1 comments about Ty Esperanto (Teach Yourself).

1. 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.

No comments about The Esperanto Teacher.

2 comments about The Esperanto Teacher - A Simple Course for Non-Grammarians.

1. The title says it all.This is a fairly simple introduction to Esperanto with a mminimum of grammatical jargon. The grammar and usage of the language are well covered but slowly and in a less formidable technical format. There are lots of great exercises and reading material. It is a great cmpanion volume to go along with "A Complete Grammar of Esperanto" by Kellerman. Both are available at AMAZON.COM and are able to be purchased as a set. I HIGHLY recommend getting both. I am currently using both of these in my private studies and I am finding my progress with them to be very rapid. The small digestible chapters/lessons are a relief from more modern texts that try to cover everything in only 10 or 16 chapters and hence cram a lot of important material into a short space and do not leave time for assimilation. Even though Esperanto is not as difficult as most native Languages and certainly not as comlicated as classical ones such as LAtin, Greek, or Sanskrit, it DOES take sustained effort to master it. There are areas of Esperanto that are not easy - the subtle use of some of the correlatives for example. One can certainly memorize a table of them and wade through a single chapter explaining their usage, but it takes time to assimilate their use. The gradual presentation in this and Kellerman's volume allow that important phase of assimilation to occur.
   
   Some may complain that there are no "conversations" in these volumes as seems to be so popular lately in the language instruction materials on the market. One almost regrets this fad in language education as it tends either to present highly artificial conversations, or to have any meaningful conversations, words and forms not yet taught have to be introduced and then glossed rather than being actually taught from first principles. The exercises in these volumes are entirely constrained to the vocabulary and grammar already covered - period. Hence the student is not overburdened aat the beginning of his/her studies with being presented with unfamiliar and non understandable forms based on the knowledge thus far presented.
   
   The reading course I took in French in college (4 semesters) used the approach in these books (Fench For Reading Knowledge by Joseph Palmeri, E. E. Milligan) and at the end of this study I could actually read French, well enough to pass a graduate reading exam 4 years later without having to brush up or retake a course. Consider this in contrast to the deplorable results of modern foreign language education found in most Universities today when after a year of study MOST students can't read it, speak it nor understand it well enough to use the language effectively.
   
   I am convinced, although amongst modern language fadists this is sooo politically incorrect) that ONLY after a grammatical form is well understood can it be effectively used in conversation. Fryer's suggestions for learning Esperanto at the beginning of the book may seem quaint and outdated for some, but in my experience it works! Learn the forms, translate the Esperanto into English and then work very hard to translate the English into Esperanto focusing on THINKING in Esperanto as you do so! Then be creative in making up your own sentences. As a corrective measure you may want to submit your Esperanto to a translation engine such as the one at http://lingvo.org/traduku/ or using the Esperanto word processing program Esperantilo (see http://www.xdobry.de/esperantoedit/index_en.html) - note I cannot get the automatic translation to work although the automatic one works.
   
   Well I hope this has helped some!
   
   And thanks to AMAZON.COM for making these useful texts to the Esperanto community so readily available!
   
   Harry



2. This is a reprint of a copyright-expired book that originally appeared in 1907. If you do a bit of searching you can find the full text online. But if you prefer to have a nicely-printed paper copy, this is a good option. Personally I made more progress with "Step By Step in Esperanto" by Montagu Butler, which is sometimes available used here on Amazon. "Step By Step" divides the material into many small lessons that you can pick up and read during idle moments.

5 comments about Comprehensive English-Esperanto Dictionary.

1. The Comprehensive English-Esperanto Dictionary is so thorough in its coverage of English and in its inclusion of idiomatic expression that it is simply a must-have for Anglophone Esperantists who wish to compose in the Inter-National Language. I should stress that it would not be of much use if you do not speak Esperanto with some degree of fluency. But CEED can be of immeasurable value in breaking out of phrase-book and beginner's textbook Esperanto.



2. Most English words, from the common [eg."of"=multiple listings] to technical, medical/scientific and some needing an unabridged ENGLISH dictionary are included, generally justifying the 'Comprehensive' in the title. Colloquialisms and neologisms are noted. The biggest lack I find is when there is room for a notation which would help the user categorize an obscure word [with sci/med/mil etc.] and that is not done. Overall, this is an eminently worthwhile book for anyone intersted in Esperanto!



