Can Esperanto Make a Comeback? (2015)
1–10 of 234 posts
Re: Can Esperanto Make a Comeback? (2015)
#2Most informative thing I have read about Esperanto is http://jbr.me.uk/ranto/index.html
Re: Can Esperanto Make a Comeback? (2015)
#3Esperanto isn't actually that universal. It's very European, using a Latin alphabet, grammar and syntax from romance languages, etc. Its going to be very easy for a Spanish or English or German speaker to pick up, for example. Probably a bit less easy for someone speaking a language on the idno side of indo European, like a hindi speaker, and then progressively harder as you get further and further away from the languages' core influences. Im bilingual between languages from two totally unrelated language families (Indo European and dravidian) - and Esperanto is a lot closer to the former than the latter. I dont know if its even possible to make a language universal between disparate language families.
Re: Can Esperanto Make a Comeback? (2015)
#4Esperanto isn't actually that universal. It's very European, using a Latin alphabet, grammar and syntax from romance languages, etc. Its going to be very easy for a Spanish or English or German speaker to pick up, for example. Probably a bit less easy for someone speaking a language on the idno side of indo European, like a hindi speaker, and then progressively harder as you get further and further away from the lang…
You're not wrong, but if you're designing a universal language I think Latin script is the only feasible option. You're not helping anyone if you invent an entirely new script that everyone has to learn from scratch, and that doesn't even have extant keyboards. Latin script is the only choice that makes sense -- most people worldwide already have at least some familiarity with it, and it has excellent universal hardware and software support. Nothing else even comes close.
Re: Can Esperanto Make a Comeback? (2015)
#5Nobody needs another language .... we already have too many which causes no end of communication problems.
Esperanto, the world's least spoken language. Even Klingon is spoken by more people than Esperanto hahahaha.
"Finally, a mention of tlhIngan (Klingon) for you - by far the Most widely spoken fictional language. Participants at Star Trek conventions frequently converse in the language and in addition to a Klingon Dictionary there are Klingon translations of Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing,Gilgamesh, and the Tao Te Ching. Qapla'!" -- Guiness Book of World Records
Please just learn English or Klingon.
Re: Can Esperanto Make a Comeback? (2015)
#6> Esperanto creates a kind of "level playing field," because it's a second language for almost everyone who speaks it, says Humphrey Tonkin.
It doesn't. It is entirely based on European and Western culture. Language have huge influent on thought process, and it seems that thought process needed for Esperanto is a Western-centric.
Re: Can Esperanto Make a Comeback? (2015)
#7The value proposition of Esperanto never made sense to me. If the goal were merely to get everybody speaking the same language to achieve world peace, then the efforts of pragmatists would go towards teaching more people English, since that language is the closest to the finish line. Of course that would be contentious in some political philosophies, it doesn't surprise me that some people drawn to the 'universal language for world peace' idea find the promotion of English unacceptable. However it seems to me these people are relinquishing any hope for success in order to remain principled.
Re: Can Esperanto Make a Comeback? (2015)
#8Esperanto isn't actually that universal. It's very European, using a Latin alphabet, grammar and syntax from romance languages, etc. Its going to be very easy for a Spanish or English or German speaker to pick up, for example. Probably a bit less easy for someone speaking a language on the idno side of indo European, like a hindi speaker, and then progressively harder as you get further and further away from the lang…
You're not wrong, but if you're designing a universal language I think Latin script is the only feasible option. You're not helping anyone if you invent an entirely new script that everyone has to learn from scratch, and that doesn't even have extant keyboards. Latin script is the only choice that makes sense -- most people worldwide already have at least some familiarity with it, and it has excellent universal hardw…
I agree, but for the same reasons shouldn't Esperanto just be English or Spanish? Way more people are familiar with these systems than Esperanto.
Re: Can Esperanto Make a Comeback? (2015)
#9When I tried it just for a few days, I was surprised how easy it was to learn. It was much easier to learn than English. On the other hand so many people already know English vocabulary that just having regular spelling and simple grammar could work. Mark Twain already suggested it:
"A Plan for the Improvement of English Spelling: For example, in Year 1 that useless letter 'c' would be dropped to be replased either by 'k' or 's', and likewise 'x' would no longer be part of the alphabet. The only kase in which 'c' would be retained would be the 'ch' formation, which will be dealt with later. Year 2 might reform 'w' spelling, so that 'which' and 'one' would take the same konsonant, wile Year 3 might well abolish 'y' replasing it with 'i' and Iear 4 might fiks the 'g/j' anomali wonse and for all. Jenerally, then, the improvement would kontinue iear bai iear with Iear 5 doing awai with useless double konsonants, and Iears 6-12 or so modifaiing vowlz and the rimeining voist and unvoist konsonants. Bai Iear 15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi ridandant letez 'c', 'y' and 'x' -- bai now jast a memori in the maindz ov ould doderez -- tu riplais 'ch', 'sh', and 'th' rispektivli. Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld."
Re: Can Esperanto Make a Comeback? (2015)
#10Comeback? Has it ever been more than a niche curiosity?
It's more like translation tools will make a comeback. Already have.
They've gotten so good, you don't even need to learn a new language to learn something that's only available in English (or other languages).
Incidentally, this was a major reason I learned English. There was so much more information available back in the early 00's that I just had to do it.
Romanian Internet was... abysmal. Thankfully, I knew Russian, and their Internet activity was far better. Lots of information and software. But that paled in comparison to the English Internet.
At the moment, I find the Chinese Internet very active and interesting, even though translation is pretty poor and sadly, the language is very difficult. Plus, I don't have a real incentive to learn it.
I don't know what part of the culture makes people write and share information, but some countries definitely have less of this activity. Perhaps it's just raw numbers, more people = more content.
With Google Translate and the like, it has become much easier to access all of it, any kind of information, the best content.