Starting Esperanto...?
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I'm interested in learning Esperanto, and I have a couple of questions (if anyone here speaks Esperanto, that is)--
A) Is it difficult to learn for someone only fluent in one language?
B) Would the Wikibooks book (https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Esperanto/Contents) be a good place to start learning it, or is there a better (preferrably libre) source?
Thanks =w=
Lots here :
http://www.esperanto.net/info/index_en.html
https://www.reddit.com/r/Esperanto/
I much prefer native languages , a good way is to listen to 'radio in esperanto'' among the links of the esperanto.net.
Hello! Saluton!
I just happened to look into this Forum section and saw your thread and, fortunately, I am one of those who speak Esperanto, so I hope that I can be of some help to you.
I started learning Esperanto in July of 2015, or about a year ago. At the time, I already spoke native Czech and fluent English. I found it difficult to learn English, but fortunately I was able to assimilate it by using it a lot on the internet.
For Esperanto, I got started with a free/libre program "Kurso de Esperanto" (http://www.kurso.com.br/index.php?en). It's a very nice piece of software that will teach you some basic grammar and vocabulary. I only finished about 3/4 for it, but it's probably better to do it whole. :)
Along with that, I was talking to people on IRC in the channel ##esperanto on Freenode. It's a good place to have a chat, practice the language and find help. If you have any questions, feel free to ask there. It's not always lively, but someone's usually around for a bit.
Finally, I met some local Esperantists in my town and I was given an old Esperanto exercise book, which teaches the complete grammar in several lessons. It was at this point when I learnt the language properly and gained some confidence in my knowledge. I definitely reccomend that you read a book which teaches whole grammar; doing so once you're already familiar with the language could make that easier to do, though.
I am not sure how good the Wikibook you linked to is; it looks like parts of it are incomplete. It might still be useful though. I looked into Gutenberg and found a nice-looking (http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7787). At first glance, it seems pretty comprehensive and it appears to be an old, originally printed book, which means it's probably trustworthy and complete. (At least I am, by default, more trusting towards works someone had to write and publish 60 years back than now.)
I think Esperanto is a very nice and very worthwhile language to learn. So far it's the only language I was able to learn decently even before I got tired of learning, and also one which I actually enjoy speaking and playing with. Therefore I can confirm it's relatively easy and can even be fun. :)
I hope you'll have a nice experience with it! And feel free to ask, should you have any questions.
P.S.: It may be noteworthy that many Esperantists use the messaging network Telegram to talk together. So that's also an option, although it's not one I like or reccomend, since Telegram has some flaws making it a poor choice in my eyes.
Thanks for your tips, Tirifto! I think I'll try the program you mentioned if I can get it compile under LibertyBSD.
I'll join the IRC channel in a few months when I know some Esperanto, too. :)
It's pretty cool how some people in your town knew Esperanto-- out of curiosity (and if you don't mind me asking), what country do you live in?
Also, I haven't seen you around on the forums (maybe I'm just not very observant), so nice to meet you, mate! =w=
Welcome, hope it compiles! (Otherwise you might want to try Trisquel, I heard it's pretty nice.)
You might even want to join the channel earlier that than, since the basic grammar is quite simple and engaging in conversations with only a dictionary becomes viable once you know it. But I guess you'll see for yourself. :)
I live in Czech Republic and there just happened to be a meeting in a small tea, coffee and pancake place here. Actually there was only one other person from my town; the others came from nearby areas, plus one lady who came all the way from Slovakia. It was just a nice informal meeting; usually you can find various clubs or organisations in many countries who also make bigger events. (And of course there's many international events, too.)
Indeed I'm not a very active contributor to the forums. I read them often though, so I do recognize your account. :P And it's nice to meet you, too!
I am also learning Esperanto. (Mi ankaŭ lernas Esperanton.)
As a learner myself, my experience is limited. However, I would say Esperanto is the easiest language for you to learn regardless of your background. The grammar is completely invented, so your experience in other languages would not be much use there. If you know English (I assume you do...) and some romance language such as Spanish, French, or Italian, you will pick up a lot of the vocabulary instantly.
Again, this is limited as someone still learning, but I believe the Wikibooks is a good start. Once you grasp the basic grammar, the main thing is to learn lots of vocabulary with the help of a dictionary.
Yea, I think I'll be using the Wikibooks + Anki + a dictionary. Good combo, it sounds like, to me.
I speak Esperanto too :)
A good idea is http://kurso.com.br. I used it when I was learning, and it helped me a lot! :) It's GPLv3: https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Kurso_de_Esperanto
See also this libre dictionary: http://www.tujavortaro.net/
You can also pop by ##esperanto on freenode.net :)
Edit: Damn, Tirifto gave away all my tips :P
Pardonu picisto :P
I didn't mention the dictionary, but I can join you in reccomending it. It makes for a great companion. :)
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