robin1234

What a place. I was in the south once, driving through to Florida. The only thing to be said in favour of the south is those all you can eat chain restaurants on the highway. The foods not very good, but there's lots of it.

SultanOfSwing

So far my only experience with the South is a short stay in Kentucky, down by Mammoth Caves. I quite liked the scenery but had very interaction with the locals beyond park rangers, given that Cave City is essentially a resort town. I did go to a Walmart in Glasgow but didn't really pay much attention to what was going on.

robin1234

Realistically, I suppose Esperanto's chances were killed off by the rise of English as a world language. Also, it is much too Eurocentric, which is understandable given that it was developed in the 19th century.

Quite a few radio stations broadcast in Esperanto, and of course there is plenty of web content in Esperanto, blogs etc.

Steve_

If only it were that simple, the wine gallon (US) and ale gallon (similar to Imperial) were both in use in the British Empire but the UK standardized on a modified ale gallon in 1824. The wine gallon continued in the US.

In detail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallon

Pulaski

Well it would have made literature, theatre, and films difficult, and poetry and dong writing just about impossible. The effect of a massively reduced number of single-use words would be reduce verbal and written communication to barely more than a computer program devoid of emotion and nuance. IMO It is no wonder it didn't take off, it was a doomed prospect from the outset.

Steve_

But isn't that what America has done to English?

When I'm in the UK people come out with all kinds of words that I have a hard time wrapping my head around, living in N America appears to have reduced my vocabulary. Someone mentioned "fly tipping" to me and I hadn't got a clue what they meant, and that whole "chav" thing too.

If you use words of any complexity people look at you as if you're from another planet. Like "optometrist" (eye doctor) or "restaurant" (eatery). You know, hard stuff like that.

robin1234

Yes - there are novels, poetry and films created in Esperanto, but remarkably few.

Sally Redux

I thought the point of it was to use as a second language allowing easier communication between speakers of different first languages.

Pulaski

So it's equally difficult and inconvenient for everyone. Great idea!

Pulaski

I am surprised you seem unaware of one explanation for the failure of Esperanto to attract more speakers, that I read about when I first heard of the language back in the early 1980's, which was that what makes a language appealing is the writing and performance art that uses it. Esperanto, famously, doesn't have a word for synonym, because there are none in Esperanto, which makes writing interesting poetry and essays virtually impossible, especially when coupled with the very limited vocabulary.

Esperanto is a basic communication tool, designed for optimum efficiency. So while the complexity and beauty of the writings of Shakespeare make for compelling theatre, watching a plumber using tools is generally not considered to be a interesting evening's entertainment, no matter how well the tools are designed or the skill with which he uses them.

robin1234

Er .. What? I really don't get this bit. What did I write that made it seem I'm unaware of that? I agree 100% with what you wrote in this post .....

robin1234

Also, wasn't the idea (at a time when French was the language of diplomacy) to have an artificial medium for international conferences and treaties etc., that wouldn't privilege one nation above another. A bit of an anachronistic ideal from today's point of view, since it is derived from the major European languages and written in Latin script, and doesn't include non European language elements, as far as I know.

Pulaski

I wrote: And you responded, in contradiction:
I took that to mean, in saying there are works of literature, though "remarkably few" that you didn't that as a fundamental impediment to the success of the language.

Sorry if I misconstrued your reply.

robin1234

I wrote; "Yes - there are novels, poetry and films created in Esperanto, but remarkably few."

Which I intended as agreeing with, and indeed reinforcing, your point. How you could take a simple one sentence statement as a response in contradiction ..

Of course, if we both learnt Esperanto, we could communicate with absolute precision and no danger of nuance or misunderstanding!

Pulaski

Well (at least) one of us won't be learning Esperanto this side of Hell freezing over!