Can anyone describe "Esperanto", I believe it is a European Language.?

Question

I found the word stamped on the back of a piece of silver I have. Started searching ebay for it (I'm selling the silver) and found references to rare European language. Does anyone know where it is spoken, if it is spoken?.....Just looked it up in the dictionary, very strange, definition starts "An artificial international language invented in 1887.....", I am still curious if anyone knows it first hand, I see the definition in the dictionary, now it makes even less sense why it would be stamped on the back of my silver.

Answer 1

Mi parolas la internacian lingvon!

Esperanto is a language, but not of any country or ethnic group: it is a neutral, international language.

"it has enjoyed continuous usage by a community estimated at between 100,000 and 2 million speakers."
According to Ethnologue.com, there are "200–2000 who speak Esperanto as a first language."

"Esperanto is considerably easier to learn than national languages, since its design is far simpler and more regular. Also, unlike national languages, Esperanto allows communication on an equal footing between people, with neither having the usual cultural advantage favouring a native speaker.

Esperanto's purpose is not to replace any other language, but to supplement them: Esperanto would be used as a neutral language when speaking with someone who doesn't know one's own language. The use of Esperanto would also protect minority languages, which would have a better chance of survival than in a world dominated by a few powerful languages."

"Several research studies demonstrate that studying Esperanto before another foreign language speeds and improves learning the other language."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaedeutic_value_of_Esperanto

See more esperanto speakers in Yahoo! Answers:
http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AgWI19WnhedFIT8ejoMKXhfg5gt.?qid=20061109075820AAbvSuL

Answer 2

Esperanto is now enjoying a renassaince, thanks in part to the Internet and the trend toward globalized societies. Its time has finally come.
No longer 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,
Mar Kardenas
www.grupoamikema.org

Answer 3

Esperanto is a Latin based language created by its founders for the purpose of promoting a universal language. It was designed to have few to no exceptions so that it is easy to learn and shares the most common features of other languages, again, in order to be user and learner friendly.

If you look online, there are clubs and associations to encourage speakers of Esperanto to share resources and to network to promote more widespread use of this language to bring more people around the world closer together.

Answer 4

The dictionary had it right. The idea was to move toward one language for the whole world, and since like the French would resist if that language was English, and vice versa, it was decided to invent a whole new language. Obviously, it didn;t work out.

Answer 5

I also speak Esperanto. Fajro gave a very good and thorough explanation of this language.

Answer 6

some guy got sick of all the different romance languages being ALMOST the same, but different enough to cause problems, so he made esperanto so eveyone could understand everyone else.

It didnt catch on.

Answer 7

I agree with all of the above answers