ITT: Esperanto

PlebertPlebert Regular
edited July 2011 in Life
Has anyone here ever bothered to learn Esperanto as a second/third language?

Has it had any use besides fueling inflated sense of self-worth etc.?

Does this language have any use at all(besides the obvious ideological attraction)?

Comments

  • jamie madroxjamie madrox Sith Lord
    edited July 2011
    I've been half assing it for a little while. I'm not a fast learner
  • PlebertPlebert Regular
    edited July 2011
    I might give it a serious attempt, as I have some serious spare time on my hands at the moment.If it goes well, I'll smash out a text file for it.

    Thoughts on what this guide should contain?

    :)
  • PlebertPlebert Regular
    edited July 2011

    Oh work,how little of you I am going to get done. :D
  • edited July 2011
    LAWL esperanto
    you girls have fun with that, as long as the word "nigger" exists I'm fine with English.
  • buddhabuddha Regular
    edited July 2011
    LAWL esperanto
    you girls have fun with that, as long as the word "nigger" exists I'm fine with English.

    ^This man makes a good point.
  • JackJack Regular
    edited July 2011
    I've been interested in Esperanto and Lojban as an exercise in linguistics (and esoterism) but never kept up with it. I've been thinking of it again, lately, though.
  • JackJack Regular
    edited July 2011
    http://www.kurso.com.br/index.php?en This was really fun when I was playing with Esperanto. You might find it useful. Be careful with the songs. I have "Akvo kaj Oleo" stuck in my head over four years later.
  • EnriqueEnrique Semo-Regulars
    edited July 2011
    >Has anyone here ever bothered to learn Esperanto as a

    >second/third language?

    I learned Esperanto as my 2nd language.
    I learned English as my 3rd language.
    (I didn't learn English for "fueling inflated sense of self-worth")
    Learning English was much harder than learning Esperanto.

    >Does this language have any use at all

    Of course Esperanto have lots of uses.
    At different times I visited Japan, Korea, and China.
    During most of my time in those countries, I spoke Esperanto,
    and I was very glad I did.

    I also receive travelers that speak Esperanto, when they
    travel to places near where I am at the time.

    In the web you can find thousands of books and magazines
    written in Esperanto. There, you can also find videos, a few
    films, music, pod casts, and some more reading materials,
    including the Esperanto wikipedia. Also many courses and
    ways to learn Esperanto ... all for free.

    Using skype or other instant messengers, you can chat or
    talk to people in more than a hundred countries.

    Remember that people that learned Esperanto did so to
    contact people from other countries. They _want_ to
    speak with you.

    Esperanto information:
    http://esperantofre.com/edu/iloj01a.htm
  • SlartibartfastSlartibartfast Global Moderator -__-
    edited July 2011
    Although Esperanto appeals to my socialist sensibilities I've got to say it's probably the most useless language. Literally everyone who knows Esperanto is competent in English so it nullifies its usefulness.

    For some reason it attracts the a lot of computer people.
  • EnriqueEnrique Semo-Regulars
    edited July 2011
    Slartibartfast
    >Literally everyone who knows Esperanto is competent in
    >English so it nullifies its usefulness.

    Please tell me where you got that information, and how
    many Esperanto speakers have you ever met.

    Facts: Most Esperanto speakers don't speak English.
    Some Esperanto speakers ... including me, went on to
    learn English _after_ learning Esperanto. The fact that
    they were able to learn Esperanto, help them to believe
    that they could also learn English. Just as a step to learn
    other languages, is a very good reason to learn Esperanto.

    Many of the Esperanto speakers from Africa, are able to
    speak French, but not English.

    >For some reason it attracts the a lot of computer people.

    I learned Esperanto in 1959 ... this happened 52 years ago.
    At that time, my knowledge of computers wasn't that good.
    At that time, my understanding of English was zero ... but
    I could communicate with people of USA (and many other
    countries) using Esperanto.

    People learn Esperanto to be able to talk to people from
    other countries. They love to talk with any visitors. The
    fact that I speak English doesn't provide me with people
    that would like to talk to me, just because I speak English.
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