Will Esperanto ever be the official second language of EU?

South Korean   Sat Nov 14, 2009 3:59 pm GMT
Esperanto, or any other artificial language?
Because if the population of the EU wants to remove the biggest barrier hindering them from greater interaction, they should speak at least one language in common. But such cannot be a natural language of a particular nation, because of problems of inequity and difficulty. Therefore, in order to preserve the languages of each nation and/or community while imposing a mandatory education of a single language throughout Europe, such language must be artificial and easy to learn.
This argument seems reasonable to me, but what are the obstacles fettering this from happening?
Antimooner K. T.   Sat Nov 14, 2009 4:59 pm GMT
Do you think Esperanto sounds good? Is it pleasing to the ears?

I have heard it with an Italianate accent, and it was quite bearable, but I've also heard it with various accents and I didn't like it much.

I sometimes get the feeling that people who push Esperanto are a little Anti-English.

Do I want to be around people who hate my language?
asdf   Sat Nov 14, 2009 5:13 pm GMT
"... but what are the obstacles fettering this from happening?"

Non-existing cultural input. Esperanto is not present in our lives. In fact, most people have never heard of it.

"I sometimes get the feeling that people who push Esperanto are a little Anti-English. Do I want to be around people who hate my language?"

Is being little anti-English is the same as hating English? They probably don't dislike English as a language, they just would prefer Esperanto over English.
blanchette   Sat Nov 14, 2009 5:52 pm GMT
If Esperanto were adopted as an international language English speaking people would be forced to speak a foreign language and they would lose their advantage over other people :-)
Guest   Sat Nov 14, 2009 6:13 pm GMT
It depends on France and Germany.

Esperanto is perhaps one of the last opportunities to avoid English as the semi-official language of the European Union.

UK, Ireland and Malta are against Esperanto, obviously.

So, only if Germany and France are against English clearly and make a strong defense of Esperanto, Esperanto can win.

It is also a problem for Germany and France, because another language will have more importance than French and German.

Esperanto can be the death of French and German.

English and Spanish would be also important and spoken in other Continents. French and German not.
asdf   Sat Nov 14, 2009 6:45 pm GMT
English *is* an official language in the EU. So is French, Spanish, Polish and Estonian. But what matters, is what languages are really used.
monoglot   Sat Nov 14, 2009 7:51 pm GMT
<<Because if the population of the EU wants to remove the biggest barrier hindering them from greater interaction,>>

The typical person in the EU is already multilingual. It's often said that the average European is fluent in half dozen (or more) languages. Apparently, over there, they can pick up new languages at the drop of a hat, so why don't they all just learn all the major languages in the EU, and put an end to any communication problems? No need to introduce some artifical language.
lupul   Sat Nov 14, 2009 7:59 pm GMT
the average European is fluent in half dozen (or more) languages


Probably in your dreams!
lulaby   Sat Nov 14, 2009 8:21 pm GMT
"... the average European is fluent in half dozen (or more) languages."

No. The average European knows about 1.3 languages.
European   Sat Nov 14, 2009 9:33 pm GMT
French and German are dying
YUL   Sat Nov 14, 2009 9:40 pm GMT
<<
It depends on France and Germany.
So, only if Germany and France are against English clearly and make a strong defense of Esperanto, Esperanto can win.

It is also a problem for Germany and France, because another language will have more importance than French and German.
>>


And hence, Esperanto will not be neutral. It will still have political connotations, it will be associated with Franco-German bureaucrats trying to push their EU superstate on everyone, and people will reject it.
You can't have a neutral language.
irksome infidel   Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:32 pm GMT
<<You can't have a neutral language. >>

One possibility is something completely non-European: Arabic -- it would prepare Europeans for eventual conversion to Islam and Sharia Law (should that happen).
Gurupeva   Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:48 pm GMT
Why would anyone want to learn a language whose phonology, syntax and lexis are, at best, nothing but a random mix of characteristics of the five or six random languages some random polish eye doctor a hundred years ago thought were easy? Esperanto is just a hobby, it will not be the official language of the EU or anything serious.
European   Sun Nov 15, 2009 1:37 am GMT
Why would anyone want to learn a language whose phonology, syntax and lexis are, at best, nothing but a random mix of characteristics of the five or six random languages some random polish eye doctor a hundred years ago thought were easy?

Easy. There is a strong anti-English feeling in some European countries. This feeling is strong in France and lesser in Germany.

France can convince Germany to use another language in European Union like Esperanto, Indoeuropean, Latin or another one.
Baldewin   Sun Nov 15, 2009 2:38 am GMT
Anti-English feeling is subject to increase in the future. Especially when anglophones would become more arrogant in the future this is a certain possibility.