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Esperanto

Name: Anonymous 2009-05-08 11:23

Just wondering if anyone speaks Esperanto. How hard is it to learn? How come its not more widespread?

Name: Anonymous 2009-05-08 11:33

How come its not more widespread?

Because it's a constructed language and constructed languages are useless. Learn a real one.

Name: Anonymous 2009-05-08 22:45

The reasons comprehensively discussed here:

http://www.xibalba.demon.co.uk/jbr/ranto/

Name: Anonymous 2009-05-08 23:02

All languages have been developed naturally with actual people speaking it as their first and single tongue. Even if they seem weird from first sight (like Japanese), you can easily get the whole thing if you spend enough time.

Esperanto is just a piece of shit constructed by a single man. It has no history and long time developed terms. It will evolve into hundreds of local dialects immediatelly after its widerspread (if it would ever spread anywhere).

Any natural language makes more sense than Esperanto.

Name: Anonymous 2009-12-06 6:17

>>3

JBR's article was long ago debunked by a truly recognized expert in Esperanto, Claude Piron:

http://claudepiron.free.fr/articlesenanglais/why.htm

Name: Anonymous 2009-12-06 6:58

Esperanto is nothing more than an ego language.

I'd be willing to bet, that over 2 thirds of speakers speak English anyway.

Name: Anonymous 2009-12-06 10:20

>>1

It is not hard to learn, precisely because it is a language "optimized" to be as easily learnable as possible (or as less complicated as possible).

In any case, don't believe me, nor anyone, judge by yourself:

http://lernu.net

http://ikurso.net

Why it's not more widespread? Well, historically, good ideas are not quickly adopted, it usually take centuries. Take for example: arabic numerals, metric system, women's suffrage, end of slavery, world peace, etc...

Name: Anonymous 2009-12-07 20:53

>>1
>How come its not more widespread?
Esperanto is Euro-centric.  While it might be easier for someone speaking a Romance, Germanic, or Slavic language to pick up, even speakers of other kinds of Indo-European languages would have a harder time.

Esperanto has no economic incentive for speakers to learn it.  When people choose to learn a second language for international communication, such as English or Mandarin Chinese, they do so because they see an economic benefit to themselves.

Esperanto also has no speaker base to speak of when compared to the largest languages in the world.  For the same reason very few outsiders would go and learn Siberian Yupik, they would not choose to learn Esperanto. Who's there to talk to but a handful of people on the internet?

Finally Esperanto has no culture of it's own in an anthropological sense.  Languages are inherently tied to cultures.  Cultures are what makes languages interesting to learn for many who do not learn them for economic purposes.

>>7
>...because it is a language "optimized" to be as easily learnable as possible (or as less complicated as possible)
This is complete bullshit.  No language is easier to learn than any other.  For a speaker of, say, Spanish, it might be very easy to pick up.  But if you speak, say, Pitjantjatjara, you're fucked.

Name: Anonymous 2009-12-07 20:57

>>8
Further, all the claims I hear from people like Piron are linguistic/second language studies pseudoscience.  Complete and total bullshit.

Name: Anonymous 2009-12-07 23:26

How come its not more widespread?

Because learning Esperanto means you can now talk to Esperantists and wear a green star. In other words, you were better off beforehand.

Name: Anonymous 2009-12-08 7:55

About esperanto being "euro-centric":

http://claudepiron.free.fr/articlesenanglais/europeanorasiatic.htm

In fact, one of the countries were Esperanto is more successful is China. Other is Hungary (Hungarian is not an indo-european language). In both countries Esperanto is officially taught at schools. See wikipedia.

Name: Anonymous 2009-12-08 22:43

>>11
What does being Euro-centric have to do with success?

Name: Anonymous 2009-12-09 8:30

>>12

A eurocentric language is not really feasable because the majority of the planet are speakers of non-IE languages.  So a language structure that is based around a psuedo-latin grammar and wordlist isn't going to be easy for a Thai or Japanese or a Mongolian or a Somali to pick up.  The structure and vocabulary are not anything like what a non-IE speaker deals with on a daily basis. 

Lojban is slightly better, but I don't think that will take off either.

Name: Anonymous 2009-12-09 10:50

I forgot,

People who think that Esperanto is "euro-centric" should read this:

http://claudepiron.free.fr/articlesenanglais/westernlanguage.htm

Name: Anonymous 2009-12-09 15:18

>>13
Come on. People can learn whatever language they put their minds to. Including, like, English, you know. Which I'm pretty sure is more widespread outside Europe than Esperanto. Being easy to learn is nice, but I don't see how it's in any way a determinant of success.

Name: Anonymous 2009-12-13 3:40

>>15
| People can learn whatever language they put their minds to.
And thus, you have given probably the ultimate reason why having a constructed auxiliary language is pointless.

Name: Anonymous 2009-12-13 14:30

>>16
I wouldn't say it's pointless. Easier learning is a plus. It would be nice to use a language I could actually remember all the ins and outs of. More powerful grammar, like that of lojban, would be wonderful to have. But neither of these have anything to do with success as an auxiliary language.

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