Re: Settling an Argument - Assembly *IS* a Language, Right?


Christopher Culver wrote:
"Raymond S. Wise" <mplsray@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
On the question of language, many Esperantists have a great interest in
other languages, including most of the Esperantists I have had
conversations with.

So why is Esperanto the only language heard at Esperanto conventions?
Why are Esperantists not permitted to practise other languages with
their friends, reserving Esperanto as a handy backup? Why, during my
days in the movement, was I repeatedly told by well-respected E-ists
that Esperanto is the only language permissible between two fans of
Esperanto, even if they share the same native language or are curious
about each other's native language?


Well, when I attended the World Congress in Stockholm in 1980, I *did*
speak other languages, namely French and English, with a couple of
people, although I had started speaking with them in Esperanto. But the
main point of an Esperanto convention is to speak Esperanto. In some
cases, as in mine at that time, the convention (or other, regional
conventions) is the only opportunity an Esperantist gets to speak the
language. I was not until years later that an Esperanto conversation
group started here in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area.

I attend French conversation groups here as well. There are many people
in these groups who speak other languages besides French and English,
but people rarely speak those other languages in the groups because the
point of the groups is to speak French. We also tend not to speak
English. One group once had a bowl in the middle of the table, into
which a person had to put a quarter if he started to speak English.
That was before I joined the group, but it is still quite rare in that
group to hear English spoken. And in one other group we tend to avoid
speaking English until the last half-hour or so of the meeting.

You get better at French by speaking it. You get better at Esperanto by
speaking it.


--
Raymond S. Wise
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA

E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com

.

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