Who here know enough about Esperanto in order to know that it is a living language? In ALL respects?

Question

So far, the only people I have met who thinks that Esperanto is a dead language, it doesn't develope, and any of that stuff just don't know about it. The people I know that actually know about Esperanto, they all reject that view.
I say, the more you know about the language, the less there is to object to,
what do you say?

Answer 1

Most people who have a problem with La internacia Lingvo seem to respond to it like it's a threat to them or something.

The fact is, its intent is to provide an international language, thus providing an alternative to national languages forcing out the minor languages, and hence it can be viewed as a threat to those languages' dominance that would otherwise benefit from the widespread use of their tongue.

During the persecution of Esperanto in the 30's and 40's in Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia, it was viewed as a threat to the leadership, since it provided the common man the ability to communicate with the outside world, which meant new ideas, which meant a dangerous precedence for the leaders.

The plethora of information and other sites on the Internet are a really great example on just how alive it is

So where does this leave us but with these questions.

Is Esperanto a threat to National tongues? No!
Will Esperanto safe guard National tongues? Yes!
Is Esperanto a threat to National prestige? Possibly in the future.
Can Esperanto assist someone in learning other languages? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaedeutic_value_of_Esperanto
Can Esperanto create an opportunity to save money and redirect it toward crucial projects? The $600 million+ USD spent at the United Nations on translation services and similar amounts spent at the European Union would say YES!

Ĝis

Answer 2

People who think that Esperanto is not a living language are making an assumption rather than taking time to get to know the language.

I speak Esperanto. I learned it without any notions of its usefulness. I began learning it as an experiment to see if at the age of 40 I could learn a language. I was like most people in the U.S., I had lived until that point knowing only English. I had studied Spanish during High School, but didn't really speak it. The experiment was successful, and I now speak, read and write Esperanto fluently.

After I got to know the language, the big surprise was the number of cultures that Esperanto gave me a window into. I've read Folklore from China, Iran, Russia, Turkey and many other lands in Esperanto. Much of the folklore has never been translated into English, so I never would have gotten to read it if I hadn't learned Esperanto. I've corresponded with people from every continent, almost every country.

Esperanto is a living language. Since its release into the public in 1887, it has grown immensely, new words are added constantly. It's the only language I know of other than English where its speakers are encouraged to make up their own words.

I can participate in conversations, written or oral, about any subject that interests me. I'm part of an email mailing list that discusses Science Fiction (scienc-fikcio) movies and literature. This list includes people from the U.S., U.K., Australia, Iran, Russia, China plus many other countries and cultures.

Pope John Paul II said "Esperanto is the new latin" and the Vatican has weekly radio broadcasts in this beautiful language.

I encourage anyone to learn Esperanto, It has opened the world to me, and continues to do so daily.

Answer 3

As of at present, July 31, 2006, there are 2187 registrants on the Universala Kongreso (World Congress) of Esperanto taking place in Florence, Italy this week. This, of path, represents a small quantity of the Esperanto audio system global. Ask your self what number of folks on this planet play chess? Who are they? Where are they placed? Who is a grasp participant, who's capable, and who has simply began finding out? That will provide you an inspiration of what number of Esperanto audio system there are global. :-) Esperanto isn't supposed to be the language of any nation (despite the fact that folks every so often have attempted to set up nations or groups) however a moment language for worldwide verbal exchange. The Esperanto group is global, numerous and thriving. You aren't prone to stumble upon anyone at the road who speaks Esperanto, exceptionally in North America, however there are plenty of assets to be had for finding out the language and discovering different Esperanto audio system with whom to speak, paintings, love, agree, disagree -- correctly, any style of verbal exchange that you simply might use a country wide language for.

Answer 4

I tried to learn it once, but there was no one to practice speaking with.