Learn Esperanto first: Tim Morley at TEDxGranta

[@medicalofficermedkip8141]

To be fair, learning some Esperanto has taught me a lot more about proper English than most English classes have.

[@jeneral-jeff8402]

Medical Officer Medkip learn Latin afterward

[@addisonphillips9297]

Dito

[@arcticflower7223]

And how did that happen?

[@homosapien.a6364]

Ya i agree I never knew about the word rapid Which is in esperanto Rapida

[@arcticflower7223]

Indeed? Like what?

[@scivolanto]

Nowadays with the Internet, Esperanto is probably more useful than it has ever been. If you go into a foreign country, it's quite easy to find someone speaking it, through social networks or esperantist sites. But even if I was the only person speaking it, I would still be glad to have learned it, because it's given me such a great insight into what languages and communication are really about. I can only regret that Esperanto is too often presented solely as a project of international second language, what discourages most people to learn it (why learn it if most people don't speak it?).

[@somedude2492]

If you go to a new country and try to communicate with someone, you'll have a better chance at getting your point across if you speak english instead of esperanto.

[@thursoberwick1948]

It depends on your definition of useful.

[@Bahrta_sai]

@@somedude2492 Tio ne estas la okazo ĉie. En Hungario, vi povas aliĝi al Esperanto klaso kiel via necesa 2a lingva klaso, do ekzistas bona ŝanco ke ekzistas multaj hungarianoj kiu parolas Esperanto. In Hungary, you can take an Esperanto class as your required 2nd language class, so there is a good chance that there are many hungarians who speak Esperanto.

[@somedude2492]

@@Bahrta_sai in my small sample size of two hungarians i know, both of them know english and neither of them know esperanto. English is definitely more popular, i think.

[@Bahrta_sai]

@@somedude2492 2 hungarians is hardly a sufficient sample to prove anything. You may be right, but 2 people isn't enough to prove anything.

[@billyk8397]

I’ve been learning Esperanto for 3-4 months now, and it’s very easy to learn. I speak Italian, and noticed how many of the words (particularly the verbs) are practically the same. I can bet that if someone learnt Esperanto first, they’d probably reach fluency in a Romance language in less than a year

[@olivierhullot8859]

I personaly did the experience described in that TED-X video: I have been learning Esperanto for 9 months now, spending no more than 1 or 2 hours per week. I can tell you that I can do much more with Esperanto in such a short time than after 4 or 5 years learning English 3 hours a week at school! Definitely, learning Esperanto opens new ways of thinking about languages! Just experience yourself ;-)

[@Evildea]

Olivier Hullot Totally agree! When I first started studying Esperanto I did an hour every few days for three months until I went to my first Esperanto meeting. Shockingly, I found myself able to converse in the language! Something impossible with my four years of Japanese study.

[@grahammeredith7217]

Yes, the sound itself is a mix of Polish, Yiddish, Latin grammar definitely Spanish All these different sounds/musics open up the mind. With the simple vocabulary and sentence forming is interesting I met a Mongolian woman speaking to a Frenchman in an Esperanto cafe in Tokyo.....fascinating

[@wulvershon]

Olivier Hullot lol I learned french in 5 months

[@chudson8453]

Wul Vershon howd you do it in 5 month I want to learn french but that’s quick ?

[@simonmorgado]

I studied both Esperanto and Interlingua. Esperanto took me about one month. Interlingua about two hours.

[@laverdastelo7488]

This is how I'm trying to help my mother learn English.

[@isaiahdunk753]

Did it work?

[@laverdastelo7488]

@@isaiahdunk753 she gave up on both lol.

[@daverichards308]

It actually makes a lot of sense. It's simple and doesn't intimidate people. Even people not capable of learning foreign languages can learn Esperanto with no problems. Esperanto! Vivi Gxi!

[@zetaconvex1987]

This guy actually convinced me to take up learning Esperanto.

[@KingdomofSmileys]

Ču vi lernis la Esperanton?

[@zetaconvex1987]

Sadly, I lost interest after awhile.

[@KingdomofSmileys]

Mi pensis tion

[@ricksanchez525]

Takes like 10 mins

[@markwootton7414]

Mi kredas je vi. Vi povas fari ĝin.

[@BLARGHALT]

Don't worry; when I conquer the world, I shall declare Esperanto the world language.

[@Shookieofminecraftia]

I'm gonna make it Russian to torture the populous with an impossible language to learn.

[@senorblancolaclau]

Where do I sign up for your army?

[@Evildea]

Blarghalt Can you crown me king? I'll be your puppet controlling the masses on your behalf :P

[@danielz56037]

Tiwaking Tiwaking "Free West"? Obviously you haven't met the NSA...

[@Evildea]

***** Haha jes ja :) Mi plenumos ambaŭ postenojn; reĝon kaj Dion.

[@maryjohnson9337]

I've just started learning Esperanto on Duolingo and already adore the language. I can apply it in everyday life and things I do with little effort, it's so rewarding.

[@FreakishSmilePA]

How'd it go? I justed started yesterday lol

[@lucasrba]

@@FreakishSmilePA How are you doing with Esperanto guys? I'm a little busy with English and French now but I hope to study it in the future

[@b1789]

@@丛雨线 how are you doing now? i started learning it yesterday and i am already able to understand lots of it

[@ПавелСургутов-о7г]

Students can learn French in three years, if they studied Esperanto in the first year, better than they learn it in four years without Esperanto. If you want to learn several languages, learn Esperanto first, and it will help you. Sorry for my not so good english, I used to learn it first.

[@danexogen]

Your English is great!

[@edgarazevedo1306]

Or you can learn latin.

[@cannedfrootloops7803]

@@edgarazevedo1306 Totally less enjoyable and more discouraging. Source: I tried.

[@Jeeoo]

@@edgarazevedo1306 or you can learn Esperanto and then Latin

[@ricardo53100]

Molodets !

[@ChantalPerezify]

Esperanto's really helped me improve my German. I've improved my German in one year as much or more than I did from taking classes for four years. It really makes you aware of language and so much of the vocabulary is already familiar.

