Product Description
Here is the captivating story of humankind’s enduring quest to build a better language—and overcome the curse of Babel. Just about everyone has heard of Esperanto, which was nothing less than one man’s attempt to bring about world peace by means of linguistic solidarity. And every Star Trek fan knows about Klingon. But few people have heard of Babm, Blissymbolics, Loglan (not to be confused with Lojban), and the nearly nine hundred other invented languages that represent the hard work, high hopes, and full-blown delusions of so many misguided souls over the centuries. With intelligence and humor, Arika Okrent has written a truly original and enlightening book for all word freaks, grammar geeks, and plain old language lovers.
 
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Customer Reviews (23)

Of interest to conlangers and linguists
This is an entertaining book that covers the history of invented languages back to medieval times. Okrent covers the fads and fallacies that motivated hundreds of language inventors in the 18th and 19th centuries, the many attempts to create a "universal" language in the 19th and 20th centuries (including, of course, the most famous one, Esperanto), and naturally includes chapters on Elvish and Klingon as well.

This is a book about history and pop culture, not a serious linguistics text. It's pretty comprehensive and a fairly light read, though a bit dry at times. If you have an interest in linguistics, and especially if you've ever indulged in "conlanging" yourself, you will enjoy it. Some of Okrent's personal anecdotes felt like padding to fill out the book, and the appendices in the back were definitely padding.

"A Nudist, a Gay Ornithologist, a Railroad Enthusiast, and a Punk Cannabis Smoker Walk into a Bar..."
John V. KaravitisI came across this gem of a book in a review that I read on the Internet.I couldn't get my hands on a copy fast enough, and my efforts were greatly rewarded.Arika Okrent, a double-PhD in Linguistics and Psychology, takes us on a historical tour of "invented languages", i.e., artificial languages.I had no idea that so many people over the centuries had gone to, and continue to go to, such extreme lengths to "take care of" natural languages' perceived faults.Starting with Hildegard von Bingen, a 12th century nun, and continuing to the present day, Dr. Okrent shows that the fervor to perfect human language has never stopped.We see three main periods of artificial language contruction:(1)the 1600s, where John Wilkins' attempt may have led to Roget's Thesaurus 200 years later;(2) the 1800s, which saw the birth and rise not only of Esperanto, but also modern-day Hebrew (!) - and both from the same historical causes; and (3) the modern age, where the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis in the 1950s led to Lojban today, and where Blissymbolics stands out as a partial success.Dr. Okrent takes the reader on a tour of the centuries, ending with her successful attempt at learning basic Klingon.At the end is a list of 900 of these artificial languages, along with examples of the Lord's Prayer and a section of the Bible dealing with the Tower of Babel, both translated into some of these artificial languages.As Dr, Okrent herself states, even though language is seen as imperfect and messy, every natural language is part of some human society and some particular culture and time.Our languages are messy because they rely on the speakers negotiating terms and meanings, and they also rely on situational context.Perfect man-made languages have good intentions at heart, but ultimately fail as they try to anticipate and write down in stone every possible situation and idea (e.g. Lojban as the most extreme example of this).As those of us who live and breathe in the real world know, language will always be messy.But if you want to "explore the possibilities", it makes for good fun!I enjoyed this book, I rate it FIVE STARS!John V. Karavitis, John Karavitis, Karavitis, KC9ISD, YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, BigSight.

Wonderful, readable book
This is a great introduction to constructed languages written by a skeptical practitioner, who has actually made the effort to begin learning several of the most popular languages and thus brings a realistic perspective to the topic. Okrent is neither a propagandist nor a scoffer, and she presents each language with wit and accuracy. I especially appreciated her treatment of Esperanto, warts and all. Great book.

Delightful tour of a bizarre world
I found this book delightful, a very enjoyable read. That's no doubt in part because I've played with conlangs myself, and have corresponded with, or in one case shaken the hand of, some people mentioned in the book.

This is a journalistic exercise in exploring the history and modern existence of a subculture, the subculture of language-makers. Any good journalist could write a sympathetic, entertaining book about modern-day Klingon- or Lojban-speakers, but only a journalist who is also a linguist could really dig in and understand what they and other language-makers are trying to do. Only a linguist can really appreciate and convey the near-obsessive level of effort required to make a new language, or the joy it can bring to its maker. And only a linguist who is a dedicated researcher could explain the history of language-making, and properly relate the efforts of, say, a Wilkins to a Zamenhof to a Brown.

