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Learn Esperanto in a few days

by Bemused, December 22, 2011

Messages: 17

Language: English

hjhj (User's profile) December 23, 2011, 12:35:23 AM

I think it is certainly not an exaggeration to say one could learn the entire grammar of Esperanto in a few days, but then again, I've been studying for six months and still don't understand all the rules. But for someone with a background in Latin, I wonder if a week of intensive study would leave them able to communicate on a very basic level.

And for someone already proficient in three or four Romance languages, wouldn't reading the language be fairly easy?

ludomastro (User's profile) December 23, 2011, 3:52:19 AM

My reading comprehension continues to improve as my vocabulary expands. There are a few times that I have to stop and think about it for a minute but can usually puzzle out the meaning. I have nowhere near that ability with writing let alone listening or speaking.

I'm a native English speaker and fluent in Spanish. I've been tinkering (2 hours a week at best) with E-o for about six months or so.

sudanglo (User's profile) December 23, 2011, 1:42:27 PM

If I recall correctly my own experience (I became an Esperantist over 50 years ago) I taught myself from Teach Yourself Esperanto and by listening to the short-wave broadcasts of Polish Radio over a few months of about an hour a day on average.

Then I attended an International Youth Congress for a week at which I understood almost everything said to me, but could only reply very haltingly.

I practised speaking a bit with fellow students at the same University and by the end of my second Youth congress which I think was in the Winter following the Summer of my first, I was beginning to feel that I could justify the claim that I spoke Esperanto.

Of course acquiring reading skills is a relatively trivial exercise.

I did learn some French at school, but my ability to put together the simplest sentence without error in that language in a conversational setting with a Frenchman was (how shall I put it?) ridinda kaj ridiga.

sofiankrt (User's profile) December 25, 2011, 6:39:52 PM

lgg:
ludomastro:Out of curiousity which "idiots" would those be?
Academy of Esperanto, of course. Just have a look how its members behave themselves in public, and you will understand.
Care to elaborate?

lgg (User's profile) December 26, 2011, 5:36:38 AM

sofiankrt:Care to elaborate?
Look for messages of Kolker and Mozhaev in various forums and blogs.

Miland (User's profile) December 26, 2011, 12:09:30 PM

For those who don't know, Dr. Boris Kolker, a member of the Academy of Esperanto, was a leader of the Esperanto movement in the Soviet Union, and organised camps for young people in connection with the language.

In the 1990s he moved with his family to the United States, and published a revised edition of his book Vojaĝo en Esperanto-lando, which is the basis of the international advanced course that he runs.

An autobiographical essay (in Esperanto) can be found here.

It is my honour to call him both friend and teacher.

sofiankrt (User's profile) December 26, 2011, 10:04:26 PM

lgg:
sofiankrt:Care to elaborate?
Look for messages of Kolker and Mozhaev in various forums and blogs.
I'm still a komencanto, so I probably won't be able to do that anytime soon.

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