Here's the thing, I really think that the name Esperanto is kind of a turn off. It sounds like the name of a coffee brand and not the name of such an awesome language. After all it was never meant to be called that. The original name was "Lingvo Internacia". I understand that the old name was probably to long or to hard to remember and that is probably why it is now called Esperanto. I just think maybe we should find a new name, (one that might help attract people instead of making them laugh). I am interested in hearing everyone's thoughts and ideas on whether you think the name should change or stay the same. Also please remember this is just for fun, so please don't be upset that I brought up the topic.

Hi,

well, since Dr. Zamenhof was a Polish Jew, he "had to use" a pseudonym when he published his work. Dr. Esperanto is a nice pseudonym, it means the one who has esperanza (sp.), esperance (fr.), hope (en.), Hoffnung (ge.).

Well, hope is what he had when he developped "his" language for all the people in the world. And hope is one of the most important human emotions.

Also, even my parents know what Esperanto is, they never heard the word lingvo internacia...

So I really prefer Esperanto, although lingvo internacia also sounds nice to an esperantist.

Geraldo

I think it's a bit late to change it now. I see it like a "brand name" - if you change it, you have to start out fresh with publicizing it. There are many people who have heard of Esperanto but don't really know what it is. If the name were to change, you'd have to tell them something like "Have you ever heard of Lingvo Internacia? No? Well how about Esperanto? 'Lingvo internacia' is Esperanto's new name..." etc, and go on from there. It seems unnecessarily complex. I think Esperanto sounds fine anyway, I don't have strong feelings about it one way or the other.