The One Show does Esperanto

Feature about Esperanto, from The One Show, 11th January 2010. Presented by Arthur Smith, features Tim Morley, and Terry & Anica Page.

First broadcast on BBC1 on Monday 11th January 2010

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• one_show
• BBC
• Esperanto

[XaMitV]

I am learning Russian and Spanish. When I started learning Esparanto, it was almost too easy by comparison. The language is designed to be learned with absolute ease.

[shaqdaddymirza]

OMG - ESPERANTO FTW!!!!!!!!!!!

[floridianwolf1029]

Esperanto estas malaplikado ... por nun!

(malbona ridi)

[anonymousbaby1970]

@JSoundHysteria Well, that's one reason; another reason is that they're phenomenally difficult to learn unless you were brought up as a child by a native speaker.

You also say "people choose to speak in a way which is most comfortable to them, regardless of what their roots are (they simply don't care)", which seems to contradict your point that one national language could never displace another. If people see an advantage to using language X, they will, cultural baggage or no.

[JSoundHysteria]

@anonymousbaby1970 I come from a multi-lingual environment, and can assure you that people choose to speak in a way which is most comfortable to them, regardless of what their roots are. (they simply don't care)

[JSoundHysteria]

@anonymousbaby1970 Esperanto, on the other hand, compared to pretty much ANY language out there, has almost (or completely) no background, it's easy, and is made entirely for the purpose of international communication. A language with no heritage can easily be integrated into any country or culture, and, eventually, replace the mother-tongue of a said country.

[JSoundHysteria]

@anonymousbaby1970 I find little logical ground in your explanation. The reason it's impossible with English, French, Chinese and of the like is because those languages are strongly connected to the history and cultures of the countries they originated from. Thus they carry a much heavier heritage with them, which cannot be easily integrated into countries with different backgrounds.

[anonymousbaby1970]

@JSoundHysteria What makes it less likely with Esperanto, I think, is that it's vastly easier to attain a very proficient level of Esperanto later in life compared to other languages; thus, even if Esperanto were THE international language, there would be relatively little advantage in bringing children up as first-language Esperanto speakers.

Of the hundreds of Esperanto speakers that I've met, it's impossible to distinguish the first-language speakers from the others.

[anonymousbaby1970]

@JSoundHysteria Good point, and the obvious answer of course is "nobody knows". What you suggest is entirely possible. It's also possible that the same will happen with English (or Spanish, or Mandarin, or ...)

[JSoundHysteria]

@anonymousbaby1970 I understand the idea, but do you see it happening? People usually choose the easiest way out. If there is a universal language which everyone knows and speaks, over generations, our own languages will start to die out, as they will end up seeming less practical and/or necessary than the language which everyone else in the world speaks and understands.

[anonymousbaby1970]

@muiebozgorilor We *could* use Latin, yeah, but good luck with learning that!

Some people promote the teaching of Latin in schools to help with learning other related languages — French, Spanish, etc. To me though, that's a bit like learning to fly a plane as preparation for your driving test. It's not that learning Latin (or learning to fly a plane) are uninteresting or useless — they certainly aren't — it's just an arse about face way of teaching languages!

[anonymousbaby1970]

@JSoundHysteria Thanks for stopping by. Couldn't agree more with "let's maintain the variety the world still has left to offer". Absolutely. Revel in it. I do.

The idea of Esperanto, which seem to work well, is that it doesn't *replace* anything. It allows everyone to keep their own language and culture, but it provides a useful medium when people with two (or three, or fifty) different languages come together.