[@Brew020777]

My husband and I speak French, Italian and English at home but my 8 year old has a lot of confusion in his head about languages and struggles to read what is main language (French). I have started learning Esperanto recently with a mobile app and noticed that my son got interested to i. We started "playing with the app" together and I am astonished to see how quickly he picked Esperanto! 2 weeks into 10 minutes of gaming together with the Esperanto app and he is now capable of reading properly, understanding sentences and he even creates words! I am totally sold to Esperanto and how important it is to teach it to young children for mental elasticity

[@stevenqi1571]

Hi, do you mind sharing your app’s name? I want to learn it.

[@Ballykeith]

@@stevenqi1571 A lot of people use Duolingo.

[@stevenqi1571]

@@Ballykeith Thank you very much.

[@adamclark1972uk]

I've always been very sceptical about Esperanto, but this video has actually gone some way to changing my views.

[@bakintoast]

It's honestly almost like a modern day Latin.

[@Maggie-lm8th]

iVulgarThrust Arguably Interlingua has a better claim to being a "modern day latin." It's worth remembering that Latin was never massively spoken, its place was primarily in trade and the writings of nobility (the idea of writing in the people's vernacular was an idea that didn't take hold in Europe until later). The languages spoken by the citizens were the various forms of vulgar Latin.

[@bakintoast]

Magnolia Lautzenhiser Oh gosh, you're totally right ;D. I understand the thing about Latin, it was/is like an acolytic/aritocratic language, I just meant in the way that you're able to put a word anywhere in the sentence without changing the meaning, but you are entirely correct. I had no idea Interlingua was a thing. Thank you kindly for the info :).

[@Donello]

@@Maggie-lm8th You write as if there always had been a diglossy Classical-Vulgar Latin in Roman society, whereas initially they were only two different registers of the same language and began to drift apart only when the written norm became fixed and fossilized.

[@OB.x]

Tim makes a really good point. I was doing some basic research, it takes only 150 hours of studying esperanto to learn it....and over 1500 hours for someone to learn english! Reading some basic phrases, it seems very easy to understand it, as it seems to take basic words from each language that many people already know.

[@samshort365]

Back in my student days I was on a train to Venice with a friend, I spoke fluent English and Italian, he spoke fluent Italian and French, amongst other languages. Anyway, we met two nice American ladies on that train, one spoke English and Italian, the other English and French. We had a great time and no one was left out of the conversation. So, the point I trying to make is that if enough children from many different countries learn Esperanto at school then there may just be many more enjoyable conversations on trains. That alone is a worthy excuse to learn the language and yes, some might say that learning French or Italian or Spanish etc would make more sense, but Tim is right in pointing out that Esperanto is very easy to learn and children, like my young daughters, pick it up like sponges. Besides, learning one language well will almost invariably lead to wanting to learning more languages and even if it doesn't the extra knowledge provided by knowing a second language goes a long way towards the comprehension of others. I studied Latin at school for 4 years and speak a variant of Sicilian fluently, so I pride myself when I jokingly say that Romanian is Latin with a Sicilian inflection because I can read it even though I have never studied the language.

[@mpgnz73]

Just learn English and be done with it.

[@samshort365]

@@mpgnz73 A wise man once said that "skill is not simply knowledge, but the resonance that comes of seeing how different facets of knowledge reinforce one another." Sadly, not everyone can appreciate that, nor are those facets mutually exclusive.

[@neniugrava]

He makes one of the best arguments I've ever heard. As one who learned to play a recorder in elementary(primary) school, I can verify that I play many other instruments now. I also learned Spanish from elementary through high school, but I never speak, write, or read it (and never did outside of class exercises). However, I do believe in Esperanto beyond its use as a recorder, just like the pennywhistle or harmonica are used in professional music.

[@Juan_Laurino]

Hola, yo hablo Español xd ¿cómo te va ahora con el Español?, ¿lo hablaste un poco más?

[@Juan_Laurino]

PD: The Pennywhistle is awesome, i play it and listen to a lot of folk metal bands that use it

[@thursoberwick1948]

I played recorder in primary school and cannot play anything else. I remember the hellish noise it used to make.

[@yltraviole]

Plus, the recorder is used in professional music too! A well-played recorder sounds so beautiful. You wouldn't judge the value of the violin as an instrument by how your five year old nephew plays it, so you shouldn't do that with the recorder either!

[@simonobrien1958]

I agree completely. If the schooling systems were to use reason when setting out their curriculum then this would happen. Until then... He expresses very well also.. If kids were taught by teachers like this guy they would be bilingual by age 12 and then would easily pick up French or Spanish or whatever in secondary school.. What a revolution that would be

[@BigNere]

So I was bilingual from birth ! Esperanto and French... And I never really learn english language... At school I've learned German and Spanish...

[@israellai]

I love Esperanto numbers! They basically chose to go the logical way along with Chinese and friends. What you see is what you read!

[@Evildea]

Israel Lai It's not just Esperanto numbers, but the entire system is very logical!

[@leo523]

yes its the same way of japanese

[@fuitbythefoot]

im still surprised eight is ok

[@cheekybum1513]

Evildea it makes sense, a language specifically crafted to be utilitarian should work efficiently like that

[@universenerdd]

Unu, du, tri, kvar …

[@andrewc3336]

I started Esperanto on Duolingo about a month ago and I can already speak basic Esperanto. It's pretty easy to learn.

[@OBnice777]

is it really? im starting too

[@まどれーぬ-h2x]

I’ve started to learn Esperanto. Mi tre ŝatas Esperanton!

[@b1789]

kiel vi fartas

[@ricardo53100]

Esperanto as a tool to teach grade school children basic grammar is one of the most important reasons to teach this language. All the other visionary hopes that knowing Esperanto will bring the new Age of Aquarius are of secondary importance. Moreover, it gives children self confidence to learn foreign languages.

[@talmdge1]

I started to learn Esperanto a few years ago, and now I've taken it up again. It's fantastically easy.

[@TheOneTrueKaliban]

No more coffee for this guy.

