How come this thing isn't in English?

James wrote me recently and suggested that I provide both English and Esperanto versions of my posts here. It'd give me a bigger audience, he said, which is certainly true. But I thought I might address that request and explain why I don't really want to do that.

Esperanto is a planned, constructed language designed for use as a culturally and politically neutral "hip pocket" international language. Because it is constructed -- 16 rules of grammar with no exceptions, phonetically spelled, etc -- it is up to four times easier to learn than "natural" languages. English has a zillion exceptions to its rules and is ferociously difficult to learn, French has a zillion declensions and my eyes cross just trying to review them, some African languages have no rules for things like the formation of plural nouns, requiring you to memorize every single plural noun.

I like the idea of communicating with people all over the world; I do not, however, like the idea of spending two to six years -- or more -- learning a language just to speak it badly. And I don't like the idea of repeating this process for multiple languages. I don't have that much brainspace! And I don't have the time to spend a year immersed in it and learn faster that way. So why not just sit back and demand that anyone who wants to talk to me do so in English?

When I talk about Esperanto, I frequently get told, "I hate to break it to you, but English is the world language." "No," I say. "Bad English is the world language." I really dislike trying to communicate with people who don't know English very well, because I don't understand them, and I know it's got to be much, much more frustrating to them to be unable to make themselves understood. English speakers act as if learning English is as easy as learning to walk upright, and this isn't the case. It's hard. There are whole universes inside the heads of millions, billions of people out there, and I can't touch any of them because we don't speak a common language with equal, fluent facility. This sucks.

Add to this the sociopolitical problems: many countries have political or cultural objections to accepting English as the only international working language. And many have a fear that English will supplant their own language, with the attached cultural baggage subsuming their own traditional cultures.

Esperanto is an astonishingly obvious and simple tool. It's easy to learn, it doesn't come attached to any culture or ideology other than the idea that, gosh, if people could just talk with one another, the world would be a better place. But the only way to get it going is, well, to use it. You can talk 'til you're blue in the face about the idea and how good an idea it is, but the vast majority of people and governments will not sign onto the idea until it becomes advantageous for them to do so.

This web page is my small way of trying to advance that agenda. I don't think that what I have to write about is very intereresting, but if you do, you just have to learn Esperanto. Sorry. I won't give you the English crutch. Go spend a half-hour looking Esperanto over and I'll bet you a Coke that you'll understand the majority of what I write. Heck, you'll probably be pointing out my errors. :)

Oni trovas la plej strangajn aferojn...

Mi lastatempe revenis de ŝipvojaĝo al Newport (Ŝtato de Insulo "Rhode") kaj Halifakso, Nova-Skoto. Mi tre ĝuis la vojaĝon, aparte la vizito al Halifakso, ĉar mi finfine iĝis la kuraĝon skribi al nekonantajn Esperantistojn. Mi trovis la paĝon de la Esperanto-Rondo de Halifax-Dartmouth kaj aranĝis renkonti la grupon en loka restoracio. Kaj jen -- Bob, Shelley, Steĉjo, Connie, kaj Kim renkontis min kaj kunŝipuloj kaj bonkore bonvenigis nin. Ni havis tre agrablan kunveneton kaj ili donacis al mi multajn legaĵoj, inkluzive kopiojn de "Inter Ni" (ĵurnalo) kaj bonega libro nomiĝas "Esperanto", pri la movado de la Internacia Lingvo, la historio de Esperanto, ktp.

Mi skribos plu pri la vojaĝoj, kun bildoj, pli poste, kvankam mi tuj volas dankegi la Rondon por sia mirinda kuneco kaj ilia infekta entuziasmo por Esperanto.

Aliateme, kiam mi vagadis hodiaux vespere sur la Reto, mi trovis ion pri kiu mi devas skribi. Ĉu vi iam ajn scivolis pri la internaj funkciaĵoj de la Magia 8-Pilko? Nu -- estas havebla priskribon de sekcumo de Magia 8-Pilkon, anglalingve. La paĝaro ankaŭ trajtiĝas anglalingvajn instruaĵojn por personigi Magian 8-Pilkon. Mi volus kreii Mararmean Version de la Magia 8-Pilko:

• "Eble -- demandu al Ĉefo"
• "Respondo neklara -- tempo por plia kunveno"
• "Ĉu ĝi estas sur SERT?"
• "Igu papereton"
• "$@%* @#$#*!!"
• "Ne. Er...kio 'stis la demando?"

Kial vi ŝanĝi ĝin?

-- Se iu ajn volas elangligon de la instruaĵoj, bonvolu peti min. Kia trezoro devus Esperanten!