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Does anyone know anyone who speaks Esperanto and does not speak English?

by Jonatano, February 3, 2016

Messages: 21

Language: English

Jonatano (User's profile) February 3, 2016, 11:43:25 PM

I'm just curious as a response to the idea that English is the global language. Thanks.

robinvdv (User's profile) February 4, 2016, 12:06:38 AM

Most people do indeed speak the English language, especially on the internet, but you should also remember that there are also lots of people who can express themselves a lot easier in Esperanto, than they could ever express themselves in English. This fact is often overlooked when some people ask this question.

Evildela (User's profile) February 4, 2016, 12:23:09 AM

Jonatano:I'm just curious as a response to the idea that English is the global language. Thanks.
I know a fair few. Every time I make a video in English on my channel without Esperanto subtitles I'll get a fair few complaints of "I don't understand English why are there no subtitles?".

Demian (User's profile) February 4, 2016, 7:53:35 AM

Jonatano:I'm just curious as a response to the idea that English is the global language. Thanks.
I can think of one Li, who spoke Mandarin and Esperanto. Her English skills were non-existent.

Then there is Boris from Russia, who speaks Russian, French and Esperanto, but no English. But he recently proposed that he could help me in Russian if I assist him in his English studies.

Also, there is one Diana, who speaks Russian, Esperanto and a little Hindi. We have been in contact for more than 2 years, but I have never seen her speak even a word of English.

A policeman from China comes to mind. Also a stay-at-home mother. Hey! How can I forget a lady from South Korea! I confess that she is trying hard to learn English, but when we met some three or four years ago, she spoke only fluent Korean and Esperanto.

I am sure if I think over it, I can come up with the names of at least 10 people who speak Esperanto but little or no English.

So yeah!

johmue (User's profile) February 4, 2016, 8:44:39 AM

Jonatano:I'm just curious as a response to the idea that English is the global language. Thanks.
I know quite some who speak Esperanto fluently and can't communicate in English. And I know a lot of people who speak English fairly well and Esperanto far better.

Bemused (User's profile) February 4, 2016, 12:30:40 PM

World population: 7.4 billion Source

Number of English Speakers (Level of fluency not mentioned): 1.5 billion Source

Which means roughly 4 in 5 of the world population has zero ability in English.
So English has a long way to go to be "the global language".

Kirilo81 (User's profile) February 4, 2016, 12:47:05 PM

My two cents on this:

Demian (User's profile) February 5, 2016, 3:38:08 AM

Kirilo81:My two cents on this:
+1

bryku (User's profile) February 5, 2016, 6:29:48 AM

Jonatano:I'm just curious as a response to the idea that English is the global language. Thanks.
Me. I don't speak English but I speak esperanto.

Matthieu (User's profile) February 5, 2016, 10:44:45 AM

Few people in Europe speak absolutely no English, but I know a lot of Esperanto speakers who are better at Esperanto than at English (including me). Some of them have good Esperanto and poor English.

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