[@96war1]

i can see what the guy is saying it opens up the minds of children because of how simple the language is but in reality where is this going to lead them??? this will be a skill they give up on after schooling 1st they wont have to learn it anymore 2nd theres nobody to speak it with and 3rd there is no esperanto speaking country no homeland what a boring culture/language

[@Sylvianisme]

I scrolled down to write : "No more cocaine for this guy." and found I had been anticipated

[@Ayokalyb]

Sylvianisme In the real world, you'll find that some people are just happy.

[@HojoOSanagi]

The point of it is also to become an international language as it is taught in schools and optimizes mutual comprehension among people in the word. A business and journalism language as well as for just chatting with others. Anyone can easily learn it and it would work a lot easier than everyone learning English. If people get on board in large enough numbers it could go somewhere, but it probably isn't.

[@dugood70]

96war1 First, they may give it up but the skills involved in learning it, as you agree, opens their minds to new things, as well as making it far easier to learn another language and/or advanced grammar because you're being introduced to something different (new neural pathways are being formed in the child's brain). Second: two arguments here, yet the can co-exist. The first is that it doesn't matter if there is not a huge group of people to speak it with because (A) the kids can speak it amongst themselves and with their teachers, and (B) even this small amount of exposure to the language can have many benefits (see first point). The second argument here is that in fact there ARE many people with whom to speak Esperanto, more than there are for many natural languages and up there with many others (examples include Lithuanian, Hebrew, Danish, etc.) if the children choose to further their education in the language. Third, that's one of the most interesting parts: not only is there an Esperanto culture, but it also allows for a huge level of cultural exposure. There are tens of thousands of Esperanto speakers from China, Germany, The US, Japan, Africa (no single African country can claim such numbers), Brazil, etc. So many people from so many countries whose firsthand cultural knowledge is now open to you regardless of whether you speak their language or they speak yours (and everyone can't just learn English: it's one of the most confusing mish-mashes of a language on Earth, making it incredibly difficult to learn, and even those in other countries who can claim some knowledge of English cannot claim fluency, for the most part. You'd be hard-pressed to go into a random country anywhere in the world and find a truly fluent English speaker).

[@katieshea3145]

Only about half a million speak Welsh and yet it's still a prominent language. And at only about 100 years old, Esperanto is a very young language- so it's growing everyday!

[@andrewvernon4664]

I wish that I'd been introduced to Esperanto before I endeavored to learn French. I see so many language parallels! So much of the vocabulary resembles French and English, (Spanish and Italian to say the least) but Esperanto teaches the dynamics of language learning. It introduces languages concepts such as past tense, future tense (quite difficult in many languages) and other grammatical things like modified verbs. It is presented in an easy systematic way that allows people to begin using it within just a few lessons. Esperanto lays a groundwork for language learning. My second language is French, but I have learned more Esperanto in 3 weeks than I've learned in 3 and a half years of French. Esperanto, even if not taken seriously as an international auxiliary language, I believe it should be taught in schools as an elective (at least) like Latin. I am very excited to discover this language as well as the story behind it. I would love a world where culture is maintained while a simple unifying language bridges the gaps. Esperanto is so easy to learn, even easier than toki pona in some ways (look it up if you don't recognize the book and language). I have studied and shared toki pona with friends and family members. It has it's own purpose. But Esperanto seems like a solid solution to the language barriers that still exist as well as presenting a fun and useful language that is as alive and vital as any other. Esperanto should be introduced into schools. This is, however' my opinion.

[@EriksAngel15]

I learned Spanish in high school and college (figured it was the most useful out of Latin, French, and Spanish in high school), and I have found it to be extra helpful in learning Esperanto.

[@louleloup2607]

I'm French, and indeed, I learned Esperanto very quickly. In fact, thanks to speaking English and German and Spanish, and having studied Latin, I knew about 95% of the vocab before beginning !

[@thursoberwick1948]

The correlatives in Esperanto are not easy, yet they form 10-20% of most Esperanto text.

[@albercjo-janapeto3533]

I think the correlatives really are easy, and I had no problem learning them. Only practice is required.

[@CH-yj2kw]

Mi amas Esperanton!! Estas tre facila!

[@axaxlaslas1464]

estas facilega

[@AtlanticGiantPumpkin]

Christian Hackett Jes! Mi amas trovo esperantistojn! Saluton! Pardonon, mi estas komencanto esperantisto.

[@TheJcvargas13]

ankaŭ mi estas komencanto xD

[@FallingGalaxy]

Ha, yay. I've only been learning it on Duolingo a couple of days and I understood everything you said and I'm amazed at how much I am understanding over all.

[@alexmga9303]

Mi povas parli esperanton

[@ChannelRiley]

This is why Esperanto should be taught in Australian schools where learning a language is generally only done as an exercise in learning a language, rather than for practical use in the future.

[@HansTurin]

Mi pensas ke Esperanton estas tre facila lingvon

[@stevekim5383]

+Adam Kolowitz pardonon, sed Esperanto* lingvo*

[@HansTurin]

Steve Kim dammit! Well maybe not then... lol

[@alalexesc]

+Adam Kolowitz vi ĉiam povas korekti/redakti vian frazon :) per eraroj oni lernas, sed ne bonas montri eraran frazon se vi scias la ĝustan. Tiel vi ne misinstruos la aliajn :P

[@pmac139]

I don't know a word of it, and I understood that, so I should think so!

[@cond.oriano4945]

+Adam Kolowitz Jes, tre facila

[@anonymousbaby1970]

Kiel skribis Don Harlow: "I read books from all over the world in Esperanto, subscribe to magazines from all over the world in Esperanto [...], have friends all over the world through Esperanto, and have a much better idea of what goes on in the world than I would ever learn through my English-language newspapers, magazines, or news services. You may not consider this very useful. If not, then I can't argue the point, because your definition of 'useful' differs too much from my own."

[@thursoberwick1948]

Esperanto media is limited in its own way. Yes, I am aware that most translations into English are from particular languages, but you are much more likely to find a translation of something into English than any other languages including Esperanto, except maybe those from their local areas. I own books translated from Estonian, Icelandic, Farsi, Latin American Spanish and Maori.

