schlussbemerkung (i.e. The current status of Esperantidos – introduction and conclusion) Berlin, 1998: Ein Schülerwörterbuch Esperanto-Deutsch / Deutsch-Esperanto in Verbindung mit einer Esperanto-AG an einem Gymnasium (i.e. A student dictionary Esperanto-German / German-Esperanto in conjunction with an Esperanto workshop at a high school) Motovun 2000: Reformprojektoj kaj proponoj pri nova alfabeto (i.e. Reform projects and proposals for a new alphabet) Berlin, 2000: Strukturvergleich von Esperantiden – Wo setzt die Kritik am Esperanto an? (i.e. Structural comparison of Esperantidos – where does the criticism on Esperanto apply? Berlin, 2002: Sprachkybernetische Axiomatisierung und Berechnung von Lernerfolg (i.e. Linguistic-cybernetic axiomatization and calculation of learning success) Berlin, 2010: Cliiuy – wie ich eine Sprache erfand (i.e. Cliiuy – how I invented a language)Gesellschaft für Interlinguistik from 8 February 2026 Berlin, 2013: Sprachschöpfung in der Koniologie, einem neuen Feld der Algebra (i.e. Creation of language in coniology, a new field of algebra)Gesellschaft für Interlinguistik from 8 February 2026
Berlin 2019: Interlingua, Esperanto und Mathematik (i.e. Interlingua, Esperanto and mathematics)Gesellschaft für Interlinguistik from 8 February 2026 Berlin 2020: Mathematik und Regel 15 (i.e. Mathematics and Rule 15)Gesellschaft für Interlinguistik from 8 February 2026 Berlin 2025: Kurzer Vergleich der Rechtschreibung des Japanischen und des Esperanto (i.e. A brief comparison of Japanese and Esperanto orthography)Gesellschaft für Interlinguistik from 8 February 2026
See also List of contributors to PIV, Killing-Günkel was responsible for technical terms for geodesy, topography, cuisine and science as well as for colloquial and taboo words.
References
External links Literary reviews in „La Gazeto“ (Esperanto) Review on the novella collection „Ekstremoj“ (Esperanto)