3. This reference lives up to it's claim..."Comprehensive". If you're going to write in esperanto this a great book to have. I selected it over other works because it appeared to be the most up-to-date esperanto dictionary available, although I do wish it went both ways (ENG <-> ESP). Though I'm new to the language of esperanto, those who have an expert command of the language have also recommended this as a top-notch reference for both beginners and experienced speakers.



4. The coverage of English and the distinction between various senses of the English words and idioms defined is very thorough. However, the Esperanto equivalents given are not always the words in most common use for the given concept. Benson has a tendency to list a precise neologism while failing to mention the actual, everyday word for the concept (which may have a broader or less precise meaning than the rarely used word). E.g., for "to count" he lists "kompti", a word hardly ever used, and does not mention "kalkuli", the word routinely used for that action (though it also means "to calculate, do arithmetic", etc.). There are several similar errors that make me hesitate to trust Benson on any given word until I have checked what he tells me against other sources such as the Plena Vortaro or the Reta Vortaro. But, in combination with other sources, Benson can be very useful, especially in translating materials from English into Esperanto.



5. CEED is almost universally recommended as the best English-Esperanto dictionary out there, and from what I've seen, it probably is. Yet, the more I use it, the more I'm aware of how far short it falls of what we really need in an ideal English-Esperanto dictionary.
   
   The first major problem is that is NOT comprehensive... this isn't for lack of bizarrely specialized words "azygous" (which it has) or "nicad" (which it also has), but actually useful words like "coconut" and "furry," which are nowhere to be found.
   
   Benson is overly fond of grouping related words together, rather than simply using the alphabetical order one expects in a dictionary. If you look up the entry for "nut", you'll also find the translations for Brazil nut, candlenut, chestnut, "nut" in slang uses, "nut" in the sense of nut and bolt, etc. It seems he meant to include "coconut" here, but in departing from simple alphabetizing, this (and many other would-be entries) were inadvertently left out.
   
   Similarly for "furry," if you look up "fur" you'll find the definition for a mammal's skin (pelto), clothing made from it (peltajxo) and "fur" as "coating on the tongue" (tartro)! But something got left out... what is is it that you pet when you pet your cat? Nothing directs you to the word in general use for fur, "hararo" with its adjective form "harara" serving for furry. However, if you want to look up the words "furan" or "furbelow" (whatever they are), don't worry, they have their proper Esperanto equivalents proudly printed at their side.
   
   Secondly, when Esperanto equivalents of words are given, they often seem to represent a personal preference rather than the predominant usage among Esperanto speakers. For instance, if you want to know the Esperanto equivalent for "airplane," the translation is simply given as "avio." The fact is that most Esperantists use "aviadilo" for "airplane," although the far less common "avio" is increasing. Benson translates "aircraft" correctly as "aviadilo" but doesn't indicate that its the everyday word to use for airplane, as well.
   
   Thirdly, there is no Esperanto grammar provided. It's common for most bilingual dictionaries to include a short grammatical summary, and after the wonderful 35-page grammatical summary of Esperanto in J.C. Wells' Teach Yourself Esperanto Dictionary, it's a travesty for any later effort to omit this.
   
   In spite of these shortcomings, CEED is an essential tool. It does have the vast majority of the words you'll need, and its translations are always understandable even if they are sometimes more specific, or more unusual than you would expect.
   
   But by far the greatest advantage is its numerous full-sentence translations of idiomatic English expressions into Esperanto. This is goes far beyond what I've seen any other bilingual dictionary attempt. The entry for "go" for example, has a page-and-a-half of wonderful example sentences on almost every sense of the word you can imagine. The helpfulness of this feature cannot be exaggerated. No Anglophone Esperantist should be without it.
   
   Unfortunately, this dictionary cannot stand by itself. I recommend using it in conjunction with another dictionary, as well as checking for usage in other sources, such as books, Internet search engine results, and reta-vortaro.com.
   
   I want to change my rating to four stars, but the interface unfortunately won't let me.

2 comments about MLS Easy Immersion Esperanto Pro.

1. I'm glad to see this company offer Esperanto among their language offerings, but I'm afraid this software isn't very well made. For one thing, the words appear in the lessons in Esperanto, but for some reason the audio seems to be in Vietnamese. Accented Esperanto letters are shown using the "h" convention, which is acceptable, but the actual accented letters would be better. Finally, the overall design should be re-thought. For example, the program insists that I type "good afternoon" for "bonan tagon" ("good day" is considered wrong). Overall, this is not terribly useful.



2. I bought this hoping for an computer based immersion system that would help me learn Esperanto faster than from books. I was completely disappointed.
   
   The software is buggy. Half the time the text is displayed incorrectly.
   
