Originally Posted By: zmjezhd
Esperanto is only a little over a century old, and (as far as I know) there are no native speakers. It is a written language. That has probably slowed down its rate of change.


I'm going to challenge this idea by pointing to exactly what we are doing in this forum. We are using a written language - never spoken, even by the linguistically adventurous (try saying ":-)") - that is far less than a century old, and its rate of change is so rapid as to be astounding. The person who was creative enough to type the first emoticon is probably still among the living. Unless there was a tragic bus accident, the person who coined "emoticon" is still living. So it remains to be explained why this language, with no real rules, has caught on like wildfire; and esperanto languishes on the shelf. I offer that this language serves our individual needs and - most importantly - is created by its users, as are all viable languages.

Last edited by beck123; 02/24/10 12:21 AM.
"I don't know which is worse: ignorance or apathy. And, frankly, I don't care." - Anonymous