Why Esperanto?

Partly an attempt to explain to myself why, these past weeks, I have been so eager to brush up on my Esperanto. Certainly, the language as such is a wonderful game and an effective brain exercise. Are push-ups useful? Maybe they strengthen your arms and shoulders, just as wrapping your mind around Esperanto's apparently simple but oh-so-subtle grammar (see Zamenhof's Krestomatio) keeps senile dementia at bay. But the ultimate issue is the destiny of human languages in their diversity.

One slip of my tongue (I noticed it after posting): about speakers of "minor" languages moving toward English instead of into another language "with a great literary tradition..." Obviously, the literary heritage of English is among the greatest. However, ESL (English as a second language) is more often than not limited to a utilitarian vocabulary, suited to the workplace, commerce, and travel. Nothing wrong with that, but utilitarian English can sometimes overshadow the poetry and music and wisdom of other tongues.

Matt Segall (0ThouArtThat0) suggested listening to the following:
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/wade_davis_on_endangered_cultures.html

Category:

Education

Tags:

• esperanto
• language
• english
• esl
• pentecost
• babel
• dialogue
• peace

[LooksAeterna]

Here's the relevant part of my original comment:

It's good to have fun playing with Esperanto. However:

1. ( 1:00 - 1:23 ) Esperanto is hardly free of cultural bias: ask the Chinese or Japanese.

2. ( 3:30 - 4:00 ) It would be worse to destroy all grown languages than to destroy all except one.

3. I think most people do not even know (how to properly use) their own language and should be burdened with as little other languages as possible.

[LooksAeterna]

@mechatech70 Not reading properly and persistently wasting my time is already insulting. Nazis and fascho-communists often were just as formally polite as you demand, it means nothing to real humans. Look at the preceding spam-avalanche, it is high time this depravity in behavior rather than formality is being properly named after its nature.

I ask just one thing: stop wasting my time with this nonsense ! It is telling how your latest reaction again evaded all relevant points.

[mechatech70]

@LooksAeterna Given the quality of your reply, I am guessing you were raised without manners. Opinion is not evil, my friend, the world is built upon it. Learn not to insult people, but rather to politely say "I wish not to argue that point" or anything of the sort. We will listen. And yes, I am American, and proud of it, because I can show that even here in America, despite wide belief, we have more manners than the likes of you.

[mechatech70]

@LooksAeterna For someone not looking for a debate, you seem to be setting yourself up for one. I have no desire to debate either: opinions are like a**holes, everybody's got one, and it's dam* hard to get rid of 'em.

[LooksAeterna]

@mechatech70 ...and your guess is wrong, nor am I an English native of any other kind, nor at all a friend of anglo-saxon hegemony. But given the quality of your reply, I wouldn't doubt for a moment that YOU indeed are from the US !

[LooksAeterna]

@mechatech70 Now in order to help those who are too lazy or too obtuse to listen to the video I am commenting not to ejaculate another inane retort, I will point out that this "2." in my original comment was directed at

3:30 - 4:00

of the video in context of the naively favorable mention of this monster George Soros who has been walking corpses all his life starting at age 14:

sweetness-light. com/ archive/ george-soros-on-helping-the-na­zis-during-the-holocaust

Remove spaces.

[LooksAeterna]

@mechatech70 It is amazing how persistent people are in arguing about this totally inconsequential topic in a way that is totally irrelevant to my point.

Look: I don't give a damn what you think. I was commenting the video and am in no search of a debate.

[mechatech70]

@LooksAeterna 1. Esperanto is easier for the majority of the world, as the majority of the world uses an alphabet.

2.Nobody wants to destroy all languages. languages are wonderful, beautiful things, and the cultures attatched to them are often wonderful. Of course, I am a linguaphile.

3. This is foolish. I am guessing you are american (as am I). This is a bad opinion. Even if you do not speak your language perfectly, it should not stop a person from learning other language. See my reply to #2.

[naamatt2]

@LooksAeterna

Actually, Zamenhof knew that people wouldn't want to give up their Native language, so he had an idea: Everyone will speak their native language, but Esperanto will be the L2. It's much easier than English. :-)

[LooksAeterna]

@KapStuf "The question is not whether it's culturally neutral"

Well, regarding the truth value of my comment on 1:00 - 1:23, THAT IS in fact the only question. Whether that question is important or not is another subject.

"but whether it's adequate to communication across cultures."

For that we wouldn't need Esperanto over English, not that I am advocating anglo-saxon hegemony, mind you. But if the Chinese will prefer Esperanto over English - I am all for it. I doubt it though.