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Why learn Esperanto? | ||
 Language Learning Forum : Esperanto |  | |
| Journeyer Triglot Senior Member United States tristan85.blogspot.c Joined 6869 days ago 946 posts - 1110 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish, German Studies: Sign Language | Message 57 of 140 16 August 2007 at 1:13pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Languages can be elegant in their own ways, just as much as the cultures they reflect and just as much as it reflects the people who speak them. Esperanto's different ways being able to express itself don't make it inelegant, they make it unique. I have * nothing* against any language that has a larger vocabulary or different methods of word-building, but sometimes brevity and conciseness is a good thing. Personally, I think this is very fascinating. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| awake Senior Member United States Joined 6637 days ago 406 posts - 438 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Esperanto, Spanish | Message 58 of 140 16 August 2007 at 2:11pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||
I suspose that they evolve as they do in other languages. People just start using words, and either they catch on and become part of the lexicon, or they fall away. Technically, there is an official standards body which decides what goes into the "official" esperanto lexicon, but they act very slowly and so in reality the esperanto users themselves make these changes just by how the language grows and is used. There is a part of Esperanto called the Fundamento. It's the original core of the language, and it's not allowed to change. That is, anything that violates the fundamento is no longer Esperanto, it's some other language by definition. However, Esperanto is allowed to grow anywhere that the users want to take it, as long as the fundamento is preserved. One would think that Esperanto would be subject to the same pressures as other languages to form dialects, but actually since the purpose of Esperanto is to allow international communication, there is a very strong pressure that prevents any deviations from going so far as to make that goal more difficult. But, there have been a lot of changes over the last century, it's a growing, living language.
I'm not exactly sure I understand your question. So if I answer a different question from the one you meant let me know :) In any case, yes there are a lots of ways you can say the same thing in Esperanto, but I've never found it to be confusing. Because Much of Esperanto is built up of simpler elements, you can often express the same idea by simply combining those elements in different ways. Since the elements are simple, you generally will be clear however you combine them (as long as you follow the rules). So, no, I don't think it hinders communication. And at the same time it lets you find your own way to express your thoughts and ideas, to truly make the language your own. It's a feature not a bug :) 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| furyou_gaijin Senior Member Japan Joined 6387 days ago 540 posts - 631 votes Speaks: Latin* | Message 59 of 140 16 August 2007 at 4:47pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||
:-) ...and Japanese can express pretty much anything with just smileys and onomatopoeia!.. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| furyou_gaijin Senior Member Japan Joined 6387 days ago 540 posts - 631 votes Speaks: Latin* | Message 60 of 140 16 August 2007 at 5:25pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hmm... have you tried buying a postcard in Esperanto?
...or alternatively develop some decent interpersonal and communication skills which will get you all of the above. That's what gets you noticed, too - not speaking a language. That apart, I can't imagine many people will agree that speaking English is a sign of being uninterested in a local culture.
See, now you have said enough to insult all train collectors and if I were like some people on this forum, I would stand up in their defence. But I couldn't care less, to be honest. Yet how can anyone fail to see that associations you mention are religious by nature?! Like there are Christian boyscouts, etc.? And it's not a bad or a good thing in itself - but it has to be recognised.
Dominating is all about measures taken by a State, like elimination of a minority language in compulsory education (like it was the case in Belgium for Flemish and not vice versa). It is very misleading to use this term together with Yiddish.
Some may find beauty in vagueness but let's agree that it's a matter of taste... But please don't call vowel shifts in the word stem, etc., illogical . Not in a language forum and not with a nickname like yours.
And what exactly is wrong with that? Since when perseverance and hard work have gone out of fashion? With enough experience a non-native speaker can learn to combine things correctly and - much more - they can learn the right to create new words. Examples of this are very often seen in English-language forums where a new word is created by a non-native fluent speaker to fulful a certain need: if his English is so-so, he is likely to be told off. Alternatively, everyone just accepts the new word.
Fine, let's get rid of 20 words and go for 'a male horse' and 'a female horse' in English - how's that for streamlining? The nuances in natural languages come from centuries and centuries of history and often are not that important in the present day and age - yet the history is there. People used those distinct terms for animals because they were highly relevant in hunting or breeding. They never used to hunt or breed dolphins, though - so that's why the language doesn't care. And this is just a primitive example how a natural language reflects and preserves history.
For reasons previously stated: I may have some interest in artificially constructed languages for purposes of general self-development but I have learnt to stay well clear from sects and people wishing to change the world. Edited by furyou_gaijin on 16 August 2007 at 5:29pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| furyou_gaijin Senior Member Japan Joined 6387 days ago 540 posts - 631 votes Speaks: Latin* | Message 61 of 140 16 August 2007 at 5:38pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Oh dear. I'm truly flattered that you've been a faithful follower of my humble writings. Yet I have addressed the bit on 'every single opportunity' and 'all topics' in this thread: http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/forum_posts.asp? TID=6519&KW=furyou%5Fgaijin&TPN=3 ...and am not planning to go over it again. Especially, since everyone else has preferred to withdraw from that discussion rather than admit the truth. However, it's a very different - and very serious - matter if this forum does not allow for any expressions of opinions that differ from those proclaimed by the happy self-congratulating majority. I am starting to miss siomotteikiru - we never agreed on anything but she managed the right approach to things without taking herself too seriously... Edited by furyou_gaijin on 16 August 2007 at 5:42pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| furyou_gaijin Senior Member Japan Joined 6387 days ago 540 posts - 631 votes Speaks: Latin* | Message 62 of 140 16 August 2007 at 5:42pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Yet English allows for some truly wonderful word creation by using nouns as verbs, your native German - by combining word roots in a seemingly random fashion, Slavic languages use meaningful affixes, etc, etc, etc... Lovely examples but how do they prove the value of Esperanto above the natural languages? 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| furyou_gaijin Senior Member Japan Joined 6387 days ago 540 posts - 631 votes Speaks: Latin* | Message 63 of 140 16 August 2007 at 5:46pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||
...and for anyone who still had any doubts concerning the religious nature of the subject in question - I hope it is now very clear... :-)) 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LilleOSC Senior Member United States lille.theoffside.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6692 days ago 545 posts - 546 votes 4 sounds Speaks: English* Studies: French, Arabic (Written) | Message 64 of 140 16 August 2007 at 6:07pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1 person has voted this message useful |
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