Mike Jones's blog
Below is a generic comment that I will
be posting in venues, such as Yahoo!
news articles, that lament the state of
the economy.
Regards,
Mike Jones
8.Sep.2013
Fort Worth, Texas MERCA
*****************************************************
Actually, there's a lucrative industry waiting to be developed, namely, that of providing Esperanto-language materials about English for the ESL industry. (In other words, using Esperanto as a metalanguage for English - thereby taking advantage of economies of scale.) I'm doing this myself on a public-domain basis, but others could do it on a copyrighted/proprietary basis and make a good living, if not a fortune.
Below is a generic comment that I will be
posting in various venues where Esperanto
is considered, and dismissed.
Regards,
Mike Jones
8.Sep.2013
Fort Worth, Texas MERCA
************************************************
Just now while surfing the web I ran across a separate Wikipedia
article on the value of Esperanto for training purposes:
"Propaedeutic value of Esperanto"
That Wikipedia has an article on Esperanto is no surprise, but that
it has a completely separate article devoted to this aspect of
Esperanto is a surprise, and a welcome one, at least to me. Is anyone
else surprised? Did everyone else know about this? Am I the last to
know?
Anyway, here's the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaedeutic_value_of_Esperanto
Regards,
Mike Jones
6.Sep.2013
Fort Worth, Texas
Surfing the web, I just now came across Esther Schor's 2009 article
in New Republic: "L. L. Zamenhof and the Shadow People". I don't
know if any of you remember it from when it first appeared. I certainly
don't. Anyway, I thought it would bear giving the link to the online
article. It's a fascinating read:
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/books-and-arts/ll-zamenhof-and-the-sh...
Regards,
Mike Jones
5.Sep.2013
Fort Worth, Texas
Quirky expressions in the target language of a second-language learner can be a thorn in their side. Even if a given quirky expression is explained in the learner's home language, it can be hard for the learner to find it. And for a minority language, such explanation might not exist at all. This is a clear case where Esperanto can be of help - that is, by being a one-stop (/ONLY stop) source of explanation for such expressions. If that were all, it would already be enough to justify the effort at centrality of documentation, via Esperanto, of the world's languages. However, on top of that, there are quirky expressions that fall through the cracks, and Esperanto can be the one and only place to find their explanations. The kinds of expressions that fall through the cracks are those that are in common use by the native speakers, but are shunned by the dictionaries. This offers Esperanto an opportunity to scoop the ethnic language in question, by simply documenting the overlooked items.
Military maneuvers are the only thing besides Esperanto that transcend the language barrier.
Regards,
Mike Jones
1.Sep.2013
Fort Worth Texas
Mi ne scias ĉu oni menciis en ĉi tiu forumo la recenzon, fare de fama lingvisto Michael Quinion, de la libro, fare de nia J. C. Wells, pri prononcado de anglalingvaj vortoj. Mi aldonis ligon al la recenzo en mia retejo sur la jena retpaĝo:
http://www.public-domain-materials.com/prononcad-problemoj.html
Mi aldonis ligon ankaŭ al la hejm-paĝo ĉe "World Wide Words" ĉi tie:
http://www.public-domain-materials.com/rimedoj-en-la-angla-por-helpi-al-...
Afable,
Mike Jones
23.aŭg.2013
Fort Worth Texas MERCA
Mi kunigis miajn sloganojn anglalingvajn pri Esperanto en unu retpaĝon en mia retejo. Ili nombriĝas 159. Inter miaj plej preferataj estas la jenaj:
#2. Esperanto keeps outliving its obituary-writers.
#7. Esperanto is the most impressive outreach program ever devised.
#8. When it comes to keeping in touch, nothing can touch Esperanto.
#18. By learning Esperanto, you pay your dues in the human race.
#21. Diplomacy comes before Esperanto only in the dictionary.
#22. Discussing Esperanto in English is a great ESL exercise.
#24. Esperanto – what a concept!
#27. Esperanto cannot be said to have failed – it has never been given a chance.
#47. Esperanto is the best vehicle for learning about the world in a nuanced and critical fashion.
#57. Esperanto is, like, made-to-order for networking.
#63. Esperanto spreads by word of mouth, no pun intended.
#76. If Esperanto did not exist, it would have to be invented.
The idea of using Esperanto as a bridge ("springboard") to other languages implies that resources should exist in Esperanto for learning those other languages. Coming to terms with homophones, especially in English, is a specific hurdle faced by the student of, presumably, almost any language (Esperanto not excepted).
Accordingly, I have created a document in Esperanto that supports the ESL student in this regard: a list of homophones, with Esperanto translations.
This document is downloadable, and is available at the following page of my Public Domain Materials website:
http://www.public-domain-materials.com/elsxutu-dokumenton-por-parolhomon...
(In case you want to reach this document "from above", you can start with item #191 in the table of contents of my website: http://www.public-domain-materials.com/table-of-contents.html)
How do you say "cheese!" in Esperanto, as an expression to get you to smile for the camera when a photograph is being taken?
Thanks.
Mike Jones
6.Aug.2013
Fort Worth Texas
