Looks like it is about time to post this one again...

        A Short(?) Introduction to Esperanto
       (prepared for soc.culture.esperanto)
                   Mike Urban

(This message is intended primarily for new readers of
soc.culture.esperanto who have somehow stumbled across the newsgroup
and have no idea what Esperanto is, or how the newsgroup relates to the
mail.esperanto mailing list.  While bits and pieces were culled from
various propaganda sources, any misleading statements, opinions,
omissions, or errors are entirely mine.)

>>> "Esperanto?  Isn't that some kind of Italian dessert?"

Esperanto is a language, but an unusual one.  It was created only one
hundred years ago by Dr. L. L. Zamenhof, a Polish oculist and gifted
amateur linguist.  Zamenhof believed that many problems in
international relations could be alleviated if all the peoples of the
world could learn a single second language, thus improving
communications.  In order for such a language to be useful, it would
have to meet two major criteria:

	It would have to be *politically neutral*.  A language
	that was already the language of a State would not be
	acceptable to political rivals as an official second
	language.  In today's world, we see a backlash against
	English in many countries.

	It must be easy to learn.  The pronunciation and spelling
	must be consistent, the grammar simple, and the vocabulary
	should be based on the most "international" word-stock
	available.  Americans who have experienced the "fractured
	English" that often accompanies Japanese products have
	a hint of how hard English is to learn.

Zamenhof worked on his language project for many years before he
privately printed and circulated the first book on the language in
1887.  He called the language "Lingvo Internacia," and published the
work under the pseudonym of "Doktoro Esperanto".  In the new language,
"Esperanto" meant "one who hopes" and this is the name that eventually
stuck.

>>> "Oh yeah, I've heard of Esperanto, I think.  But I thought it
>>> was dead!  You mean there are still people who speak it?"

From the seeds of those first few pamphlets circulated by Dr. Zamenhof
has grown a substantial community of Esperanto speakers.  Present
estimates suggest that the number of people who are minimally fluent
in Esperanto is on the order of one million.  Each year, a world
Esperanto convention draws several thousand participants from dozens
of countries in every part of the world.  It might be noted that
there have been dozens of similar language projects during the last
century or two.  Yet Esperanto remains the only such language that has
survived its creator and flourished.

One very modern development is an effort (initially funded by the
European Economic Community) to create a computerized Distributed
Language Translation system to translate documents among the various
European languages.  This system uses an electronic dialect of
Esperanto as the interlanguage between the source and object
languages.

>>> "So there are magazines and books and stuff?"

Certainly.  There are dozens of regularly published periodicals in
Esperanto, ranging from "underground" humor (`La Kancerkliniko', from
France) to science and technology (`Fokuso', from Hungary).   There is
also a substantial body of literature in Esperanto, both original and
in translation.  Some of the original Esperanto literature is genuinely
worthwhile on its own merits, and some of the translated literature has
never been published in English.

>>> "You'll never be able to replace French, Spanish, and all the
>>> other national languages with Esperanto!"

Right!  Esperanto is not intended as The Universal Language.  It
is intended as Everyone's SECOND Language.

>>> "But isn't English the REAL universal language?  Why should I
>>> spend my time with this language when everyone speaks English?"

At the moment, Broken American English is becoming widespread as the
language of business and commerce, and will continue to do so as long
as the United States remains reasonably prosperous, just as French was
the international language of diplomacy and scholarship for many years.
For an American abroad, finding a speaker of English is almost always
easier than finding a speaker of Esperanto.  In short, the value of
Esperanto to an American in the modern world is generally NOT a
"materialistic" one.

However, Esperanto is rewarding in other ways:

  It allows one to communicate =as an equal= with individuals from
  (and in) any nation in the industrial world.  In other words,
  Esperanto represents a kind of friendly handshake, a meeting
  half-way, with neither party having the disadvantage of speaking
  the native language of the other.

  By encouraging communication with people of other nations, Esperanto
  "widens your world," enabling you to get a much more global perspective
  on world affairs.

  The experience of learning a foreign language well, and of starting
  to think in that language, can be most satisfying.  Because
  Esperanto is much easier to learn than national languages, one
  receives these benefits more quickly than with other languages.

Besides, English is a particularly difficult language to learn.
Foreign speakers of Esperanto are generally more fluent in Esperanto
than most foreign speakers of English.  When one attends an
international conference conducted in Esperanto, and sees people from
Poland speaking with people from China (and not having to fumble with
broken English or Russian), the real potential for Esperanto becomes
apparent.

>>> "So what does it sound like?"

Here is a sample: "Inteligenta persono facile lernas Esperanton.  La
internacia lingvo estas simpla, sed potenca kaj utila en la moderna
mondo." The vocabulary is mostly an adaptation of Latin-based roots,
with a substantial helping of German-based roots.  When pronounced with
a "neutral" accent, Esperanto resembles Spanish or a sibilant but
pleasant-sounding (to many) dialect of Italian.  The first sentence
above is pronounced, roughly, as "Een-tel-leeg-ENT-ah pair-SOHN-oh
faht-SEE-leh LAIR-nass ess-pair-AHNT-ohn".

You may also have noticed that you were already able to understand much
of the sample text based on your own English vocabulary.

>>> "You said that it's easy to learn.  How easy?"

Some say between 4 and 10 times easier than other natural languages,
with all their idioms, exceptions, and complexities.  Most people find
that they can study the language casually during their spare time
without an instructor for a month or two, and understand large
portions of magazine articles without having to resort to a
dictionary.  Three-month students of the language can usually read
almost anything (slowly) with the aid of a dictionary.  Fluency in
writing and speech comes more slowly, and of course fluent speech can
only come with much practice.  However, these skills are also acquired
much more quickly than the equivalent level of skill in a national
language.

>>> "So where do I get a textbook?"

You can contact:
  Esperanto League of North America (ELNA)
  Box 1129
  El Cerrito, CA  94530

They have a large variety of instructional materials for sale, as
well as books, magazine subscriptions, and the like.  One recent
textbook, `Esperanto: Learning and Using the International Language,'
is of very good quality.

In addition, Part I of a free postal course in Esperanto is available
from many sources, including some Internet FTP sites.  You can print
out this lesson, do the Exercises, and send it in (via US Mail) to a
grader, who will then send you Part II, etc.

For owners of Macintosh(tm) computers, a HyperCard(tm) stack
containing a complete beginner's course in Esperanto is available
through a variety of sources, including CompuServe, ELNA, and
Internet anonymous FTP.

>>> "And soc.culture.esperanto?"

Soc.culture.esperanto is an Internet-based news group that
is linked to the public access mailing list mail.esperanto.
It is intended as a forum for discussion about (and, preferably,
IN) Esperanto.  Articles posted to the newsgroup are automatically
forwarded to about 100 additional readers who do not have
direct newsgroup access; when mail is posted to the
mailing list address, the message is automatically forwarded
to the newsgroup as well.  

The newsgroup and mailing list require YOUR participation for
their success.