The value of Esperanto?
I am just starting out learning German. I have tried to immerse myself in German as much as possible without going to the country. That all being said, I am finding many articles that praise Esperanto and tell of how it can help a person learn other languages.

As a new language learner, should I focus entirely on learning German until I've reached my goal, or should I attempt to learn Esperanto at the same time? If I must choose between the two I will simply continue to learn German, but if learning Esperanto at the same time will help I am willing to try it.

Thank you all,

Question

The value of Esperanto?
I am just starting out learning German.  I have tried to immerse myself in German as much as possible without going to the country.  That all being said, I am finding many articles that praise Esperanto and tell of how it can help a person learn other languages.

As a new language learner, should I focus entirely on learning German until I've reached my goal, or should I attempt to learn Esperanto at the same time?  If I must choose between the two I will simply continue to learn German, but if learning Esperanto at the same time will help I am willing to try it.

Thank you all,

Answer

Esperanto is based on several European languages. If you already know a few European languages, it's easy to learn, but I don't think it will help you to learn those languages. Also, it's spoken by very few people today. There will be a lot more resources on the web for "real" languages.

And I found it can confuse the brain if you are trying to learn two languages at the same time. It's ok to start with a second language when the first language you are learning has already "settled" (after a year or so), but if both are fresh, it can be difficult.

Finally, don't underestimate the effort in learning a language. There's a LOT vocabulary to learn.

So I'd advise against it.

Answer

Hi, Brian!

As far as I know, Dirk is right on all counts.

Apart from that, I'd be happy to try and help you with your German in exchange for a little English conversation now and then (I don't get enough of that). Feel free to contact me.

Regards,
Susanne

Answers · 2

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