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From: elna@netcom.com (Esperanto League N America)
Subject: Re: languages & happiness!!
Message-ID: <elnaE68rp8.Fr9@netcom.com>
Organization: Esperanto League for North America, Inc.
References: <853605030.2652@dejanews.com> <5ei797$psc@vixen.cso.uiuc.edu> <7flo8i7wac.fsf@phoenix.cs.hku.hk> <AF3748C1966876071@max2-36.hk.super.net>
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 1997 03:15:08 GMT
Lines: 41
Sender: elna@netcom4.netcom.com

dcmsin@hk.super.net (Desmond Sin) writes in a recent posting (reference <AF3748C1966876071@max2-36.hk.super.net>):
>
>Sau Dan, I wonder how fruitful it's going to be to keep on discussions of
>this sort. For those of us from a different linguistic background, some of
>the features of Esperanto may seem to be arbitrary, redundant or
>cumbersome. However, those with a more Eurocentric mindset may think that
                                        ^^^^^^^^^^^
As I pointed out elsewhere, this kind of regionalism is inaccurate. The
grammatical structure of Esperanto is more similar to Japanese or 
Turkish than to English.
Your fundamental complaint is that it is not similar to Chinese. But it
cannot be similar to everything!!

>these features are necessary, meaningful and logical. Perhaps all of us are
>right in our own ways. The real problem, I think, is that probably
>Esperanto should have been called Wesperanto in the first place, for it's
>really a western language rather than a language of the East,

Everything must come from somewhere...
Are you working on an IAL based on Chinese? Or are you merely complaining?

>        and much less
>a language of the world. As much as Wesperanto is a western language, why
>should one care about what we have to say as Chinese speakers?
>
The western roots of Esperanto do not seem to bother the hundreds of thousands
of Chinese, Japanese & Korean Esperantists.
Esperantists are largely dismissive of your complaints not because you are
Asian, but because complaining about aspects of any language is simply not
productive: there is no committee which could implement any proposed changes,
nor is there any way to turn back the clock to make Esperanto conform with
your desires.
Do you also object to other western inventions, such as parliamentary
democracy, bicycles, the internet, &c. ?


-- 
Miko SLOPER              elna@netcom.com              USA  (510) 653 0998
Direktoro de la          ftp.netcom.com:/pub/el/elna   fax (510) 653 1468 
Centra Oficejo de la     Learn Esperanto! Free lessons: e-mail/snail-mail
Esperanto-Ligo de N.A.   Write to above address or call:  1-800-ESPERANTO
