Al la enhavo
Respondi

Derision, Incredulity And Confusion

de Lynchie, 2010-julio-31

Mesaĝoj: 39

Lingvo: English

Lynchie (Montri la profilon) 2010-julio-31 12:57:45

I would just like to ask, on a humorous note, whether anyone gets despondent when you mention that you are learning Esperanto and you are met with derision, incredulity and confusion as to what Esperanto actually is? I am doing everything I can to promote it to my friends, but the lack of any knowledge of it is very funny to me ridulo.gif

ceigered (Montri la profilon) 2010-julio-31 13:19:35

Well, I don't promote it, but people I've met not knowing it often are genuinely interested, but not really fussed (e.g. they won't panic and go "oh no the world's falling apart because of Esperanto", but they also won't go "Whoah, I'm gonna learn that pronto!"). Some people who do know it tend to go "it's cool but not for me / it's ok but there are some fundamental flaws with the movement" etc, which is normal - the same as if I said "hey what do you think about czechoslovakian?" - "Oh yeah it's cool, but not really something I'm interested in" okulumo.gif.

Only one person I've mentioned it in front of has met it with ridicule, which sort of distanced me from them, not over the Esperanto thing, but because it sort of exposed that they sort of were wearing a personality mask half the time ridulo.gif

Lynchie (Montri la profilon) 2010-julio-31 13:27:25

Lol, I know what you mean. I've only really been learning it a week, and I guess I'm still in the "my God, this could change the world, if only other people understood how great it is" phase. I am sure my enthusiasm for trying to promote it will fade in time, but I hope not my enthusiasm for the language.

Akwino (Montri la profilon) 2010-julio-31 14:11:43

Lynchie:Lol, I know what you mean. I've only really been learning it a week, and I guess I'm still in the " this could change the world, if only other people understood how great it is" phase. I am sure my enthusiasm for trying to promote it will fade in time, but I hope not my enthusiasm for the language.
Hopefully not indeed! I was very enthusiastic as a young student and totally failed to get one other person interested in Esperanto. I was also enthusiastic for other world-changing ideas and not much happened there either. Now, as I approach middle-age, I try very hard not to be cynical about my fellow humans, refuse to abandon my ideals and become part of the pack, and content myself with ploughing a number of lonely furrows which all happen to work for me and the folk I share them with.

EoMy (Montri la profilon) 2010-julio-31 14:23:00

Lynchie:Lol, I know what you mean. I've only really been learning it a week, and I guess I'm still in the "my God, this could change the world, if only other people understood how great it is" phase. I am sure my enthusiasm for trying to promote it will fade in time, but I hope not my enthusiasm for the language.
I use this for more time than not

http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Propaedeuti...

erinja (Montri la profilon) 2010-julio-31 14:23:36

I have been pretty cynical for my entire life, so I view the chances of Esperanto ever "making it" in a meaningful way to be pretty much zero.

However, I derive much enjoyment from it as it is today, so this doesn't really concern me.

I did once interest a friend in it enough that he learned it to a degree but now I mainly keep quiet about it.

Lynchie (Montri la profilon) 2010-julio-31 14:53:33

I completely agree, yes. What I think really matters is that we enjoy it and that it enriches our lives. No matter what other people think.

patrik (Montri la profilon) 2010-julio-31 15:00:39

I did promote E-o during my early days, and well, I failed at that. Most of them don't even know about it (unsurprisingly), and that accusation of it being a cult came up once. But looking back at my experiences with fellow "samideanoj" (well, only online, since I had that chance of conversing in it face to face only once), at least, I can say to the critics that it is just as OK as any other language. Hey, consider the kind responses you've received. rideto.gif

Expect ridicule and harsh criticism (which I think is unjust). But as a thread title goes, we do need nerves of steel yet also maintain a heart of flesh. okulumo.gif

Lynchie (Montri la profilon) 2010-julio-31 15:07:51

I would agree with that too ridulo.gif I generally shy away from the status quo, and if Esperanto was more popular I doubt whether it would be as interesting to me. I like that it is a minority language ridulo.gif

qwertz (Montri la profilon) 2010-julio-31 17:14:21

Lynchie:I am doing everything I can to promote it to my friends, but the lack of any knowledge of it is very funny to me ridulo.gif
I know what you mean. But don't feel to excuse yourself for that. Promoting e-o seems to be part of your motivation learning e-o. There are some finovenkisto out who are misunderstanding that. Also someone could say: it doesn't fit to their "e-o movado beliefs". (komuno vs movado). For them somebody has to learn e-o first and then it is allowed to promote e-o. In my case, I took more efforts to wrap e-o to motivate myself then learning e-o. I'm not that language-talented who picks up a new language in few weeks. Currently I try to motivate myself with "informing" esperantuloj onsite about what local e-o culture I would like have to stay on e-o learning track. In detail that means to find proper accommodation (some more pictures) and youth concert club combination to organize a youth meeting onsite. "Proper" mainly in the sense of mojosa. okulumo.gif

Btw. how to translate "Backstage" into e-o without "mal-" prefix?

Reen al la supro