[@misfitcj8744]

Wow! Why haven't I heard of this until now? I am a knowledge hound, I want to learn EVERYTHING, but learning to speak a second language fluently has proven to be nigh impossible for me. I speak a little Punjabi, can read write & speak enough Russian to order food and get a taxi, and can speak enough Spanish to be the only English speaker in the room and still make basic conversation but this, this Esperanto could be the answer I've been looking for! How do I choose which of my friends to be able to communicate with? My Russian bosses, my friend Puja that speaks Punjabi, or the hundreds of South American people from many countries I'm acquainted with? Yay! I choose all of them now, going to start studying this straight away

[@carsonpiano1]

Ĉu vi nun flue parolas?

[@genticles9981]

Thank you LL Zamenhof for educating our children

[@spookon3s]

I started learning Esperanto last week and i feel as if it is freedom of the mind. The more i learn it the better i mentally feel.

[@Learning_English_Together.]

It has happened a lot of times since your comment. I would like to know more about your opinion. I have been learning English for 1 year and a half and now I am struggling. Is it a good idea to learn Esperanto at the same time while I am trying to improve my English ?

[@EdouardTavinor]

jes mi tute konsentas. kiam mi parolas esperanton mi sentas min tiel malpeza :) gxi estas multe pli facile ol aliaj lingvoj. kiam mi parolas ion ajn alian lingvon mi devas multe pripensi ecx en mia denaska lingvo.

[@alistairmcelwee7467]

I had classes in Esperanto with Tim several years ago - on iTalki (a great app and Internet website). I truly believe that Esperanto is the best language to learn for your first language after your native language. (Great teacher btw). I found Esperanto easy to read but impossible to speak because I've learnt German, French, Latin, Greek,Spanish, & a little Italian. But when you're trying to speak a language made from a bunch of other languages, how the heck do you know which language to use for Esperanto. I have too many possibilities to choose among to figure out which language to pull from to get tue word. Too impossible for me, but if it had been my first language at primary school then my language skills would be so much better than they are currently - in any language.

[@tysonbeighss]

Doktoro Esperanto suggested Italian as the ideal accent for the language.

[@nigratruo]

It is important to note these facts: Esperanto is NOT a simple language. It is an EASY language, much easier to learn than any other. But it is complex in that you can express yourself fully, it is not simplified and less sophisticated and precise than other languages.

[@cspinola11]

This movie presents a very interesting and real experience. Myself began to learn esperanto some months ago and really it is multiplicative! like anyone said in this chat.

[@kemathenga]

He's absolutely right. I did a project once with 4th grade primary-schoolers in Esperanto. We did a short theatre play within four days, it was great!

[@missfhl]

Thanks! I agree with you. Just started to learn esperanto. It's definitely much easier than English.

[@LaPingvino]

Just start with only Esperanto in the lower classes, with no need to keep to it after that, and the pressure will already be a lot lower! It really is a lot of fun to speak Esperanto, much more than even English for the already quite fluent Dutch speakers of it. I am one of the few here who actually manages to get by in French just because of the Esperanto headstart (after quite some terrible french years at school before I learned Esperanto!).

[@NotLimitedTo1]

As an american, I take some offense from these comments. I don't feel righteous or anything I just feel some people are really rude in expressing their opinions. You don't have to be a jerk to get your point across. I want to learn esperanto to further myself in learning swahili. I feel language learning is all about confidence. If i don't feel like I'm accomplishing anything then why continue? Esperanto gives me the confidence and knowledge to learn a new language effectively.

[@HaydenLarsJ]

Mi konsentas kun ĉi video, ĉar mi eklernis Esperanton antaŭ tri jaroj kiam mi havis 12 jarojn, kaj ĝi vere helpis min por lerni aliajn lingvon. Ekzemple, ĉar esperanto havas kelkajn aspektojn kiel hispana, nuntempe mi lernas la hispanan, kaj esperanto tre helpis min por lerni la lingvon. Danku Esperanton!

[@flootzavut]

Jes!

[@anonymousbaby1970]

+Hayden J Saluton! Ĉu vi jam ĉeestis kelkajn esperantajn aranĝojn? Ĉu en via lando, aŭ eĉ alilande?

[@alejrandom6592]

I can´t believe I understood all of what you said, and I have only one day learning esperanto

[@ericmacpherson4009]

@@alejrandom6592 And that my friend is the magic of esperanto

[@ArvindKumar-zd7zb]

Very nice. Mi amas Esperanton. Ği estas tre amabla lingvo.

[@kencollins1186]

Every public speaker has to struggle with a tic, mouth noises, arm movements, even little dances, and the speaker is completely unaware of them. In his case, he's kissing almost every word and sentence. One method for getting rid of public-speaking tics is to get a friend to serve as the audience, and give a speech to them. Every time your tic surfaces, your friend drops a pebble in a bucket. It's quick and effective,

[@SandinoPatricio]

+Ken Collins HAHAHAHA

[@tremwreck]

Ken Collins i

[@erikaberg6457]

Tim. You have got talent, comittment and charm. Love this!!!

[@thursoberwick1948]

And an inability to stay still for three seconds.

[@Lala22-h7n]

I am going to learn Esperanto with my friend whose name is Duolingo. Lol. I think this language is very fascinating for those who like to try learning new languages!

[@cyberia___]

@Bhagya I've only been studying for Esperanto for nearly 2 days and I understood what you said 🤯

[@tomfoley5837]

I have an intermediate knowledge of Latin and German, and speak English and Dutch fluently, (along with the advanced basics of Irish and Spanish) and it is very interesting to see the mix of said languages within the language

[@spicegoblin_]

I learned Esperanto and stopped and I’m relearning it and I’m the first time in my life I actually remember most of the words! I come from a Spanish and English background and I have a basic understanding of Spanish it’s grammar and vocabulary, same with some Russian but I just had a bored summer..... anyways Esperanto is fun and introduced me to the world of Conglings! I’m still relearning Esperanto but soon all go back to tackle Spanish and from what I heard this language helps a lot!!!!!! I even learned how to think in the language!!!!!

[@mertcelik8842]

What do you think about advantages of Esperanto in terms of career?

[@Jaiven]

"Malgranda" - that's actually pretty efficient, genius. I like it.

[@WilhelmDrake]

Vivu Esperanto!

