Do you speak Esperanto, Klingon, Evish, etc.?

Question

Personally, I'm into Sindarin, the "conversational form" of Elvish. Most say the Lord of the Rings fad is dying, since it's been several years since the release of the New Line Cinema Triligy, but I refuse to believe it!

Also, it's been years since anything really huge has happened with Star Trek, is Klingon still popular?

Esperanto sounds cool, but I don't speak it. Do you?

Answer 1

Obviously there is a world of difference between fantasy languages and constructed languages with a purpose. The bottom line is have fun with them and expand your horizons.
Yet if you really want to know what Esperanto is about, then hang on and stay with me here because it's quite long but worth it. Believe it or not, Esperanto represents the best chance for the survival of the multitude of dying languages since it's purpose is to provide an alternative to any one National tongue to the disadvantage of others.
Consider if you will, Esperanto is an easily learnt AUXILIARY language. This means that myself and that German, Japanese or Korean fellow over there needn't sink a lot of time and effort into learning each others mother tongues if they don't wish, 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. Yet we are still free to talk in our mother tongues when and where we choose.
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 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 Esperanto 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 intention of the Esperantistoj (ehs-pehr-ahn-TEES-toy). 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. The Universal Esperanto Asociation (UEA) currently holds observer status (class B) at the UN and UNESCO. So there is some movement towards this goal.
Research and draw your own conclusions.

Ĝis!

Answer 2

I find artificial/fantasy languages interesting. Usually the basic rules and vocabulary are made up by one person and some enthusiasts flesh out the language. James Doohan, Scotty from Star Trek made up Klingon. I believe Diane Duane, a Star Trek author made up Romulan/Rihannsu to sound like Welsh.

Seems like fantasy languages are made to be difficult and decipherable whereas languages like Esperanto and Modern Hebrew were intended to be easy to learn.

Answer 3

I speak Esperanto, teach it at a public school, and use it as a bridge language for some of my translations.
I hope you decide to learn it also. It is definitely worth the effort!
Amike,
Mar Kardenas
Mexico (Meksiko)