I beg to differ, not a 100% though. I believe that at first sight, English is dead easy. I speak English as a second language, it is, in fact, the only language I speak fluently other than Spanish. And at first, English seems simple (for European languages speakers, at least). Why? Because it has a really simple basic grammar with seldom inflections and verb conjugations. But when you go in depth, you realize that to make up for this supposed simplicity, it has a really complicated set of rules.
@ArturoStojanoff Besides the pronunciation is really hard and the spelling is ridiculously random (apart from some weird and also random rules); I don't think the Latin alphabet is the one for English, too little vowels.. :/
And yes I agree with the exceptions and figures of speech part.
amadeus5521 I think a global language will exist in a near future, because of internet, principally. We can't just invent a language... But, I think that to be proud of a LANGUAGE is completely STUPID. The best thing possible in comunication is to use the same language in the whole world, but it must be obtained in a natural process. Think about Brazil. Brazil's portuguese is a mixture of Portuguese, Spanish and Native Indians ( Tupi, Guarani), and this mixture was natural... not forced.
@etano1 I have learnt Esperanto as well and spoken with people almost perfectly if not perfectly after only half a year or a little more. Try to learn any other language in that amount of time and speak near fluently, especially one as complex as English.
hi amadeus,i think i'll give esperanto a try in my spare time,but i'm a bit worried by accents..being italian i'm not so used to those strange signs..what kind of keyboard layout should i use to write esperanto correctly?
esperanto IS culturally biased ... because its based only on european languages. diversity of languages is a beautiful thing, and so is learning them, and its fine to not understand what somebody else is saying to you, because not only of differences in languages but also of culture. we're not supposed to all be able to communicate to each other without difficulty, we're humans not robots...
Your remark about the diversity of languages sounds like a great excuse to not learn another one;-)
FYI Esperanto doesn't want to destroy the different cultures;its goal is to made possible to communicate with people from others countries in a *simple* and *neutral* way.
Moreover,your last sentence is a complete nonsense:who did determine we're not supposed to all be able to communicate without difficulty?
This is a looser's warcry just like "we weren't born to be happy" or such silly things.
English is extremely hard to learn. It has the largest lexicon, loads of rules, with about as many exceptions, and many figures of speech. The whole point of Esperanto is simplicity(which can't be found with any other viable language). Esperanto is no waste of time, especially for those who natively speak it (Denaskuloj). Everyday, I communicate with people from all around the world, many can't speak a word of english. For me to do this any other way, I'd have to learn 100s of natural languages
I doubt you ever learned Esperanto, because if you had, then you'd include the FACT that it is the easiest language to learn for people of all languages. English is one of the most difficult and time consuming languages to learn. Why am I even bothering; you'll just reply with something immature.
Fully agree! The only drawback on Esperanto itself as "the neutral ground" is IT IS a Roman alphabet. Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Arabic, Persian, Indian, and the Cyrillic alphabet using nations have criticized the neutrality of Esperanto for this reason. Counterpoint is the roman alphabet and variations of the letters with accented letters are used even for the romanization of these other languages. There is already a presence of the roman letters in their cultures.
I think the major combatants for the world language is English (from the ignorance of the US, UK, and maybe other native english speaking nations) [MOSTLY THE US], Spanish (Most number of nations with official language), and Chinese (most % of world population speaking.)
Esperanto is the most efficient, why make other nations learn English? Tenfold productivity if they studied Esperanto instead.
English is forced for Air-traffic control for airlines in ALL nations.
As for learning someone elses' language, I think it's more not speaking right, saying the wrong thing, in the wrong way, offending the native speaker. That kinda thing.
It's kinda rude to force another person learn your language and have no effort on native speaker's part. Not fair!!
Global Comm is more important, we need a fast easy neutral ground and Esperanto is it!!!!!
People say if a global language is made, it'll just break into dialects & they will drift apart, & we'd be back to start.
But if you have a neutral ground (base-cultureless) language, it'll never change! Look at Latin, it is the ONLY language that has not evolved linguistically by the people who speak it because it's not spoken as a native language! It's only used for science and the Roman Vatican.
Plus with German and Latin's vocab influences on Esperanto, most languages will be able to figure out the words meaning.
So we have ADAPTABILITY, CULTURAL NEUTRALITY, EFFICIENCY. WHY AREN'T WE USING ESPERANTO MORE?!
I have seen people saying these things further down here too, but it doesn't matter ;D
I heard about Esperanto for the first time a couple of hours ago, and I really want to learn it as my...it would be my fourth i guess...language. I totally agree with just about everything you say in this video =)
I agree that one nation's language wouldn't be accepted by all others and an artificial one like Esperanto or Lojban would probably be my favorite choice. though I hope that's not an absolute necessity for solving global problems! Actually some global problems would have to be solved first like a total lack of education in some areas. Which would require reduction of poverty, which would require political/economical changes. One huge gordig knot of connections.
