Customer Reviews

Being Colloquial in Esperanto: A Reference Guide for Americans

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With dozens of excellent examples, leavened by the author's trademark sense of humor, this work provides an excellent guide to real-life practical use of the language (my daughter is especially fond of using "Danko ne necesas; vi ricevos mian fakturon" instead of the everyday "Ne dankinde" ;-) ). Jordan is an anthropologist (specializing in Chinese studies, I believe) and this background shows itself in his concern that the student understand from the start that Esperanto is not simply an artificial language, but a "speech community". During the time I was a tutor in the e-mail Esperanto course for English-speaking beginners, I found myself turning again and again to this volume for just the right way to explain to intelligent, curious students why we say it _this_ way and not _that_ way... or why there sometimes _is_ no one answer to usage questions. Its one lack is a detailed cross-index... but even without it, because of the detailed table of contents, it's an immensely useful book. Definitely belongs on the shelf with Wells' bilingual dictionary and Auld's "Pasxoj al Plena Posedo".

This is a wonderful, and up-to-date advanced textbook for English speakers to gain fluency in the international language, Esperanto. While it covers a wide variety of topics, it focuses special attention on those words and grammatical issues that present particular problems for English speakers learning Esperanto. This is a fine addition to any English-speaking Esperantist's library.

That means "really good, enjoyable textbook for anybody at all."

I giggled and guffawed my way through this witty book. If you haven't learned Esperanto yet, take a day or two off and get the basics under your belt. Then make this book your own and have a blast.

While the "Interlingvo" can be used as a very utilitarian means of linguistically getting by, it is also an astonishing vehicle for poetry, rhetoric, and flamboyant chit-chat. Jordan's book is a hoot, and a darn well-grounded hoot at that. It will polish your style in short order. In all of my experience, this is undoubtedly the most playful, joyful language book I've found.

I taught myself Esperanto at fifteen, while bored to tears in high school. Years later, I have chosen to cultivate my knowledge seriously. At the moment, I have the pleasure of regular 'babilado' with my upstairs neighbor, who coincidentally is also fluent. We've shared several 'ridetoj' (chuckles) over Jordan's book.

I highly recommend learning the Green Language, and using this book to punch up your confidence, vocabulary, and above all FREEDOM with one of mankind's most ingenious inventions.