   Rosetta Stone is a very expensive language package that doesn't offer Esperanto and I had hoped that Magnum Language Systems would fill the void, and I was excited that the software was much cheaper. This software is not near the level of Rosetta stone, and I think more time would be wasted trying to use it than buying a $15 Esperanto beginners book.

5 comments about Beginner's Esperanto (Hippocrene Beginner's).

1. With nothing else to work with, I bought this book and started my studies of this wonderful language. The lessons are easy to read and the vocabulary is eloquently interjected to make remembering easy. With this book, one can pick it up at any time and just read for five minutes. This book also includes questions at the end of each section to quiz you on what you've learned. It's amazing at how you work up a good vocabulary base so quickly. A definate yes if you're trying to learn Esperanto. Even good for younger readers (I'm sixteen and love it!).



2. Studying Esperanto is most enjoyable and a relatively easy language to learn. However, gathering information relating to this international culture was a daunting task until I discovered Beginner's ESPERANTO by J.F. Conroy. It was like finding 'gold'! Not only is it a comprehensive text book, but also an inspirational reference guide into the world of Esperanto. My only criticism is that, while each of the lessons has its own helpful word list, a dictionary at the end of the book would have been extremely useful.



3. This book was effectively used in an Esperanto Workshop (credit available)at University of Hartford,CT, a very few years ago. The author was obviously a talented teacher, and his experience at teaching shows in the book. It may not be ideal for the absolute beginner self teaching, but it is not easy to fault. The references and examples interspersed add greatly to understanding the language, its purpose,and its functions. As a college professor emeritus (University Of Connecticut) I have read this book and seen it "in action" although I have not directly used it in my limited teaching of Esperanto. I truly like Conroy's book. (I've been familiar with the language for many years, and have used it a few times outide the United States. )



4. Overall, this book provides lots of great exercises and a lot of information about the Esperanto movement itself. My only criticisms are: (1) The format of the book is a little difficult to read (the publishers use almost no white space to separate one exercise from another, so everything just runs together. This gives it the appearance of not being well organized and certainly not easy on the eyes), and (2) The English translations of the Esperanto texts are word-for-word. This was probably done intentionally, to give the student a literal translation of Esperanto's word-building rules, but it can also make the translations seem stilted and unnatural. However, if you can overlook the less than ideal textual formatting of the book (the publisher's fault, not the author's!) and don't mind literal, word-for-word translations, then you'll certainly benefit from the lessons, readings and detailed information (including addresses) of various organizations in the Esperanto movement.



5. This is the best 2nd book on Esperanto to get! The first book should be David Richardson's or the "Teach Yourself Esperanto" one. Conroy's book should be the 2nd one to get because it's more thorough. There are tons of vocabulary lists, readings and exercises in this one, not to mention a complete treatment of the grammar. Whereas you could complete a basic book on Esperanto in a few weeks, this one will take you at least a few months to work through. For someone who wants to learn the language quickly so they can correspond with other Esperantists worldwide, the pace in this book wouldn't be acceptable. Esperanto IS an easy language to learn, but Conroy's book will take you to the next level and then some!

5 comments about Esperanto Learning and Using the International Language.

1. I'd normally not want to simply add another "Oh this is a great book" to the list of reviews that is already here, but honestly Richardson deserves the praise.

   While the book largely tries to be three things at once it is successful to a good degree. The first part of the book is a good overview of the "language problem" and Esperanto's solution to is. It's also a good (but increasingly dated) overview of Esperanto culture and resources.

   The second part of the book is a reasonable 10-lesson section on Esperanto itself. it does a good job at this for its size by immediately integrating the reading of dialog at the end of every lesson.

   Finally, the most unique part of the book is its last part: a small Esperanto reading anthology that allows you to immediately try your new found skill.

   If you're interested in Esperanto in any capacity (save hard linguistics, perhaps) this book is your first stop. Get it.




2. This is my favorite beginning Esperanto book. The vocabulary choices are good, with more difficult words being introduced in a logical manner (not all at once!) The excercises are at a good gradient - not too hard -- and the words a new Esperantist would need are introduced early on.

   Within just a few days I was able to correspond with Esperanto speakers from all over the world.

   I highly recommend the language and this book!




3. If you've already started studying Esperanto, you probably have a textbook like "Teach Yourself Esperanto" and a dictionary like "Teach Yourself Esperanto Dictionary" by J. C. Wells. But, if you're new to Esperanto, and just wanting to learn more about it and perhaps get started on grammar and vocabulary, then you can't beat Esperanto: Learning and Using the International Language.
   