I've been speaking Esperanto since February, 2005. I'm currently learning Japanese, and German. I'm conversational in Japanese, and Basic in German. I can also understand spanish pretty well, though am crap at speaking it. =P
1. I started learning esperanto last night and I am COMPLETELY in love with it! This will be my third language after English and Spanish.
2. I really appreciate being able to hear you blog in Esperanto :) I'm your biggest fan, even though I don't understand :P Someday I will!
3. This might sound sort of creepy, but you move just like my boyfriend!! Seriously, it's so uncanny... You guys make the same gestures, movements, and facial expressions...
you are right... And I think that Esperanto should be a subject in schools in every single school.. I don´t speak Esperanto but I want to.. One language for everyone it´s unreal unfourtunately :(
bonega! vi prenis miajn vortojn. tiu estas ekzakte kiu mi diras al aliaj homoj kiu ne infomis pri esperanto. ankaux, mi sxategas kiel gxi estas tre facila lerni (ec se vi malfacile lerni aliaj lingvoj).
en la angla/in english (for those who don't know esperanto)
awesome! u took my words. that is exactly what i say to others who haven't heard of esperanto. also i love how its so easy to learn (even if ur not good at learning other languages)
mi jxus konscias, mi konas vin. ni diris je myspace, mi estas RISUKU (kay estis squirrely wrath, mi pensas, kiam ni unue diri) just thought i'd say that^-^ estas bone retrovi vin
There is another aspect of speaking the national/ethnic language other than one's own national/ethnic language; being bilingual will earn respect with those whom one communicates with in a secondary language. For example, I'm just a typical "Anglo American", whatever that means, but if I go to a Mexican resteraunt and speak Spanish with the Mexican immigrant waiting on tables, it establishes a certain kind of relationship that other people don't have.
For example, I could return to that restaurant six months later and the staff would remember me. What's great about Esperanto is that it has the potential of being very liberating. Instead of learning X amount of languages just learn Esperanto. If only our leadership would grasp this concept.
I've never really looked at auxlangs much, generally dismissing them quickly. So this is the first time I've heard the point you raise about having a conversation where only one person is speaking their own native tongue. I'd argue that any inferiority the non-native speaker feels is down to their own self-confidence and ability in the language, rather than the obviously much higher relative ability of the native speaker.
Obviously it depends on the person and their abilities in different languages, but in my experience, conversation flows easier when at least one person is a native of the tongue they're speaking, rather than having both people using a go-between language, in which case both people are less in their natural environment, and are less able to help each other through. And then in the case of both speakers being of functionally similar levels in the same language, then even if one is native,
there's no reason for the non-native to feel inferior. I think I'm going in circles, but my point is, IMO, any inferiority felt is more down to the dynamic between the two people rather than the languages used themselves, and once people have high enough a level to carry on a conversation in the other language, it's not going to matter to them that the other person is native. That's the aim, isn't it? To speak their language. What do you think?
I beg to differ, not a 100% though. I believe that at first sight, English is dead easy. I speak English as a second language, it is, in fact, the only language I speak fluently other than Spanish. And at first, English seems simple (for European languages speakers, at least). Why? Because it has a really simple basic grammar with seldom inflections and verb conjugations. But when you go in depth, you realize that to make up for this supposed simplicity, it has a really complicated set of rules.
ArturoStojanoff 5 months ago
@ArturoStojanoff Besides the pronunciation is really hard and the spelling is ridiculously random (apart from some weird and also random rules); I don't think the Latin alphabet is the one for English, too little vowels.. :/
And yes I agree with the exceptions and figures of speech part.
ArturoStojanoff 5 months ago
amadeus5521 I think a global language will exist in a near future, because of internet, principally. We can't just invent a language... But, I think that to be proud of a LANGUAGE is completely STUPID. The best thing possible in comunication is to use the same language in the whole world, but it must be obtained in a natural process. Think about Brazil. Brazil's portuguese is a mixture of Portuguese, Spanish and Native Indians ( Tupi, Guarani), and this mixture was natural... not forced.
gkyy3c 9 months ago
@etano1 I have learnt Esperanto as well and spoken with people almost perfectly if not perfectly after only half a year or a little more. Try to learn any other language in that amount of time and speak near fluently, especially one as complex as English.
verevie 1 year ago
vertain multiethical countries like India face this problem. its kinda tuff
Blaze6432 1 year ago
Why is this girls voice so deep???
dannyboy860 1 year ago
hi amadeus,i think i'll give esperanto a try in my spare time,but i'm a bit worried by accents..being italian i'm not so used to those strange signs..what kind of keyboard layout should i use to write esperanto correctly?
ps where are you from?
wortdurst 1 year ago
esperanto IS culturally biased ... because its based only on european languages. diversity of languages is a beautiful thing, and so is learning them, and its fine to not understand what somebody else is saying to you, because not only of differences in languages but also of culture. we're not supposed to all be able to communicate to each other without difficulty, we're humans not robots...
yousifnajjar 2 years ago
Your remark about the diversity of languages sounds like a great excuse to not learn another one;-)
FYI Esperanto doesn't want to destroy the different cultures;its goal is to made possible to communicate with people from others countries in a *simple* and *neutral* way.