[@markwootton7414]

Dankon al vi, Tim. Kia interesa kaj ĝuebla filmeto! Tre feliĉigas min vidi, kiom da homoj ŝajnas komencintaj lerni Esperanton pro via parolado.

[@tumitaa_konsole]

Learning Globasa, Pandunia, or Lidepla may have similar effects, plus some bonus knowledge about Arabic or Chinese. If you've already tried Esperanto and wants something new, then they are the way to go.

[@Firmus777]

I just started learning it and it's so easy. You can already understand it sort of, you can understand the grammar immediately, if you have a dictionary you can write in esperanto immediately. I just need a few more lessons and someone to talk with in esperanto just to make my head work in it.

[@thursoberwick1948]

Correlatives are horrible though.

[@dtgallagher15]

brilliant. i had never heard of Esperanto, but im definitely learning it immediately.

[@Stechjo]

I did and was traveling throughout Europe staying with Esperantists within 6 months!

[@Kprof]

I will try to learn Esperanto. Thanks guys

[@michaelroth2397]

He co-created it with Zamenhoff even though his name wasn’t recorded in the history books. It’s cool stuff! I posted this info on socials. Thanks for putting this video together!

[@bujinkanatori]

This is BRILLIANT!

[@Justinisinthebuildin]

I just started it, and then spoke in Spanish for an hour or so. It gives you a confidence boost. It makes you think,"Hey, I can actually do this. It isn't that hard. I just let it flow out." It's like a recorder. We don't make children learn how to use them to make a nation of recorder playing enthusiasts. We show them that how to learn how to use an instrument.

[@MsMadvas]

Good video. Another comparison he could've used besides musical instruments are programming languages. Kids also first learn simple programming languages, which they won't use when become pro programmers. They learn it to grasp principles of programming more quickly and it's more fun for them. I guess the same goes for Esperanto.

[@bascostbudde7614]

+Matúš Lešťan Partly. Esperanto remains useful.

[@BigNere]

Absolutely ! Absolute Esperanto restas uzoplena ! Plie Esperanto fariĝos pli kaj pli utilega !

[@yarpen26]

English already serves the "first easy language" purpose while also being awfully useful. And just in advance, I'm tired of native English-speaking Esperantists going out of their way trying to prove how incredibly hard English is compared to Esperanto. Problem is, languages don't exist in a vacuum. Just because Esperanto might _objectively_ have more regular grammar and vocabulary than English doesn't make it easier to aquire when considering the sheer and overwhelming cultural *domination* of English aroudn virtually every single corner all across the globe. How many humans over the age of, say, ten wouldn't be able to tell the meaning of words like "yes", "no" or "OK"? Two percent? Five percent at the most. And almost every single one of them would be the kind you'd be extremely unlikely to ever interact with: some uncontacted tribes in the Amazon or Bedouin elderly who are on their deathbeds anyway. And out of all the _major_ languages out there, English really _is_ the easiest. It shares a good chunk of its vocabulary with some of the most prestigious and widely spoken languages on the planet, such as Spanish, French or German and it has historically influenced countless territories all around the world. The likes of Chinese, on the other hand, might have a comparably simple grammar but they're very inclusive when it comes to both their writing system (shared only partially by Japanese) and vocabulary (outside China it's virtually only Burmese). I'm sorry but English simply trumps all over Esperanto-and any other language for that matter-in every aspect imaginable.

[@BigNere]

Don't worry, I'm sorry, but english is just the worst goobbledygook all around the world I never look !

[@anonymousbaby1970]

@@yarpen26 English is a really easy language, as long as you aim pretty low. :-) It doesn't have gendered nouns, you don't need the subjunctive, it largely does without noun cases, the conjugations are simpler than many European languages... so yeah, for the beginner, it appears to have a lot going for it. And of course in terms of opportunities to practise in so many places around the world, you just can't beat it! However, after the initial burst of progress, learners of English end up on a post-beginner/pre-intermediate plateau that is very very long indeed, and which involves years and years of learning things one at a time. Phrasal verbs (hundreds, nay, thousands of them). Greek/Latin pairs of words that are almost-but-not-quite-synonyms (e.g. "liberty" vs. "freedom"). Words that might work figuratively but not literally (e.g. "profound" vs. "deep"). Pronunciation and word stress to memorise for every single newly acquired item. Idioms that are obvious to native speakers but impenetrable to others. The list goes on. English certainly has its uses, and I'm very happy to be an English speaker. But experience - mine, and that of many many others - suggests that teaching or learning Esperanto goes an order of magnitude quicker than teaching or learning English as a foreign language, if you're aiming any higher than A1-A2 level.

[@michaelroth2397]

It’s very little known or talked about, but my great-great grandfather knew Ludwig Zamenhoff. I’d love to learn it myself. I learned Hebrew and Spanish in grammar, high school and college. Plus, I also have the ability to pick up languages in general and can say basic phrases in languages as “Arabic”, “French”, “Italian”, “Russian”, “Chinese”, Japanese. Primarily these languages.

[@carsonpiano1]

I can provide you with some information on how to learn it. Since youve expierenced learning spanish im sure you would find learning Esperanto much easier

[@michaelroth2397]

@@carsonpiano1 That would be amazing! I actually recorded two famous pop tunes that were translated into Esperanto. You can find them on my KZbin Channel.

[@Efilzeo]

Everything he said is true. Vivu Esperanto!

[@luislastrasanchez3601]

Young people understand that Esperanto will be the second language is the world-wide spoken language and for this reason they are learning it in a short time to show the world the thruth. In my city there are many universities where they teach Esperanto freely. By the way I have a big group of students in the south of the city where the people want to become bilingüal in a short time and so travel around the world freely by the Pasporta Servo of the Esperanto Movado.Be sperantisto and enjoy it

[@woochatming9917]

which city are you in ?

[@GrizaLeono]

Mi ankoraŭ ĉiam ĝuas vian prelegon pri la kialo lerni Esperanton. Mi kun ĝojo rememoras la tempon, kiam mi povis kunlabori kun vi por traduki ĉe OpenOffice! Ĉion plej bonan al vi!

