Esperanto/Introduction

From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection

Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

[edit] What is Esperanto?

Esperanto is a language, but not of any country or ethnic group: it is a neutral, international language.

[edit] Origins

The basic rules and words of Esperanto were proposed by L. L. Zamenhof at the end of the 19th century. Within a few years, people started learning it and formed a worldwide community. Since then, Esperanto has been in use just like any other language. Although new words are added when required, the structure of Esperanto is to remain, unchanging, forever, as published in L.L. Zamenhof's Fundamento de Esperanto.

[edit] Characteristics

Esperanto has a very regular structure. Words are often formed by running other words together, so there are fewer words that must be learned. The language is highly phonetic; you can determine the pronunciation from the spelling and vice versa.

Most Esperanto words are similar to Latin, Germanic and Slavic words. However, Esperanto is not just a mixture of those languages, but also an original language. In several respects, the structure of Esperanto is actually more similar to non-European languages than to European ones.

[edit] Why should I learn Esperanto?

Esperanto is most useful for neutral communication. This means that Esperanto does not favour a certain people or culture, and promotes an atmosphere of equal rights, tolerance and true internationalism. This can be seen in Esperanto conferences, books, magazines, music, the Internet, and even in private and family life.

Young people especially can have very meaningful experiences using Esperanto: by staying as a guest in private homes abroad and making direct contact with their cultures, having fun at international festivals, gaining knowledge and skills at seminars, coming in contact with several foreign languages and learning more about them, and eventually actively working with TEJO and gaining valuable experience.

Esperanto is also an excellent way to introduce children to foreign languages. Since Esperanto comes from many languages, the rules are simple and few, conjugation is almost non-existent, and there are no exceptions to be memorized, it can serve as a starting point for young students to pursue other foreign languages. After having mastered Esperanto, learning French, Spanish, Italian, or countless other languages becomes much less intimidating.

[edit] What can I do with Esperanto?

There are many ways to use Esperanto. Imagine backpacking across the world. With the Pasporta Servo, you can stay with locals all around the world (over 1350 homes in 89 countries) who host other Esperanto speakers for free. The hosts get the pleasure of meeting people from around the world, and travellers get free lodging.

There is an Esperanto event happening, somewhere around the world, every day of the year and they are more than just people speaking Esperanto. During the day you will find everything from interesting lectures to massage classes. The night comes alive with drinking and dancing. The Universala Kongreso draws anywhere from 2000-3000 people. The largest annual youth gatherings are for anyone under 30 and are attended by 200-400 participants. Whether you are looking to get to know people from around the world or are interested in an international romance, these conferences are a great place to meet others.

You can also use Esperanto right from the comfort of your home computer to enrich the way you experience the Internet. At gxangalo.com, you can get your world news from a politically neutral source. You can also use fora, discussion lists and chatrooms to hear the local point of view. Read the deep thoughts and everyday experiences of people living in exotic countries in their web logs. Downloading MP3 files is a different experience in Esperanto due to the vast number of cultures creating Esperanto music. Whatever your interests you will find something for you in Esperanto.

[edit] Who is this book for?

This book is for everyone who wishes to learn, and become an esperantist, or learn about the language that is Esperanto. This book would also be suitable to someone who is just starting to learn Esperanto and is looking for an introduction.

[edit] How to study Esperanto

Aside from this book, there are many ways to learn Esperanto:

[edit] Courses and books

They exist in most countries and in many languages. Because Esperanto is easy to learn compared to other languages, you can also learn it with a book or online. Examples of online courses:

[edit] Contact

You might be able to find a group or association in your city or country (addresses and other contact information can be found at Esperanto.net

[edit] Links:

[edit] How to use this book

[edit] Dialogs and texts

Throughout the book you will find several dialogs and texts in Esperanto, usually accompanied by a vocabulary list of new terms that you should learn. You should memorize the terms, and read over the text and/or dialog until you understand it. However, don't "over-analyze" the text, especially if you are a beginning esperantist.

[edit] Exercises

There will usually be at least one exercise per chapter. Follow the instructions to complete the exercise, and then check your work.

[edit] A word of advice

The most important thing is that you keep with it. If you take several minutes to practice Esperanto each day, you will learn much better than if you go through several chapters in one evening and don't use Esperanto at all for the rest of the week.

To begin, read the pronunciation guide or, continue directly to lesson 1 below.

Bonan ŝancon!

<< Back to table of contents
Continue to Lesson 1 >>
Retrieved from "http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Esperanto/Introduction"