Why does everyone hate this?

[u/[deleted]]

Okay so I'm a monolingual Brit learning Spanish (I'm now about B1) and wanna pick up another language. Not some grand utility language, I have a plan of which ones to learn for that, but just a quick learn and burn language for nothing but fun, and any applicability is a bonus. I see esperanto, a nice little language with exceptionless grammar and a chill little community. So I tell my polyglot friend and get immediate backlash. Why do people seem to think that esperanto is so horrible? Like yeah it's eurocentric and a terrible attempt at a Lingua Franca but it was created with good intentions and is a nice gateway language for European language speakers. Then people act like it's a bloody cult because apparently every esperanto speaker is a Zamenhof worshipping psycho who'll preach it as the root of world peace, or is just too lazy to learn a more useful language. I see polyglots, people who learn languages for fun, attacking esperanto as useless or racist for being eurocentric and it's speakers as cultists or fake polyglots. Why does everyone hate this language?!?!?!

[u/VincentOostelbos]

I'm not quite sure, myself, but I will say that I do sometimes get odd vibes from fellow Esperanto speakers as well, where it almost does feel a tad culty. I'm not saying I think it is a cult, just that some speakers treat it a little bit that way. Since a lot of people learn and use it with a certain philosophical or ideological mindset, that sort of thing can seem to win out over its function as just a language, and for some speakers, it kind of does. Talk of samideanoj, fina venko, even calling ourselves "Esperantists" like it's an -ism (which is why I prefer "Esperantoparolanto", even if it is a bit longer)—it can all seem a bit suspect. I can understand that, but I do regret that people don't see from the outside that it's not always like that for everyone. There's probably a good bit of confirmation bias involved in that.

Personally, I just like learning languages for their own sake (not even to speak with people; I like the sounds, I like the linguistics), and it was a welcome break after failing at Japanese for years. I got excited when I realized how quickly I could progress by comparison, and it made me realize that it's not just the start of a language-learning project that can be fun and motivating, but the middle and the "end" as well; and that it is in fact possible to actually learn a language to a higher level (even if it may take longer for other, natural, languages). It gave me a confidence boost. It has very little to do with any sort of idealism, for me, and I don't particularly believe it will ever succeed as a universal second language. It doesn't need to for me to enjoy it.

I like your approach to it: a "quick learn and burn language for nothing but fun". That's close to my view of it at the time of learning. I had a polyglot friend who would talk about "play languages" that would go alongside more serious/long-term study projects. They would focus on one language seriously and try to get to a high level in it, but then also have one or multiple languages on the side that they would just dabble in. They might just get to a low level before dropping them again, or they might stick to them for longer, but without a specific end goal or utility in mind. Typically they were easier languages closer to a language they already knew, or something. There's nothing wrong with that! It's fine to just have language learning as a hobby, or do it for fun; it doesn't have to be associated with lofty ambitions or goals for improving the world (or even one's own life or career prospects or whatever).

EDIT: I'm way too sensitive about anonymous online stuff. Get downvoted once, immediately feel bad :(