Moreover,your last sentence is a complete nonsense:who did determine we're not supposed to all be able to communicate without difficulty?
This is a looser's warcry just like "we weren't born to be happy" or such silly things.
Albesa81 2 years ago
It's "arrivederci!"
SciFiLebra89 2 years ago
English is extremely hard to learn. It has the largest lexicon, loads of rules, with about as many exceptions, and many figures of speech. The whole point of Esperanto is simplicity(which can't be found with any other viable language). Esperanto is no waste of time, especially for those who natively speak it (Denaskuloj). Everyday, I communicate with people from all around the world, many can't speak a word of english. For me to do this any other way, I'd have to learn 100s of natural languages
amadeus5521 2 years ago 4
@amadeus5521 Yes its true English is a difficult and large language but, its the most used.
Bitchin456 1 year ago
I wish I knew how to spell "a rivaderchee"... :S
agreeableviews816 2 years ago
I doubt you ever learned Esperanto, because if you had, then you'd include the FACT that it is the easiest language to learn for people of all languages. English is one of the most difficult and time consuming languages to learn. Why am I even bothering; you'll just reply with something immature.
agreeableviews816 2 years ago
They're all made to speak English in India in order to feed the corporate mouth of North America.
agreeableviews816 2 years ago
European Union would save 25,000,000,000 Euros ($35,000,000,000 USA) annually if they switched to Esperanto for commerce communication.
Trafe, mia frato. Saluton al cxiuj, el Kanado!
agreeableviews816 2 years ago
i like your nose :D
anibalok 2 years ago
i will soon speak Esperanto,currently i speak 4
brut88plus 2 years ago
Fully agree! The only drawback on Esperanto itself as "the neutral ground" is IT IS a Roman alphabet. Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Arabic, Persian, Indian, and the Cyrillic alphabet using nations have criticized the neutrality of Esperanto for this reason. Counterpoint is the roman alphabet and variations of the letters with accented letters are used even for the romanization of these other languages. There is already a presence of the roman letters in their cultures.
Nihonrocker 2 years ago
I think the major combatants for the world language is English (from the ignorance of the US, UK, and maybe other native english speaking nations) [MOSTLY THE US], Spanish (Most number of nations with official language), and Chinese (most % of world population speaking.)
Esperanto is the most efficient, why make other nations learn English? Tenfold productivity if they studied Esperanto instead.
English is forced for Air-traffic control for airlines in ALL nations.
Nihonrocker 2 years ago
i think the reason y the us is so arrogant is because it's so BIG! if anyone could tell me how it compares to other large countries then....thanks.
i think the reason the uk is arrogant is because we're (implying that I'm british, which i am.) an island, and the us does it.
i'm learning esperanto so i can speak other languages better, and to, well just generally talk to foreigners in a way that i feel comfortable
HarnesX 2 years ago
As for learning someone elses' language, I think it's more not speaking right, saying the wrong thing, in the wrong way, offending the native speaker. That kinda thing.
It's kinda rude to force another person learn your language and have no effort on native speaker's part. Not fair!!
Global Comm is more important, we need a fast easy neutral ground and Esperanto is it!!!!!
People say if a global language is made, it'll just break into dialects & they will drift apart, & we'd be back to start.
Nihonrocker 2 years ago
But if you have a neutral ground (base-cultureless) language, it'll never change! Look at Latin, it is the ONLY language that has not evolved linguistically by the people who speak it because it's not spoken as a native language! It's only used for science and the Roman Vatican.
Plus with German and Latin's vocab influences on Esperanto, most languages will be able to figure out the words meaning.
So we have ADAPTABILITY, CULTURAL NEUTRALITY, EFFICIENCY. WHY AREN'T WE USING ESPERANTO MORE?!
Nihonrocker 2 years ago
Agreed,...we have to get away from roman characters....it's horribly inefficient, takes more space...and doesn't retain meaning on it own.
