With the current discussion of collocations on this forum, I though I'd mention another method of language learning I don't recall seeing applied to Esperanto.

Many people think the "grammatical approach" is the old-fashioned way, but in fact in the grand sweep of history it's pretty recent. The older method was called interlinear translation.

Here's an article about it:

The New Old Way of Learning Languages

And here's an interesting youtube clip of Evan der Millner talking about interlinear translations as a way of learning classical Latin:

Latin Interlinear Texts - a forgotten route to language learning

Has there been any project to do any of this in Esperanto? Interestingly, I found some elementary readings in Volapük that use this method:

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Bruso:With the current discussion of collocations on this forum, I though I'd mention another method of language learning I don't recall seeing applied to Esperanto.

Many people think the "grammatical approach" is the old-fashioned way, but in fact in the grand sweep of history it's pretty recent. The older method was called interlinear translation.

Here's an article about it:

The New Old Way of Learning Languages

And here's an interesting youtube clip of Evan der Millner talking about interlinear translations as a way of learning classical Latin:

Latin Interlinear Texts - a forgotten route to language learning

Has there been any project to do any of this in Esperanto? Interestingly, I found some elementary readings in Volapük that use this method:

Reided 1

The advantage of this method is that it offers you permanent lexical assistance while you are reading, thus enabling you to get vast experience of phrasing in authentic texts. In a way Lernu! offers exactly that, by its "tujvortaro", the dictionary here to the right on the page, which is linked to the texts of the library books, and to the Esperanto forum texts as well.

Also, if you use the Google Translate in language learning, you get the same thing. You can move the curser to a specific word or phrase and get some indication of which parts of the speach correspond to which.

As a first introduction to Esperanto for speakers of European languages, the method demostrates both the familiarity and the peculiarities of the language.

I have made an Esperanto course on the Swedish Wikibooks. It is meant for Swedish speakers who already know foreign languages and who are familiar with how to use grammar. It aims at guiding such students very quickly to reading comprehension. One part of this course is a table where Esperanto text and translation run parallell. The text is an article from Vikipedio. The readers will realize that more or less the only thing they need to learn are the correlatives and some few pronouns and adverbs. After taht they can start using the Vikipedio by themselves.

Here in the UK, it is possible to watch a foreign language film on TV with English subtitles.

Of course that is not quite the same as interpolated translations with didactic notes.

On French TV you can often switch on the original soundtrack in English of imported English or American programs and display the subtitles in French.

Unfortunately there are not yet films on TV in Esperanto (with or without subtitle translations).

I wouldn't be to difficult to produce books in Esperanto with interlinear translation. But would they sell? Would there be a market?

Perhaps there is something like that already on the Lernu website. Is there?

sudanglo:I wouldn't be to difficult to produce books in Esperanto with interlinear translation. But would they sell? Would there be a market?

There are many book on demand or self-publishing services out which offer non risk publishing. I.e. Holtzbrinck epubli, Amazon's Create Space etc. Just try it if spare time lets room for.

sudanglo:I wouldn't be to difficult to produce books in Esperanto with interlinear translation. But would they sell? Would there be a market?

I myself doubt that there would be much of a market here in the USA, at least, given that there is so little interest (relatively speaking) in foreign languages other than Spanish. I can go into a general bookstore and on rare occasions might find a "teach yourself" style (not necessarily literally that title) book on Esperanto, but over many years I have rarely seen even such books (or dictionaries). As best I recall, only once in my life have I ever seen a non-textbook in (not about) E-o in a general retail bookstore. (It was Eco's "The Name of the Rose," if I recall correctly [I might not], and foolishly whatever it was I did not buy it then and there). So in my estimation, in the USA there would be little market for interlinears.

lernu used to have some texts in its library that used interlinear translation, the "Frank method". Our new course currently in development, in the relaunched site, follows a grammatical approach, but the text will also be translated in an interlinear fashion, so it will be a combination of an interlinear approach and a grammatical approach. You can see an example of a similar type of course at Deutsch.info (it's free, so you can create an account and look around; this provides you a small preview of how the new lernu might look).

I'm not sure about:

1.) sinngemäß = in turn? = according its meaning? = 'laŭ signifo entuta de vortgrupo aŭ frazo'?

2.) wortwörtlich = literal interpretation? = 'per vorto vorteca'?

Bruso:Has there been any project to do any of this in Esperanto? Interestingly, I found some elementary readings in Volapük that use this method:

I recommend archive.org. I found several book there which teachs Latin and one which teachs Japanese for English speakers according Interlinear translation method.

Rugxdoma:One part of this course is a table where Esperanto text and translation run parallell. The text is an article from Vikipedio.

I believe that doesn't meet it excactly. Probably that translations which run parallel, that translations are 'in turn'- translations. But Interlinear translation aims to be literal interpretation. Someones can see best that at this example.

If I got it right. 'In turn'- translations erase the possiblity to let keep my native language in direct contact to foreign language. 'In turn' translations hinders to think 'native' according regarding foreign language. 'In turn' translations put an new to create intellectual chunk inter my native and my favourite foreign language. Thats not bad to train your brain. But probably that way someones never will get that subconscious language feeling which an native speaker has of regarding language. I remember in basic school we always were enforced to translate 'in turn'.

Disadvantage of literal interpretation seems to be that native speaker could feel that 'Pidgin' translation output not acceptable.

Another point is: Does every native speaker produce same 'Pidgin' interlinear translation output? Obviously not. At regarding Archive.org literature prefaces there casually some scholar criticise that Hamilton's 'Pidgin' interlinear translation are nearly non-understandable.