   If not available through Amazon, it's always easy to get this book from ELNA, the national Esperanto organization.



4. This book is in many ways the lineal descendant of the once popular "Esperanto: The World Interlanguage", to which a younger David Richardson himself made some minor contributions. I've never been particularly happy with the system used in both books, breaking the work down into expository section, lessons, reader and appendices. Each of these deserves a book of its own. The problem is always what weight to give each section vis a vis the others; and every reader will have his or her preferred balance.
   
   Having said this, I have to add that Richardson did an excellent job of implementing the system in this book, better than the one in its predecessor. For one thing, he omitted the purely topical (and so ephemeral) material, such as the earlier work's long list of currently popular books and magazines in Esperanto, and UEA delegate categories.
   
   The four chapters of explanation ("Communications and the Language Barrier") are well-written, and still of great interest, though they were written in the 1980s and so do not address the changes in the world over the past two decades; I don't find any mention of the internet, for instance. Perhaps for a fourth edition Richardson or some designated person will add a fifth chapter to bring the reader up to date.
   
   The hundred-page ten-lesson Esperanto course will teach you everything you need to know about Esperanto to actually start using the language (actually, you can start using it after the first one or two lessons). The ten-lesson system unfortunately requires that even in a language with an excellent word-building system such as Esperanto there will be relatively long lists of basic vocabulary to memorize, but Richardson offsets this to some degree with well-thought-out drills and exercises.
   
   For me, the real meat of the book is in the 130-page reading section. This isn't just a collection of reading material, but devotes almost as much space to annotations and explanations, which to some extent makes it an extension and polishing of the ten-lesson course.
   
   The whole thing is rounded off by a bibliography, which also suffers (slightly) by being somewhat dated, and a fairly complete Esperanto-English vocabulary. Since there is no English-Esperanto vocabulary, the purchaser might also want to get a copy of an appropriate dictionary. For the neophyte, I'd recommend the inexpensive two-way EAB MiniDictionary; the more ambitious student may want a copy of the Comprehensive English-Esperanto Dictionary.
   
   All in all, a good book to acquire if you intend to learn Esperanto and pursue the language to whatever degree.



5. 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.

5 comments about Concise Esperanto and English Dictionary: Esperanto-English/English-Esperanto (Teach Yourself).

1. Every Esperanto textbook that I have read has been extremely useful to me. However, the book that tops them all is the Teach Yourself Esperanto Dictionary by J.C. Wells. It is the most user-friendly dictionary I have ever come across. You could almost learn the language from this book alone!



2. 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 often find myself referring to them. Overall, this is a wonderful guide, no one studying Esperanto should be without one.



3. 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.




4. 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.



5. 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.

1 comments about The American Esperanto Book: A Compendium of the International Language.

1. 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.

3 comments about A Complete Grammar of Esperanto.

1. As any contemporary Esperantisto recognizes there is a plentiful lack of books concerning the language. This one is adequate for learning the grammar. My one complaint is that it is not structured in a fashion to serve efficiently as a reference. Appendixes and charts are disappointingly wanted.



2. For the student who wants more than a simplified conversational approach to Esoeranto or who is mostly interested in reading the language this is a good choice. The grammar is fairly thoroughly explained in a teaching )not reference) format. Each grammatical section is accompanied by well thought out illustrative examples.The exercises are well done and there is a lot of reading material covering lots pf ground. The grammatical explanations are in a traditional format and cover all grounds (ex a thorough coverage and examples of compound tenses allong with their subtleties). I have been using the downloadable copy at The Gutenberg Project, but having a convenient hard copy is invaluable. In fact I ordered 2 copies to keep one at home and one at work!



3. Decent texts for learning Esperanto are lamentably few and far between. This is the only book I am aware of which is even close to adequate for the task.
   The clear, logical presentation of grammar points and good choice of reading texts makes this book an adequate vehicle in, and of itself, for the acquisition of a good reading knowledge of Esperanto.
   The only criticism I might make is that, unfortunately, this book seems quite stuck in the grammar-translation methodology that, while excellent for teaching dead languages, can tie learners of living languages to habits that slow fluency and communication. This book therefore, is an excellent resource for people who want to read Esperanto, those who need to speak may need supplements. Unfortunately, I can't recommend any other book to combine with this one, this really is the single best text on the market to my knowledge. Most books on Esperanto feel dated, stuffy, are visually unappealing and tend to be grammar-driven. This book, at least, is intended as a grammar and is therefore vindicated, the others have no excuse.