I would like to know if Esperanto exists due to the fact that it would be nice to have a language that makes SENSE. No one can argue that English makes sense, with all it's irregular verbs, hidden vowels, etc. etc. ad infinitum. So I would be interested in this language only if it makes much more sense than English, otherwise it's not worth my limited time... I get a feeling that's maybe the point of why this language exists in the first place, and if so, I'd just like confirmation. The way I see it, Esperanto could be an attempt to blend the world's languages into one, OR it might be an attempt at constructing a language that is easier. Second question before I invest time into this is what will learning Esperanto gain me? If it's purely a matter of then learning other world languages easier, okay but I'll pass. I guess what I'm looking for is where might I ever use it?

Thanks for any pointers! I'm just checking before I sink time into this to see if there might be a return that I'm interested in...
Jeff Knox

p.s. I found translate.google.com:
Mi ŝatus scii se esperanto ekzistas pro la fakto ke estus agrable havi lingvon kiu havas sencon. Neniu povas argumenti ke angla Indas, kun ĉiuj estas malregulaj verboj, kaŝita vokaloj, ktp ktp ad infinitum. Do mi estus interesita en tiu lingvo nur se ĝi faras multe pli sentita ol angla, alie ĝi ne valoras mia limigita tempo ... Mi ricevas senton ke estas eble la punkto de kial tiu lingvo ekzistas en la unua loko, kaj se jes, mi nur ŝatas konfirmo. La maniero kiel mi vidas, esperanto povus esti provo por miksi la mondaj lingvoj en unu, OR ĝi povus esti provo konstrui lingvon kiu estas pli facila. Dua demando antaux Mi investi tempon en ĉi estas kio estos lerni esperanto gajni min? Se temas pure demando de tiam lernante aliaj mondlingvoj facila, bone sed mi pasas. Mi supozas kion Mi serĉas estas kie eble iam mi uzu ĝin?

Dankon pro ajna punteros! Mi ĵus kontrolinte antaux Mi enprofundigi tempo en ĉi por vidi se ili povus esti revenita ke mi interesiĝas in ..
Jeff Knox

http://en.lernu.net/enkonduko/pri_esperanto/kio.ph...
http://en.lernu.net/enkonduko/pri_esperanto/uzkamp...

This website probably has at least some of the information you want if you're willing to do a little looking around.

I like to think of Esperanto as matamatical art, it's highly logical while still sounding and looking beautiful. Hope that helps.

If you are looking for a "perfect" language, you will be sorely disappointed. What you will find is an easy language. (And "easy" and "perfect" are most assuredly not the same thing.)

Esperanto is neither 100% regular nor 100% logical. It's mostly those things, but it is willing to trade away rigid adherence to logic in favor of convenience and ease of use on occasion.

Some people are bothered by that. If you're one of those, it might be wise to move along.

Lojban is an attempt at a purely logical language. It's harder than all get out, and has a speaker base at the lower end of the spectrum. But it's certainly thoroughly constructed.

RiotNrrd is right. However, I find that Esperanto ‘makes sense’ in comparison with other languages in this respect: if you can think of a way of saying something that is logically coherent, then it is generally a correct way of saying it in Esperanto.

When we went to Brazil last year, we met a lot of people through Esperanto. One man greeted us at the airport and took us to our hotel.They guided us around Rio and even held a party for us. This year we are going to Germany. We will use Pasporta Servo to stay with Esperanto-speaking families for free. I have used Esperanto to trace my family history in Slovakia since I don't speak Slovak. Nobody just speaking English would have helped me so much. The Esperanto speaking community is like one big friendship group. We help each other. At Christmas a guy and his girlfriend stayed with us. We showed them around Fort Lauderdale for free, of course.

I'd suggest to inform about other conlangs first. Maybe a language like Lojban fits better for you - maybe not.

FortKnox: I guess what I'm looking for is where might I ever use it?

1) I've already made friends using the language, and I've been able to learn about their culture using a language that neither belongs to their nation or mine. It's neutral.
2) http://www.fluentin3months.com/2-weeks-of-esperant...
3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasporta_Servo

And also, unlike other languages, it's not discouraging at all. The hardest thing about learning national languages is that you feel discouraged when it's been a bit and you still can't speak comfortably. Well in Esperanto, you progress very fast and it's obvious to you, the learner. So I highly recommend learning Esperanto. It's fun. ^_^

I won't claim that Esperanto is 'the most' logical language; it's certainly not. However, it's far and away more logical and easier to learn than any natural language I've encountered. Further, although the community of Esperanto speakers is smaller than that of many other languages, the Esperanto community makes up for that in sheer enthusiasm and friendliness. Lots of people learn Esperanto specifically because they want to be able to meet people from widely different cultures without learning a new language for every new person. No other language can boast such a user base.

It's definitly more logical than English, French or any national language I know...that's the only reason I learned it (my first goal was just to read about few minutes by curiosity and then leave it, but its logicness caught me ^^).

And the good think is that you don't need a lot of time to see some evidence of its smartness by yourself, so just start it, Esperanto makes sense.

But yes, as other said, Esperanto is not 100% logic, and is not even designed for this purpose.