what is the esperanto?

Answer 1

Esperanto is the leader among several constructed languages developed in Europe during the latter half of the 19th century. There are many opinions about its usefulness.

Unlike most of the languages developed during this time, Esperanto is not a regularized national language. For example, Volapuk is a regularized German, Interlingua is a regularized Latin. Esperanto on the other hand is mainly based on Latin (about 60%) but also drew heavily on other European languages taking about 25% from Germanic languages (German, Dutch, English) about 10% from Slavic languages (Polish, Russian) and the remaining 5% from other languages (Yidish, Greek).

Many people will tell you that nobody speaks Esperanto, therefore it is useless to learn, but I have found the opposite to be true. Being an English speaking North American, I made it to 40 years old knowing only one language. I began learning Esperanto as an experiment to see if I could possibly learn a foreign language. Since then, I've learned Spanish, and German, and studied Polish and Mandarin Chinese. Even though I had no plans to actually use Esperanto, I became enthralled with the world-wide culture of Esperanto and it is now my favorite of all the languages. It is beautiful in it's simplicity, and it's elegance. It is an extremely poetic and lyrical language. Literature, music, poetry all exist in both translated and original works in Esperanto.

And it is indeed much easier to learn than any "natural" language. I reached a proficiency in about 2 months (studying from a book during my lunch hours at work) that I was able to write simple but meaningful e-mails in the language. Within 2 years I was fluent and reading novels in it. I've studied Spanish and German much longer and have not reached the same level of fluency in either of them.

Answer 2

Here are some very deep thoughts on Esperanto, what it is and what it is trying to be.
Believe it or not, Esperanto represents the best chance for the survival of the multitude of dying languages since it's purpose is to forestall the monopoly of any one National tongue to the disadvantage of another.
Consider if you will, Esperanto is an easily learnt AUXILIARY language. This means that myself and that Spanish fellow over there needn't sink a lot of time and effort into learning each others mother tongue, where whose ever tongue we settle to communicate in will hold the advantage in any discussions; since the likelihood of having a mastery of the second language will be remote at best. Each partner has exerted a similar effort in order to communicate; a linguisticly neutral hand shake if you will.
Further, I am now in a position to visit just about every country in the world and with the help of my new found Esperanto speaking friend (2 million plus) learn of his / her culture and language. This second facet is possible because in learning Esperanto I now have a firmer grip on linguistic principles. I will provide a link below on the benefits of learning tertiary languages after Esperanto.
However, if it is Esperanto Culture you desire, then you've no need to look much further than the Internet. In music there are Folk, Jazz, Opera, Rock, Hip Hop, Rap, childrens' songs, etc. In literature there is multinational translations plus original works. The yearly Congresses are a play ground for young and old alike for interaction.
The error it seems that most people make, is the assumption that a focus on one area or language will detract from other areas. Although it may be true to a point, it is extremely unlikely to effect an area to the point of destruction. There are simply too many people in the world to allow that to happen. None of this precludes learning another language.
Conversely, nobody would feel forced to learn it, especially if they've no desire to leave their comfort zone.
The fact is that like it or not, it's use is expanding exponentially. The last educated guess puts the number of functionally fluent speakers at 2 million plus and another 2,000 native speakers (those that were born to an Esperanto household; yes they exist).
Yet many feel almost threatened by it, which is the last intent to be feared. It is simply a tool to allow those that might otherwise struggle to learn a new language, the option of expanding their horizons.
Finally, there is currently $600 million plus a year being spent on translation services at the UN, and a similar amount in the EU, because no one nationality wants to loose the prestige of owning one of the 'working' languages in each of those institutions. This a huge waste of resources that might otherwise go to feeding and housing those less fortunate. A single working language, easily learnt (less than a year to become fluent) would certainly go along way towards that goal.
Research and make your own conclusions.

Gxis!

Answer 3

Esperanto is said to be the easiest language in the world, and that's exactly how the guy who created it wanted it to be. It was invented in the early 1880s by a Polish Jew named Ludvik Lazarus (L.L.) Zamenhof. He borrowed from multiple languages, including Latin, Greek, and English, to create this language.

The word "esperanto" itself means 'one who hopes'. According to Wikipedia, Zamenhof's goal was to create an easy and flexible language as a universal second language to foster peace and international understanding.

Esperanto didn't turn out as successfully as Zamenhof hoped, and there aren't any countries that have officially adopted the language. However, there are about 1,000 native speakers of the language, and there are nowadays up to 2 million people who continue to speak and employ this language.

Answer 4

After such great responses, I would like to just add the address for ELNA's webpage
(ELNA = Esperanto League for North America)
www . esperanto-usa.org

Answer 5

It's a language created on 1887 by the Polish scientist Zamenhof with the goal of making it the universal language on earth. He took words from many languages and put them together to create this language. However, few people took it seriously.