Okrent has done the hard slog of journalism, going to the conventions, meeting and interviewing the survivors, digging up the original documents and the period press reports. She's also done the slog of academic research, finding the primary source materials in university libraries and the Library of Congress and immersing herself for days at a time in study of the early languages.

Finally she has put her materials together in a highly readable, amusing, intriguing account of the people, and the very human process, of creating language from whole cloth.

Unfair, inaccurate, mean-spirited.
This book is terrible on many levels. First, it is more of a pop-science polemic than a fair treatment of the material discussed. Okrent panders to the demographic that will scoff at constructed languages, and tries to sell her book by laughing at others' expense.

She includes languages in her chapter "A History of Failure" that don't belong there; for example, Lingua Ignota was never intended to be used by anyone but its creator, so it cannot rightly be called a failure. In addition, Okrent makes Esperantists out to be crazy, and although she sympathizes with them to some extent, a large section of the book deals with the so-called "failure" of Esperanto. Esperanto is a living language spoken by a vibrant community of 2 million people across the entire world, and is anything but a failure.

Okrent also seriously neglects the vast majority of constructed languages: artistic languages, designed not for serious use or to facilitate international communication, but for the aesthetic pleasure of the creator. Tolkien and the hundreds of other "artlangers"--whether famous or unknown--are crammed into a few pages in the last chapter, despite the fact that artlangs account for some of the most interesting and important constructed languages.

Don't get this book. It's filled with misinformation, distortions, and gratuitous mocking. ... Read more

Product Description
This introductory textbook begins with an extensive English-language introduction, covering the need for an international language, an overview of Esperanto's history, and the international Esperanto community. A series of brief lessons with exercises follows, concentrating on practical communication and vocabulary. The highlight of the book is a graded reader, which includes history, letters, stories, and poetry (both translated from English and drawn from original Esperanto literature) that gradually introduce more advanced usage and additional vocabulary. The book concludes with an abridged Esperanto-to-English dictionary. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

perfect transaction
perfect transaction

Of course, it was a perfect transaction. It took a lot of time but all right. Be patient my friends.

Excellent Beginners and Mid-Level
I'm studying with a friend on this one. Although I've learned to speak Esperanto before with other books and courses, I like this one as it helps my friend who is a rank beginner as well as me who is probably more mid-level.

A part of the book is the history behind the language, then several chapters are for immersing oneself via tutorial, and the last half of the book is stories, letters, and other items written completely in the language which helps me a great deal.

what I was looking for
I love languages and this is one of the best books I have found for studying a foreign language. Totally recomended.

Review of Esperanto text
This book gives a very good overview of Esperanto and the Esperanto movement that supports the language.While the photographs are old enough to verge on being funny, the information is solid and the language teaching techniques are useful.I am using the book to teach someone Esperanto, and we are having a good experience with it.

Excellent primer
It's really four-and-a-half stars. Since Teach Yourself Esperanto went out of print, this is almost certainly the best print-based Esp-o course for Anglophones.

My only gripes:
First, it needs an English-Esperanto glossary to complement its excellent Esperanto-English glossary.

Second, despite the third edition being published in 2004, this is book is essentially twenty-five years old. Its history of Esperanto has no information of anything happening since 1981 (despite the renaissance that the Internet has given the Esperanto movement), and the glossary has no computer/Web/electronic terms. The only difference I could discern between it and the second edition was a one-paragraph biographical note about the author.

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Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This comprehensive course aims to enable readers to reach a good standard of fluency in the international language of Esperanto. Esperanto has a straightforward grammar and a completely regular, phonetic system of spelling and pronunciation, making it much easier to learn than any national language. The carefully constructed course is designed to help readers master the essentials of Esperanto quickly, and to achieve basic fluency in the written and spoken language now used by eight million Esperantists world wide. Every aspect of the language is clearly presented and explained, with numerous examples. Reading passages and dialogues reinforce readers' understanding of how the language works, while also helping to build up an extensive vocabulary. Exercises, with answers, enable readers to check progress throughout the course, and the two-way vocabulary lists provide a mini-dictionary which is ideal for the beginner. An index is also included for easy reference. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Teach Yourself Esperanto
I took an Esperanto class at the Community College and this is the book the professor recommended.It is written so that you can go as fast or as slowly as you want.

