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Thoughts on Esperanto?

  Tags: Esperanto
 Language Learning Forum : Esperanto Post Reply
34 messages over 5 pages: 1 2 3 4 5  Next >>
Akao
aka FailArtist
Senior Member
United States
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315 posts - 347 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish, Mandarin, Toki Pona

 
 Message 1 of 34
12 June 2010 at 1:19am | IP Logged 
Other than the "universal language" or "easiest language possible" tags that come with
it, what do you think of the languages aspect?
1 person has voted this message useful



GREGORG4000
Diglot
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United States
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Speaks: English*, Finnish
Studies: Japanese, Korean, Amharic, French

 
 Message 2 of 34
12 June 2010 at 1:28am | IP Logged 
It sounds horrible, and the politics that are so often shipped with it are annoying. Otherwise, cool
2 persons have voted this message useful



Volte
Tetraglot
Senior Member
Switzerland
Joined 6250 days ago

4474 posts - 6726 votes 
Speaks: English*, Esperanto, German, Italian
Studies: French, Finnish, Mandarin, Japanese

 
 Message 3 of 34
12 June 2010 at 6:21am | IP Logged 
Akao wrote:
Other than the "universal language" or "easiest language possible" tags that come with
it, what do you think of the languages aspect?


GREGORG4000 wrote:
It sounds horrible, and the politics that are so often shipped with it are annoying. Otherwise, cool


I'm kind of at a loss as to which politics you think are often shipped with it (I can think of several potential sets, all of which are hotly disagreed with by many Esperanto speakers). The sound is a matter of taste, I suppose; I rather like it.


I find it to be a language beautifully suited for poetry. At any given level of study short of full mastery, it allows more freedom, grace, and nuance in expression than any other language I'm aware of; at that level, it strikes me as equal. Bear in mind that, like other languages, if a particular topic is really only fully developed in one language, it's possible but clumsier to talk about it in other languages.

Its regularity seriously reduces the time it takes to avoid making a lot of errors which really are grating to listen to. This shouldn't be overstated, though - it's perfectly possible to make horrible-sounding mistakes in Esperanto. I still make some.

It's not the easiest language possible; it is significantly easier than languages which weren't designed with that as a goal. It does have quite a few quirks.

Subjectively, I consider it a great deal of fun.

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Smart
Tetraglot
Senior Member
United States
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Speaks: Spanish, English*, Latin, French
Studies: German

 
 Message 4 of 34
12 June 2010 at 7:04am | IP Logged 
I would rather learn Macedonian or Ukranian than learn Esperanto. This is to say a lot since I have almost no plans to learn either of these languages, but at least they have a nation backing them and a rich culture/identity/etc.

Esperanto sounds horrible. That's just a fact.
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Saif
Bilingual Triglot
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United States
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 Message 5 of 34
12 June 2010 at 7:24am | IP Logged 
Smart wrote:

Esperanto sounds horrible. That's just a fact.


How is that a fact?
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mrhenrik
Triglot
Moderator
Norway
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Personal Language Map

 
 Message 6 of 34
12 June 2010 at 2:33pm | IP Logged 
There's a thin line between encouraging discussion and picking a fight guys.. make sure
you're on the discussion side of it please. ;p

I'm not sure what you mean with the languages aspect Akao, but I guess I have the same
thoughts on Esperanto as I have with any other language which exists but doesn't capture
my interest to a large extent. Perhaps one day it'll intrigue me more and I'll want to
learn it, in which case I'll be glad it's easier to learn.
1 person has voted this message useful



Captain Haddock
Diglot
Senior Member
Japan
kanjicabinet.tumblr.
Joined 6579 days ago

2282 posts - 2814 votes 
Speaks: English*, Japanese
Studies: French, Korean, Ancient Greek

 
 Message 7 of 34
12 June 2010 at 4:36pm | IP Logged 
While many people seem drawn to the idea of an artificial auxiliary language, I tend to share Smart's opinion. The
reasons I learn languages would prompt me to put even very rare natural languages before Esperanto. If
Esperanto ever developed a permanent culture and society of fluent speakers, I'd be interested, but that probably
won't happen during my lifetime.

On the other hand, if I had a magic wand, I would use it to give Esperanto the position and prestige English has, so
that we'd all be on an even footing and be more encouraged to learn languages.

Edited by Captain Haddock on 12 June 2010 at 4:38pm

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Splog
Diglot
Senior Member
Czech Republic
anthonylauder.c
Joined 5480 days ago

1062 posts - 3263 votes 
Speaks: English*, Czech
Studies: Mandarin

 
 Message 8 of 34
12 June 2010 at 5:53pm | IP Logged 
Smart wrote:

Esperanto sounds horrible. That's just a fact.


Personally, I don't like the way it sounds either. However, I remember the introduction to the Teach Yourself Esperanto course claiming it to be one of the most wonderful sounding languages in the world. So, opinions are divided.


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