[@carsonpiano1]

Kio tio estas?

[@hullcityafc72]

A case could be made to promote Esperanto as the "new Latin". Whereas Latin is a dead language but often cited as a grammatical shoo-in to other Romance tongues, the advantage with Esperanto is that it serves both purposes - it has the simple grammar and lexis borrowed from a common pool plus an existing community of speakers to communicate with. What's more, there is nothing wrong with teaching children something that is fun, cognitively enhancing and potential motivation to escape (if you are an Anglophone), the shackles of monolingualism.

[@thursoberwick1948]

It isn't the New Latin for 101 reasons.

[@hullcityafc72]

@@thursoberwick1948 would you care to list them?

[@thursoberwick1948]

@@hullcityafc72 No, I wouldn't. There's too many. But for starters Latin was the language of an Empire.

[@hullcityafc72]

@@thursoberwick1948 But this was one of the underlying arguments given by its founder, Mr Zamanek, that Eseranto was apolitical, untainted by power

[@thursoberwick1948]

@@hullcityafc72 I know. Which makes it different from Latin which was the language of church and empire.

[@facilaesperanto330]

Mi amas la esperantan linvon. ĝi estas la lingvo dde mia familio! Dankas al vin por la video! Ĝis l'revido!

[@aviadilo]

I can assure you that Esperanto is a real language! People can communicate with each other just as they can in other languages, except that Esperanto is much easier to learn than national or ethnic languages. Thousands of books have been published in it, lots of songs have been recorded in it, e.g. by the groups Reverie and Kajto, viewable on KZbin.

[@OBnice777]

what makes it easier?

[@thursoberwick1948]

@@OBnice777 Simplified grammar with no irregularities, phonetic spelling, complex words are built up from simple ones etc. It has some weird features but this much is true.

[@がに-k6n]

esperanto: the language where your parents are your father and your woman-father

[@filippocontri8763]

Ahahah this made my day 😂

[@Quisl]

Brilliant way to reduce the vocaublary that is required to learn.

[@Quisl]

***** You want to reduce vocabulary so learners need to remember less words. You do that by adding suffixes or affixes. Some examples: To make a noun female, add "-ino" instead of "-o" to the noun. To make a (non-human and living) thing male add "vir-". To make it plural add "-oj". To describe a collection of things add "-aro" To make a noun an adjective add "-a". To make it a job add "-isto". To describe the offspring add "-ido". With these rules you can create words. Lets say you learned the word for "tree" which is "arbo". Now you instantly know the words for: "trees" - "arboj" "forest" - "arbaro" "tree like" - "arba" "female tree" - "arbino" (maybe in sci-fi/fantasy) "male tree" - "virarbo" "seedling" - "arbido" "someone who works with trees for a living" - "arbisto" Next you learn the word for "sheep" which is "ŝafo". Now you instantly know the words for: "sheep" - "ŝafoj" "flock (of sheep)" - "ŝafaro" "like a sheep" - "ŝafa" "female sheep" - "ŝafino" "male sheep" - "virŝafo" "lamb" - "ŝafido" "shepherd" - "ŝafisto" When you learn all of these rules you can greatly reduce the vocabulary without being less precise. (In fact Esperanto is more precise than most languages, arguably including English) PS. "landscape" and "nature" have different words in esperanto as they mean different things.

[@Parker8752]

The point of Esperanto was never to be the main language of communication for people in any given culture; it was to allow people from different cultures to be able to easily communicate with each other. Basically, the role that English currently plays in many parts of the world, except far easier to learn and not tied to any one culture.

[@negaoctal4628]

father-woman*

[@karlturner9038]

Despite the absense of the practical use and all its artificiality, Esperanto comprises some unobvious, hidden profits. It can be helpful when you start some other European (Romance in particular) language after this. If you are used to English or Swedish structure and vocabulary, it's much harder to get accusomed to French, for example, since the grammar and the word order differ significantly. After Esperanto it's easier to internalize it. If you are already aquainted with English or even master it on a high level, Esperanto will be much easier to learn. It is an artificial language. but after gaining some decent vocabulary you can use it fluently and even creatively after a relatively short time passage. Plus Esperanto is an interesting cultural phenomenon, which is worth preserving and vonveying to future generations.

[@fitzburg63]

Who told you Esperanto had no practical use? People use it everyday, is that no practical use?

[@EdouardTavinor]

do you know of any languages which aren't artificial? i don't know of any which weren't created by humans. the question is - how was the language created? take for example french which is governed by the academie francaise and was only spoken by 20% of french people in 1800. or how about finish which didn't exist until 1900. or nynorsk which was created in the early 20th century. the difference between esperanto and those languages is mainly that esperanto was created to be easy to learn and allow people to communicate easily.

[@Cyallaire]

This means that there are fewer rules to memorize, and few exceptions to the rules. With English the rules are multifarious and broken regularly, so that unncecessary hurdles are placed in the way of children trying to learn to read. This comports with the findings on Esperanto, which I'm sure is highly phonetic. We should regularize spellings in English (not change the spoken form) so it is more like Spanish or Italian, and children are more apt to develop a love of reading, not frustration.

[@anonymousbaby1970]

Beginners in Esperanto often do sound very British, very Chinese, very French or whatever. Over time though, many speakers "gravitate" towards accepted pronunciation norms, such that it's essentially impossible to guess someone's background from their speech. Interestingly, it's also impossible to distinguish first language speakers from competent second language speakers, and it's the only language I know of where that's true.

[@admirallarin]

It is true fro any language. In Esperanto this process is just faster because no Esperanto speakers are ''proud'' of their accent too much and try to neatpick every sound like people in other cultures, for example, in Russian, do.

[@NuevoVR]

he's so passionate i love it! haha

[@AimonsL_oignon]

I can't believe It but i was able to read the French sentence correctly. I am halfway through my Duolingo Esperanto course. Please correct me if I am wrong. The ---------- of the elephant is very big and it's nose is very long.

[@MichelCantigneaux]

The ears of the elephant is very big and its nose is very long. Yes indeed

[@fuitbythefoot]

it's is it is its is possesion other than that 👍

[@AimonsL_oignon]

@@fuitbythefoot omg thanks for helping me find an ancient comment

[@carsonpiano1]

Mi amas Esperanton!!!