Best book out there for learning the international language
You can learn Esperanto on the internet just as easy. But if you're the kind of person who wants to learn a language from a book, this book is for you. ... Read more

Product Description
Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good Intro to Zamenhof's Exercises
This book is a fairly concise grammar book (in a bit technical language), coupled with a set of lessons based on Zamenhof's original exercises. It provides a sufficient vocabulary for each lesson with an English translation and most importantly notes on the usage in each exercise. I suggest you read quickly through the grammar section not worrying about too many details, and then begin the exercises in earnest. MEMORIZE the vocab items for each lesson and read and study the notes referring back to the grammar when necessary. You will then find that some grammatical points that were unclear in the grammar become clearer when you see them in use! I would suggest this book after going through an elementary course such as the online one available from ELNA. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Great two-way dictionary
I have owned this dictionary for about 25 years and it still is the first Esperanto dictionary I turn to. It has both Esperanto-to-English and English-to-Esperanto sections so it is useful both for writing in Esperanto and for reading Esperanto.

I do have a few criticisms however. The Esperanto-to-English section is a little sparse as it tends to give the root forms, but not the 'kunmetita' (constructed) words created by adding the various affixes to it.

Another thing I would have liked would have been some indication whether an Esperanto word was from the Fundamento, was a later official root, or was a neologism.Perhaps using a system of bold print and italic print.

And if I were really to go crazy with wishing, I'd ask for the author to provide the more basic (fundamenta) Esperanto words that could replace neologisms.

This being said, it is still my favorite dictionary and I feel it would be of great use to any user of the Esperanto language.

A decent start, BUT...
Yes, this was the dictionary that first got me started in Esperanto, and I still occasionally use it for looking up Esperanto words I don't understand-- which isn't that often since getting the basics of Esperanto is so easy and context can help so much with the rest.

The little grammar in the beginning is a gem that can help the beginner grasp the essentials of the language almost immediately.

The fault lies with the English-Esperanto section, which is bound to be where most users will be looking 90% of the time. As so many English words have multiple meanings, it's important to have clear means of distinguishing the meanings. Wells often provides no such means at all, leaving it to the student's own knowledge of Esperanto!

For example, the definition for "tan" says: tan-i, -kolora; (sun)brunigi, -igxi, -o. So what's the word for "tan" as in tanning a hide?Only the process of elimination or knowledge of Esperanto could lead you to "tani."

However, this is a mere inconvenience compared to the far worse problem of words that feel made-up and which have virtually no use in real Esperanto. Consider the simple word "to hug": Wells expects us to "cxirkauxpremi" (around-press) our friends and loved ones. What Esperantists really do is "brakumi" (doing the arm thing). Cxirkauxpremi is only a useful word for when pressure and enclosure are being stressed, as in a bear-hug. There are many other cases where Well's word seems more theoretical than anything resembling colloquial Esperanto.

In addition, the dictionary is quite dated, and anything not in common use by the late 60s will be absent.

Don't get me wrong: this book definitely has its uses, but in my opinion, the English half is frustrating at best, and misleading at worst.

Whether or not you buy this book, you should definitely get the Comprehensive English-Esperanto Dictionary by Peter Benson.

A must for beginners
This is a very good Esperanto dictionary to have.In addition to definitions, it lays out Esperanto grammar in the front of the book.I use it constantly for translation.

The best general Esperanto <-> English Dictionary
This dictionary has been around for a while.It is what introduced me to Esperanto over 20 years ago.

When I first received it (as a gift), I noticed that it had a grammar section in the front.The explanations were good enough that I was able to make basic sentences almost immediately!When I finally decided to learn a little more formally, the grammar summary was an awesome reference.

The Dictionary itself is very good.My only problem with this and all two-way dictionaries is that sometimes a translation of a word is not enough... you need an actual definition.For that, I'm afraid one would have to use an actual Esperanto (only) dictionary with word and definition in Esperanto, such as"Plena Ilustrita Vortaro" or better yet, "Plena Vortaro de Esperanto Kun Suplemento".

I believe this to be the best two way Esperanto and English dictionary.

A wonderful title for beginners and experts alike
This dictionary is one of the most helpful guides to any language that I have ever read.The Advice to the Student of Esperanto section was very helpful as were the lists of correlatives, prefixes, and suffixes; I oftenfind myself referring to them.Overall, this is a wonderful guide, no onestudying Esperanto should be without one. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

An Excellent Book
I'm quoted on the back of the dust cover as writing, in another review: "I would say that this is a book which should be on the shelf of every serious American (and other English-speaking) Esperantist, and I cannot recommend it highly enough for those who want to move from the status of beginner to that of expert."