WisdomThroughLogic 2 years ago
I have seen people saying these things further down here too, but it doesn't matter ;D
I heard about Esperanto for the first time a couple of hours ago, and I really want to learn it as my...it would be my fourth i guess...language. I totally agree with just about everything you say in this video =)
And I'm sorry my English is..crap. :)
LoveTheLiving 2 years ago
I agree with you, Esperanto is a wonderful language. It may not the "Cure-All" but it will definatly help us ALL. You are very wise!
SinfulShade 2 years ago
your name suits you well
Rajmondonormandino 3 years ago
I agree that one nation's language wouldn't be accepted by all others and an artificial one like Esperanto or Lojban would probably be my favorite choice. though I hope that's not an absolute necessity for solving global problems! Actually some global problems would have to be solved first like a total lack of education in some areas. Which would require reduction of poverty, which would require political/economical changes. One huge gordig knot of connections.
RabiaB 3 years ago
your lips are so kissable they're distracting. let me teach you some spanish, btw!
heartbreakermdp 3 years ago
how long have you studied esperanto, amadeus? do you speak any other languages?
BloodBound093 3 years ago
I've been speaking Esperanto since February, 2005. I'm currently learning Japanese, and German. I'm conversational in Japanese, and Basic in German. I can also understand spanish pretty well, though am crap at speaking it. =P
amadeus5521 3 years ago
1. I started learning esperanto last night and I am COMPLETELY in love with it! This will be my third language after English and Spanish.
2. I really appreciate being able to hear you blog in Esperanto :) I'm your biggest fan, even though I don't understand :P Someday I will!
3. This might sound sort of creepy, but you move just like my boyfriend!! Seriously, it's so uncanny... You guys make the same gestures, movements, and facial expressions...
Is there any way to communicate with you?
amplifiedsunday 3 years ago
you are right... And I think that Esperanto should be a subject in schools in every single school.. I don´t speak Esperanto but I want to.. One language for everyone it´s unreal unfourtunately :(
johannizacia1 3 years ago
Bravo! i miei complimenti..
flaviano20 3 years ago
you argument is interesting but what happens when a generation grows who speak esperanto as first language? would the language not become "theirs"?
schrire39 4 years ago
bonega! vi prenis miajn vortojn. tiu estas ekzakte kiu mi diras al aliaj homoj kiu ne infomis pri esperanto. ankaux, mi sxategas kiel gxi estas tre facila lerni (ec se vi malfacile lerni aliaj lingvoj).
en la angla/in english (for those who don't know esperanto)
awesome! u took my words. that is exactly what i say to others who haven't heard of esperanto. also i love how its so easy to learn (even if ur not good at learning other languages)
gxis la! ^-^
ariean 4 years ago 2
mi jxus konscias, mi konas vin. ni diris je myspace, mi estas RISUKU (kay estis squirrely wrath, mi pensas, kiam ni unue diri) just thought i'd say that^-^ estas bone retrovi vin
gxis la!^-^
ariean 4 years ago
Yes, mi certe konas vin. Bonegan re-renkontiĝon, Haha. =P
amadeus5521 4 years ago
you kind of look like me
Sco6014 4 years ago
There is another aspect of speaking the national/ethnic language other than one's own national/ethnic language; being bilingual will earn respect with those whom one communicates with in a secondary language. For example, I'm just a typical "Anglo American", whatever that means, but if I go to a Mexican resteraunt and speak Spanish with the Mexican immigrant waiting on tables, it establishes a certain kind of relationship that other people don't have.
wrappedhands 4 years ago
For example, I could return to that restaurant six months later and the staff would remember me. What's great about Esperanto is that it has the potential of being very liberating. Instead of learning X amount of languages just learn Esperanto. If only our leadership would grasp this concept.
wrappedhands 4 years ago 4
I've never really looked at auxlangs much, generally dismissing them quickly. So this is the first time I've heard the point you raise about having a conversation where only one person is speaking their own native tongue. I'd argue that any inferiority the non-native speaker feels is down to their own self-confidence and ability in the language, rather than the obviously much higher relative ability of the native speaker.
candrodor 4 years ago
Obviously it depends on the person and their abilities in different languages, but in my experience, conversation flows easier when at least one person is a native of the tongue they're speaking, rather than having both people using a go-between language, in which case both people are less in their natural environment, and are less able to help each other through. And then in the case of both speakers being of functionally similar levels in the same language, then even if one is native,
candrodor 4 years ago
there's no reason for the non-native to feel inferior. I think I'm going in circles, but my point is, IMO, any inferiority felt is more down to the dynamic between the two people rather than the languages used themselves, and once people have high enough a level to carry on a conversation in the other language, it's not going to matter to them that the other person is native. That's the aim, isn't it? To speak their language. What do you think?
candrodor 4 years ago
Fortunately we have an eloquent man like W. Bush as the leader of the freeworld...um...never mind.
wrappedhands 4 years ago