[@themonkyunderurbed7462]

turn on subtitles @ 1:34

[@IPOCRI]

Well I kinda get his idea: learn esperanto to understand the concept of language better. So you know how to approach your own or a new one and also have more fun, motivation. But why not a language that is used in daily life, that can also be made into an entertaining way

[@Just.Kidding]

Consider Tagalog. Widely considered the easiest language to learn.

[@daverichards308]

Really? I have studied both Esperanto and Tagalog. 12 hours of Esperanto and I could communicate. 6 weeks in the Philippines and a couple of courses as well and sorry but Esperanto in 12 hours taught me more than months of Tagalog.

[@ronaldonmg]

do you have a source for that claim, Richard? Guinness Book of Records? US Foreign Service Institute?

[@NeoShowa6193]

에스페란토 입문한지 2개월쯤 됐어요. 문법은 한달 정도만에 다 끝냈구요.

[@RantGodOfficial]

audio is difficult to hear on mobile. Very quiet. Using videos on youtube to learn Esperanto. Looking forward to it.

[@homemademovies179]

RantGod u should use Duolingo it's good for learning

[@RantGodOfficial]

Homemade Movies Yup, I've been using it. I oike it.

[@josephquinto5812]

RantGod Use lernu after about 10-15 "stages" on Duolingo. It starts you out with a higher difficulty than Duolingo, but helps you in ways Duolingo can't. You should use both, and write down the words and ask yourself questions. It all helps a lot

[@RantGodOfficial]

Joseph Quinto Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check it out.

[@いつみくの]

I like his way of speaking.

[@aeonls-rp9294]

I am 17 years old. HOW can I learn Esperanto by myself? I haven't got a teacher, I need to teach myself. Is it possible? If so, how can I do it?

[@CROCOfp]

Search lernu . n e t on google. Probably the best way to learn esperanto.

[@aeonls-rp9294]

Thanks man!

[@aeonls-rp9294]

Tim Morley I will try now, I'm on holiday and just finished my last day at work now. Thanks for the answers!

[@XellosTheDragon]

***** Definitely do lernu.net, and possibly use memrise.com for vocabulary if you need it.

[@Privateaccount444]

Try italki.com you Will find a teacher there

[@SantiRodriguezRuiz]

I did this. I was brought up in Spanish with some Basque, started with English while I was at school and had also some Italian and Catalan. Well, it wasn't until I took Esperanto lessons at the university that I really started to master languages in a spectacular way. It helped me a lot to become fluent in English and Catalan, to become really good in Italian and also Swedish. Then I went on learning some Bulgarian/Serbian, Dutch.. It's like learning a tool, that serves you later on.

[@rorypowerbreen497]

I love this guy

[@tenno1981]

Fantastic and exciting video! Thanks for publishing it :)

[@KarlUrbahn]

Does Esperanto make it easier to learn specifically European languages, or can it just as effectively facilitate the learning of ANY language?

[@thursoberwick1948]

Mostly European from what I can see, although the agglutinative aspect, i.e. piling on prefixes and suffixes resembles some languages elsewhere.

[@josevitorr]

Jes! Sed, bonvolu traduki, kaj subtekstigus esperante. Dankon!

[@memully]

Dankon! interesa diskuto

[@linggao2602]

I've been doing Esperanto on duolingo (20 points a day) for maybe two months. Two things cracked me up. 1. Kiel vi fartas? 2. A regular phone is telefono, and a cellphone is postelefono (s with a little squiggle on top to sound like sh), so in Esperanto, a cellphone is literally a "posh telephone". On the topic of the video though, since my first language is Chinese and seeing so many Chinese students struggling to learn English, I couldn't help but wonder if it's a good idea to adopt the method into Chinese classrooms. The answer is, sadly, no, at least not any time soon. My first thought is that Esperanto is more a prototype for European languages and very different from Chinese, so the memorization stage is much longer. But then I realized, that is just a steeper hill and can be conquered, and once conquered Esperanto would definitely be a good intro to any European language. What cannot be conquered is the fact that parents wouldn't be able to see the point of it. They would ask why a school is teaching something that's so useless? Why aren't they teaching English which is what every school out there is doing, and when English is going to be oh so useful for kids when they grow up and look for a job? So until the general public starts to see schooling as self-improvement and broadening of experience, not just knowledge acquirement or job training, this method of teaching languages isn't going to work. Otherwise, I think it's a good idea, definitely worth trying.

[@anonymousbaby1970]

Thanks for your insight. You're right that convincing parents of the value of a subject is often a hurdle to overcome. You could point to China Radio International regularly broadcasting in Esperanto, or that the current president of TEJO (the international organisation of young esperantists) is Vietnamese, or that other committee members come from Japan, Philippines, Nepal, as well as numerous European countries. It's a language that facilitates contact with people from all sorts of backgrounds.

[@alexandriaarmstrong1459]

Well can esperanto be used to help you learn african languages or just languages deriving from latin?

[@jaojao1768]

Well esperanto is mostly based on various european languages, but it can be useful for learning any other language because it gives an easy entry to learning how languages work in general

[@GuillermoPerry]

Swahili it is for me, then!

[@qzg7857]

Fun thing it was made by a guy from Poland soo it have a litlle slavic influenc

[@andyblair8682]

Because Esperanto grammar is so flexible and creative, speakers of many non-European languages have also seen substantial benefits to learning Esperanto first before other target languages (for example, Japan, Korea & China). There should be no difference in your experience with this when learning African languages; Esperanto will help.

[@thursoberwick1948]

Probably not. A lot of African languages have taken words from French, Spanish and Portuguese though. But... Esperanto takes words from English, German and Russian which *don't* descend from Latin.

[@delagum1]

Some place in this lecture I got the idea that a foreign language is best learned by how it is taught. If kids or adults aren't speaking a sentence in day one then it is the way in which it is being taught. That's the problem. Teaching. I can see the need for Esperanto if you live in a community that does speak several languages. But I have found very few situations.