I'll stand by that, but go a step further: Despite this book's basic purpose (to help the English-speaking reader understand more about Esperanto), and despite the fact that it's definitely not a textbook, I would say that it's actually possible to learn the language from scratch via the first half of this book. Not for everybody, of course, but for the committed individual who is willing to plow through 118 pages of great (though never excruciating!) detail about Esperanto, its grammar and its word-formation system without drills or exercises. The fact that Jordan has a terribly dry sense of humor, which he doesn't hesitate to share with the reader, makes this relatively painless. By the time you reach the end of that first section, you should have a full command of the language, except, perhaps, for vocabulary (and I use the word "perhaps" advisedly, because at least half of those 118 pages are given over to a multitude of examples of usage, and you should be able to pick up a pretty good vocabulary just from those).

Oh, and if you want to increase your vocabulary beyond this (and you should), don't forget to read the second half of the book, "Potentially Troublesome Words," in which you'll find much more detail about those words in Esperanto that can mislead the English-speaking student, as well as the words you ought to use instead.

Note: Jordan's (not overlong) lists of transitive and intransitive verbs that will cause trouble for English-speakers (because in English the transitive and intransitive versions of the verb are identical) should be studied and memorized by every American student of the language. Read pages 77-79 and you'll be sitting pretty.

Master the subleties of the International Language
Being Colloquial has an enjoyable, readable style.It's extremely informative and interesting, for learning the subtleties of Esperanto.Jordan is very realistic; although he obviously loves Esperanto, he doesn't avoid talking about the few logical imperfections of this very logical lanuage.I've been using Esperanto for 18 years, and I still find useful information here.

If it's not available at Amazon, you can get this book through ELNA, the national Esperanto organization.

Jordan has a real feel for the language.
While a straightforward and logical tongue, Esperanto is not English, and beginners tend to think English-ly while writing Esperanto-ly. (And that last sentence is just one of the many ways I could use to demonstrate that one must adjust one's thinking just a tad to become more fluent and universally understood when learning to be more proficient in the language.)
Jordan makes the learning fun. He peppers the book with humor and with wordplay (even the title gets a chuckle) and shows himself the linguist that he is in everyday life. There is much which is fundamental in the book, and yet there are curiosities and rarities that one might find elsewhere only with great difficulty, and these serve to whet the reader's curiosity and lead him on to the next chapter. I loved this book and in a personal letter to the author (before the advent of e-mail) I let him know that my only criticism of _Being Colloquial_ was that there was just too little of the book. Is a mouse the polar opposite of an elephant? In Esperanto, it might be! Jog your grey matter and have fun doing it -- and learn the language which has been, for over a century, the most universal and successful of all planned languages. Talk to non-English-speakers all over the world. Just DO it! It may change your life. I know it changed mine.

A *very* useful book!
There are some fine introductory books in Esperanto (and you can get a pretty good start from the free 10-lesson email course easily found with any internet search engine); this book is probably not the best FIRST textbook (though I think it could be used as a first book without too much trouble), but it is an AMAZING second book, with more information on subtleties of expression in Esperanto (and there are *some* -- it's still a foreign language, albeit one with a very regular grammar, and its logic is not always identical to the logic (such as it is) behind English) than I've seen in any other english language textbook. It's also fun to read.

Once you've wet your feet a little (excuse the metaphor), if you want more, this is an excellent book to own.

Good book, a little dated
Yes, this book did help my esperanto a little, but some of the language is a tad dated.You'd be better off learning it from the internet. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's preservation reformatting program. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the text that can both be accessed online and used to create new print copies. This book and thousands of others can be found in the digital collections of the University of Michigan Library. The University Library also understands and values the utility of print, and makes reprints available through its Scholarly Publishing Office. ... Read more

