Bill Chapman

"Is anyone here familiar with this language? And is it still in use? And where exactly is it being used?" Its speakers are scattered all over the globe: Pakistan, Indonesia, China, Japan, Portugal and so on. I’ve made friends around the world through Esperanto that I would never have been able to communicate with otherwise. Over recent years I have had guided tours of Berlin, Douala, Yerevan and Milan in this planned language. I have discussed philosophy with a Slovene poet, humour on television with a Bulgarian TV producer. I’ve discussed what life was like in East Berlin before the wall came down and in Armenia when it was a Soviet republic, how to cook perfect spaghetti, the advantages and disadvantages of monarchy, and so on. I recommend Esperanto, not as a hobby but as a very practical way to overcome language barriers.

I've been using Esperanto for many years and I recommend it. Esperanto was designed, not to replace national and other language, but to serve as a lingua franca for us all. I hope you'll allow me to add that Esperanto celebrated its 125th anniversary a couple of years ago. That's quite an achievement for what started as the idea of just one man. It has survived wars and strikes and economic crises, and continues to attract young learners. If you're interested in Esperanto, take a look at http://www.lernu.net