Is learning Esperanto a worthwhile activity?

I'm a native English speaker, yet I much prefer speaking in Esperanto, even though I'm still learning (do we ever stop learning?)

Designed to be learned easily, Esperanto is the gateway to many other languages and cultures. The structure is regular and has only 16 gramatical rules with NO exceptions. So instead of learning rule after rule and which ones don't apply here or there, I spend my time absorbing the vocabulary. Check the site below for information on Esperantos' value in learning other languages.

I frequently make this next statement, and I live by it.

"If you can't learn Esperanto, you can't learn any language."

At the very least, if you learn Esperanto, which by the way can lead to the enjoyment of meeting new friends and traveling to new places, you'll at least have that under your belt regardless of how far you decide to take any other languages.

It's not uncommon for a student of Esperanto to become fluent inside of a month, maybe less, if you've the desire.

I really enjoy listening to the original music, clasical, folk, rock, rap, lullabys(sp), Christmas songs, you name it. The folk tends to be the best. Track down groups like Kajto, Merlin, or Kore for starters.

Esperanto is the 65th most printed language in the world and the Esperanto Wikipedia site is the 15th largest, which when you think about it, with only 2,000,000 plus speakers is quite remarkable. There are translations of the classics, and not so classic, as well as a wealth of original material.

The most depressing aspect of dealing with Esperanto is the constant unsupported claims that it has no value. As with anything else, it's use is dependant on how you decide to use it. With over 2,000,000 speakers in the world, there aren't too many places where you won't find it, you just need to look. The internet is the best place to start. The sites below are the best intitial places to investigate the language and it's history. (Yes, it has a history (119 years) and a culture as mentioned above.)

Where Esperanto stands to make its biggest success is in international communications, primarily at the UN and EU, where each respectively spends in excess of $500 million USD annually on translation services alone. Esperanto currently holds observer status at the UN and UNESCO.

The World Esperanto Association (in Esperanto UEA: Universala Esperanto-Asocio) is the largest international organization of Esperanto speakers, with members in 119 countries (as of 2000) and is the official relations office with the United Nations and UNESCO. In addition to individual members, 95 national Esperanto organizations are affiliated to UEA.

Research and make your own conclusions.

Ĝis!

I began learning Esperanto in 2000 as an experiment to see if I could learn a language. I never expected to actually use it. However, as I learned it, and learned more about it, I have found it to be a very positive and practical language experience.

Compared to other languages, it didn't take me long to learn, and I've used it much more than the Spanish or the German that I've studied since.

The best, most believable estimate I've heard is about 2 million people speak it world wide. There's an Esperanto club in just about every major city in the world.

There is literature; prose, poetry, original and translated available. There is music available on cassette and CD. My iPod has several hundred songs in Esperanto on it.

Contrary to popular belief, you can even travel with it. La Pasporta Servo (The Passport Service) is a guest service for Esperantists.

It's very alive on the internet also. Do a Google search, you'll find almost 33 million hits.

If you have more questions, or interest, feel free to contact me by email from my profile.

Gxis!

Thanks in part to the Internet and to the trend toward globalized societies, Esperanto's time has finally come.

It's no longer merely the hobby of a few enthusiasts with a passion for languages, Esperanto has proven to be a valuable tool in many fields, including science and technology.

As a professional translator, I use Esperanto as a bridge between unusual language pairs.

I am also the (paid) coordinator of an Esperanto Kids Club in California. Kids love its logical structure!

As you can see, my small time investment to learn it last year is paying handsome dividends. Plus, I have friends around the world who are as welcome in my home as I am in theirs!

Amike Via,

Mar Kardenas

www.grupoamikema.org

I would personally say no, there´s little point, unless you fancy learning it simply as an intellectual exercise (which, in a purely practical sense, would be like learning any other constructed language, such as Klingon for example, which btw has around 7000 speakers apparently). English is already that which Esperanto once aspired to be, and has made it redundant by pragmatic force. Or, of course, unless you object to the dominant linguistic position held by the English language in the world and wish to make a contribution to counteracting that etc. etc.: again, I don´t think that argument makes much sense either. But this is just my personal opinion: if someone were to rave about the joys of learning Esperanto, I´d have a lot of understanding without necessarily agreeing. Hope that makes sense.

30 or 40 years ago the 'big plan' was to have a language that would be spoken all over Europe. It didn't work out, and I can't think that it would be a good idea to start to learn it now. More fun to learn Spanish or Italian. Good luck

I'm not sure it is any more. It seems to have gone out of fashion now; you never hear it mentioned these days.

There may be an 'Esperanto Society' or something that you could look into.

Spike Milligan said he spoke it like a native.

Mi ne komprenas vin

Maybe in the 60's.

I think you would find learning Latin more worthwhile - though it is 'dead' it certainly helps me decipher a number of european languages.