Product Description
A comprehensive and yet concise two-way dictionary designed for beginners and more advanced students of Esperanto alike, and also incorporating a summary of Esperanto grammar. -- An essential resource for users of Esperanto: Find what you are looking for: Concise yet comprehensive, with coverage of all the words you need, including many technical terms -- Both directions: Contains both Esperanto-English and English-Esperanto sections, with a total of over 30,000 entries -- Keep up-to-date: Completely revised and rewritten, with a thorough coverage of contemporary English and Esperanto -- Check how to write it and say it: With a grammatical introduction presenting a clear and authoritative analysis! ---- Ampleksa sed konciza Esperanta-angla kaj angla-Esperanta vortaro por komencantaj kaj progresintaj studantoj de Esperanto, kun enkonduka prezento de la gramatiko de Esperanto. -- Nemalhavebla richfonto por uzantoj de Esperanto: Trovu tion, kion vi serchas: Konciza sed inkluziva, enhavanta chiujn vortojn kiujn oni bezonas, inkluzive de multaj fakvortoj -- Ambau'direkta: El Esperanto en la anglan kaj el la angla en Esperanton, kun entute pli ol 30000 kapvortoj -- Ghisdatighu! Komplete reviziita kaj reverkita, plene spegulanta la hodiau'ajn anglan lingvon kaj Esperanton -- Kontrolu, kiel esprimi la signifon: Kun gramatika enkonduko klara kaj au'toritata! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Excellent and up to date
I am new to Esperanto, and frankly I was very skeptical about the extent of the language's vocabulary. This dictionary dismissed all doubts I had. All but the most ridiculously obscure and archaic English words are represented, and it should be more than enough for anyone but the most ardent linguist. This 2010 edition includes a variety of words pertaining to the internet, computers and various branches of science. So far, while using this dictionary, there is nothing that I have been able to express in English that I could not express in Esperanto. This is a good, solid reference that will continue to have value for years to come.

Useful, but...
This is probably the best Esperanto-English dictionary out there, and it's very useful if you already speak Esperanto and need to look up words every once in a while. Unfortunately for beginners, it contains no example sentences.

Worth having with reservations.
Speak Mandarin Chinese For Beginners The Michel Thomas Method (8-CD Beginner's Program) (Michel Thomas Series)Michel Thomas Method Speak Mandarin Chinese Advanced (Michel Thomas Series)Michel Thomas Method: Mandarin Chinese Vocabulary Course (Michel Thomas Series)

I am the author of the Michel Thomas Mandarin Chinese series to learn spoken Mandarin Chinese. I am also an avid Esperantist.

I have several Esperanto dictionaries. The very best English-Esperanto dictionary is by Peter Benson, the Comprehensive English-Esperanto Dictionary. Buy it via Esperanto-USA (dot) org where you will find a great bookstore for such things. You will find great Esperanto-English dictionaries. There are wonderful Esperanto-Esperanto ones as well, one of the most useful( and cheapest) for everyday use is Ilustrita oficiala radikaro Esperanta por Lernanto by Luiz Portella. However, for the time being, this is probably the best Esperanto-English-Esperanto dictionary.

Contrary to what the previous reviewer wrote, it is sorely lacking in verb notations regarding whether the entry is transitive or intransitive, which, if you want to learn Esperanto, is absolutely essential. The author occasionally makes note of this but rarely. This is a major problem that I have with the dictionary. In addition, the definitions are often so cursory that they are essentially worthless. This is remedied in the other dictionaries mentioned above.

We must thank the author for updating his previous edition of this work. I am very happy to have the book but I would advise you not to rely on it without having others as well.

compact
A good dictionary for its size. What is especially nice is that it often points out whether a verb is considered transitive or intransitive. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The best overview of Esperanto in English
A fine contemporary overview of the international language, translated from the original French by H. Tonkin, former president of the Universala Esperanto Asocio (Rotterdam) and updated for American readers. ... Read more

Product Description
Contents: "Humphrey Tonkin, Introduction; Detlev Blanke, The Term "Planned Language"; Pere Julià, Linguistic Theory and International Communication; David K. Jordan, Esperanto and Esperantism; Aleksandr Dulichenko, Esperanto: A Unique Model for General Linguistics; Humphrey Tonkin, One Hundred Years of Esperanto: A Survey; John Edwards and Lynn MacPherson, Views of Constructed Languages, With Special Reference to Esperanto; Klaus Schubert, Ausdruckskraft und Regelmässigkeit: Was Esperanto für automatische Übersetzung geeignet macht; Probal Dasgupta, Toward a Dialogue Between the Sociolinguistic Sciences and Esperanto Culture; Ralph L. Harry, Development of a Language for International Law: The Experience of Esperanto; Bernard Golden, Conservation of the Heritage of Volapük; Victor Sadler, Machine Translation Project Reaches Watershed; István Ertl and François Lo Jacomo, Umberto Eco, l'espéranto et le plurilinguisme de l'avenir." Co-published with the Center for Research and Documentation on World Language Problems. ... Read more

Product Description
In these worksheets you must unscramble each vocabulary word and find the correct Esperanto word.There are many quizzes for easy learning Esperanto language from easy English words. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more