[@regedit33]

11:44 Holy shit, I'm french an I didn't even know how to call a baby rabbit! O_O «Lapereau»

[@danielnoriegagarciaasrock3664]

hahahah

[@BigNere]

Héhé ! Mais faut pas oublier que la tête de lapine n'a pas d'os !

[@EdouardTavinor]

oh la langue anglaise n'est pas facile. "what to call a baby rabbit" et non "how to call a baby rabbit".

[@DylanHunsberger]

Our class did a projector like this and I chose Esperanto too!

[@danahalazme]

the numbers are the same in Korean, which is also a very simple language in my opinion

[@-whackd]

The months also make sense in Korean, unlike Esperanto

[@jb_lofi]

Trying to learn Japanese and Esperanto simultaneously, with about a 7 month head-start on Japanese. The difference is incredibly obvious, as much as I love both languages. (Je peux aussi parler français et étudier depuis l'âge de dix ans. Je peux déjà en dire plus en espéranto.)

[@TUNGTUNGOLIVER]

I am trying to learn Esperanto too. But so far I cannot find any channel here in Hong Kong. Any suggestion? And how long time do normal people need to articulate this language(Is there some country which is using Esperanto?) I would be very grateful if you could solve my concern!

[@anonymousbaby1970]

The official delegate of the World Esperanto Association in Hong Kong is Teck Shiu Lee who lives in Shatin. If you contact me privately I can give you a contact address and phone number. Otherwise, you could have a go at learning Esperanto by yourself at lernu.net/ which is available in English, Chinese, and a dozen other languages too.

[@Lau19K]

Try lernu.net

[@enfantsbilingues]

You will find videos on my blog (Fronte al la vento) which are for children who fluently speak. You might consider that as a channel. Have look at blog-bilinguisme.fr/se-proteger-du-vent/

[@TUNGTUNGOLIVER]

wow cool

[@Dr3w956]

Ng Tung I was living in HK until recently, and now am studying in America XD I too am studying Esperanto. Would you like to be penpals? :D

[@bjornram85]

A lot of this works for teaching sibling languages in different School as well. For instance Norwegian in Swedish Schools or Dutch in German schools.

[@OBnice777]

can i learn this on duolingo? is it really easy?

[@anonymousbaby1970]

Yes, it's on Duolingo, and over a million people have had a go at it in that way. Is it _easy_? I wouldn't say that learning any language is _easy_ as such, but I would typically expect you to make much quicker progress when learning Esperanto compared to other languages. Enjoy!

[@thursoberwick1948]

Not as easy as claimed, but easier than most languages.

[@b1789]

yess it’s so easy

[@anonymousbaby1970]

It depends what you mean by "know" exactly, but in descending order of competence: my native language is British English; at school I did Latin, French, Russian and German, and I've got GCSEs in the latter three; I've now speak French and Esperanto at similarly high levels of fluency; I spent a couple of years in Thailand and did my best to learn Thai there; and I've dabbled with Italian, Arabic, and probably others that I've forgotten just now!

[@esperantomaceio]

Saluton samideano! Gratulon pro la video. Ĉu vi povas aldoni subtekstojn en Esperanto? Ne ĉiuj esperantistoj komprenas la anglan. Koran dankon!

[@anonymousbaby1970]

Ja estas subtekstoj en Esperanto kaj en 9 aliaj lingvoj. Vi devas nur ŝalti ilin per la kutima butono.

[@esperantomaceio]

@@anonymousbaby1970 Dankon!

[@Cyallaire]

Thanks for the link. The regionalisms that are prone to develop have to do mostly with vowel sounds. Esperanto as a second language is liable to be affected by the speaker's native language, treating the vowels is Esperanto in the more familiar manner, I suspect. Regionalisms give the Southern drawl, the New York dropped R's, the style of English spoken in Nigeria as contrasted to the Jamaica version. Over time, that could happen to Esperanto if it catches on.

[@229axb7]

I was learning German for about a month should I stop my studies and take up Esperanto?

[@thomasprofesoraleman]

Not at all. Learn both. :-)

[@HiHello-pl4tj]

Esperanto is easy enough that you can learn both at the same time. I too have been learning german for a bout a month and balancing the two isnt hard. Esperanto is incredibly simple.

[@rudorot65]

i've taken 4 years of German in high school and esperanto seems to be very similar to german in the way of grammar and how every word is read phonetically and there is no special pronunciations of words like in french or portuguese.

[@XellosTheDragon]

Lern die Beide! It only takes about 100-200 hours to learn esperanto, and when going from English to German, its easier to go from English to esperanto to german, because the grammar is easier in esperanto to german.

[@ReidGarwin]

Jes

[@anonymousbaby1970]

I think we might be pushing the languages/musical instrument analogy a bit too far here, but I take your point about the use of Esperanto in the wider world establishing an alternative to what many regard as the hegemony of English.

[@Kenecxjo]

Tim, laŭ mi, tre brile prezentita ! Mi konservos ĝin ! ----Keneĉjo (via samnaskano, dumil dekses !, simple, ĉu ne?)

[@bantorio6525]

... no pierdan el tiempo estudiando esperanto ... el tiempo es oro y es mejor emplearlo estudiando una lengua real de uso extendido como el inglés o el español o quizá el francés u otra lengua específica si es que vas a trabajar o vivir en ese país ...

[@unquietthoughts]

Oni ne perdas tempon lernante esperanton. Esperanto kaj lerni ĝin ebligas larĝigi sian penson kaj mensmondon. Kvankam estas "nur" du milionoj parolantoj de esperanto, oni povas trovi ilin tutmonde: en Japanio, Usono, Pollando, Brazilio, k.t.p. Ni ne malsukcesis, sed ni kreskas.

[@dylanv1994use]

Yo he estado aprendido inglés por 3 años y medio, considero que tengo un nivel intermedio (suficiente para dar clases de Español siendo profesor informal a estudiantes que hablan inglés como idioma extranjera), y a pesar de que de vez en cuando estudio Esperanto, te ayuda muchísimo a pensar se forma más lógica y a entender palabras de otros idiomas. Intenta estudiar 3 meses Esperanto unos 25 minutos y me cuentas si piensas lo mismo que comentaste 😊