Falling in and out of love with Esperanto | Letters
Readers respond to a long read article on the international auxiliary language EsperantoRe Katie Thornton’s article (Nudists, peaceniks and freeloading travellers: the people keeping the Esperanto dream alive, 28 July),...
By Guardian Staff · The Guardian Opinion
Readers respond to a long read article on the international auxiliary language Esperanto Re Katie Thornton’s article ( Nudists, peaceniks and freeloading travellers: the people keeping the Esperanto dream alive, 28 July ), Esperanto was an important initiative and the aims were creditable. The concept of an international auxiliary language (IAL), a neutral means of international communication without “bigger” languages dominating “smaller” ones, and one which was easy for anyone to learn, is sensible. Unfortunately, Esperanto has sufficient linguistic flaws that promoting it risks making adoption of an IAL less likely. Its many problems include the complicating use of diacritics, a sound structure which causes serious pronunciation difficulties for people from some linguistic backgrounds, and the choice of root words. Continue reading...