tommjames:

Alkanadi:Does the 10,000 hour rule apply to speaking Esperanto?

No, but that's because it doesn't apply to anything. The "10,000 hour rule" is complete nonsense.

In any case, as others have mentioned the amount of time required to reach "world class" (whatever that means) proficiency in Esperanto depends a lot on factors which are unique to each person, so IMO it's pointless trying to put a number on "what it takes".

I don't think the 10,000 rule makes much sense either. In the video, they claim that talent is completely overrated and that talented people actually practice far more than those condsidered average. I think that your personality avsolutely matters in this context. If you're interested you'll learn quicker! Sometimes people tend to naturally be better than others at certain things! Of course practice is also important.

Having said that, I do believe that there are people who are capable of learning ten or more languages, while others find even their mother tongue difficult! That's why I like Esperanto. Even those who struggle with language in school can learn some basic Esperanto, and find a way to communicate with the rest of the world.

SPadern:

tommjames:The "10,000 hour rule" is complete nonsense

If you're interested you'll learn quicker! Sometimes people tend to naturally be better than others at certain things! Of course practice is also important

You are right. I agree. The 10 thousand hours thing is just a rule of thumb and certainly not a guarantee for success.

Does anyone know when Renato Corsetti started learning Esperanto?

Alkanadi:Does anyone know when Renato Corsetti started learning Esperanto?

According to this page he was about 20.

Another factor that is both a blessing and curse is that there is no standard, customary way to express many ordinary concepts, which means that different Esperanto writers and speakers can say the same things in several different ways, all of which will be grammatically fine and understandable--or at least decipherable (I.E. you can figure out what they meant)

So true, Polaris.

And here's an example. I don't know if mariners have another expression but anybody who lives on the coast, as I do, will say 'fog horn', and perhaps sailors do as well.

Now in Esperanto this could be brum-sireno, nebul-korno, or various other combinations or brum, nebul and avertil, siren, korn, hup. (The international 'klaksono' would seem to be unavailable to Esperanto because of the coincidence with klak-sono)

Even such an ordinary thing as a supermarket may be variously supervendejo, superbazaro, supermarkto, magazenego, or even ĉiovendejo.

tommjames:The "10,000 hour rule" is complete nonsense.

Thank you for pointing me (well, not me specifically) to this book! It looks very interesting.

Alkanadi:For example, how long did it take Dr Benson, Claude Prion, William Mann, and others, to reach this level of fluency?

In La Bona Lingvo Claude Piron mentions having learned it in his early teen age years or even earlier, I don't remember.
One peculiar thing about his experience is that he learned it from a single book found in his parents' attic. He then spoke it several years with his brother and they would never use a dictionary (which they didn't have), forming all the words they needed through root-combination. Going several years later to his first Esperanto convention, he was shocked to find out that many Esperantists would use a lot of European loan-words, which his own experience had shown to be unnecessary. He later found out that this then heavy reliance on loan-words was also detrimental to Asian learners.

SPadern:I don't think the 10,000 rule makes much sense either. In the video, they claim that talent is completely overrated and that talented people actually practice far more than those condsidered average. I think that your personality avsolutely matters in this context. If you're interested you'll learn quicker! Sometimes people tend to naturally be better than others at certain things! Of course practice is also important.

I found it best to attend E-o youth meetings where it was clear that I also will meet folks who have same native language like me. So, all time I have some kind of comfort zone out of from I can explore esperantujo onsite.