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From: brg@netcom.com (Bruce R. Gilson)
Subject: Re: Judging Esperanto
Message-ID: <brgE79qE7.BAC@netcom.com>
Organization: Netcom
References: <brgE78KpL.DnF@netcom.com> <01bc3400$1f853840$bdc7148d@hartwig.rz.hu-berlin.de>
Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 02:18:07 GMT
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In article <01bc3400$1f853840$bdc7148d@hartwig.rz.hu-berlin.de>,
sebastiano hartviga <h0444wow@rz.hu-berlin.de> wrote:

[...]
>
>  so, if you want to learn a conlang (to encourage equal
>  communication) esperanto may be considered. but if you want to
>  learn an euroclon as novial, which copies the irregularities of
>  the romance languages, because you lack another hobby -- why not?
>  this has nothing to do with the aims of esperanto.
>
I don't know how you can say Novial "copies the irregularities of the romance
languages." It is practically as regular as Esperanto. You may have seen Novial
described as a naturalistic language, like Occidental or Interlingua. But in
fact Novial is a compromise language, neither totally naturalistic nor totally
schematic, falling halfway between Esperanto and Interlingua.

>
>  maybe i have no phantasy at all, but i really can not imagine, how
>  novial or ido can be easier to learn than esperanto, if the
>  learner not knows at least one romance language and english in
>  advance. i would very much appreciate an explanation and some
>  examples for this statement.

The rules for word formation in Ido are very similar to Esperanto; those of
Novial, while different, are still not that far removed. If you do not know
any Romance or Germanic language, the vocabulary of all three will be about
equally hard or easy. But the grammar of Esperanto, with its accusative
ending, its agreement rules, etc., is far harder than Esperanto's.

To Esperanto
granda homo, grandan homon, grandaj homoj, grandajn homojn

corresponds Ido
granda homo, granda homo, granda homi, granda homi
(no need to mark accusative, except in inverted order!)

and Novial
grandi home, grandi home, grandi homes, grandi homes
(again - no need to mark accusative, except in inverted order!))

Now, to a Chinese, who has to learn all these words from scratch, but who
has no adjective/noun agreement nor accusative endings, which is easier?


                                Bruce R. Gilson
                                email: brg@netcom.com
                                IRC: EZ-as-pi
                                WWW: http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/3141
                                (for language stuff: add /langpage.html)
