An opportunity to learn a global language
JOBURG – Here is an opportunity to learn one more language.
The Johannesburg Esperanto Society is presenting an introductory Esperanto course starting on 7 May in Parktown and is inviting community members to join.
Esperanto – is it Spanish? This is said to be a common question when people first hear the word.
Johan Kohler, secretary of the Esperanto Association of Southern Africa and also a teacher for the course said, “No, it is not Spanish, but it is a language, and a somewhat unusual one,” said Kohler.
“This language is used daily by people from all walks of life from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and the USA to Burundi, Tanzania and DRC; from Europe and Scandinavia and Russia, to China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.”
According to Kohler, Esperanto was designed to be easier to learn than most other languages. Many traditional learning obstacles, such as verb conjugation and gender, are simply not an issue with Esperanto.
Mi estas, vi estas, ni estas – I, you, we – everyone simply ‘is’. Using a system of basic building blocks, every new word learnt can be used to make many related words with less learning. If grava is important, and lerta is skillful, graveco is importance and lerteco is skill; malgrava is unimportant, and mallerta is clumsy. Gravulo is an important person, and similarly lertulo is a skilled person.
He also shared that the language has a rich literature of original and translated works including music, books, magazines and films. “When travelling, people take advantage of a couch-surfing type service (in existence since the 60s) or contact locals to get information about their destinations. These include those who cannot afford international travel benefits from hosting travellers, corresponding, or connecting online through Facebook, Twitter and similar networks,” said Kohler.
He also mentioned that the creator of Esperanto hoped that the language would promote peace and understanding between cultures by acting as a neutral, common, second language. “These ideals live on, but for many Esperanto is simply an interesting and exceedingly useful means of communication, providing a unique view on the world,” Kohler concluded.
Details: Johan Kohler 083 559 3156; johan.kohler@gmail.com
