[briandear]

Yet apparently Esperanto does have a culture, according to Wikipedia, and that cultural tradition would necessarily inform the language.

The roots of Esperanto are European so it’s rather “privileged” of one to say that it’s the “best” second language.

And who actually avoids learning a language because they are being felt like they are being taken over by another culture? That actually seems like a veiled anti-English can concept, which, if that were the intent, actually indicates that Esperanto DOES have a cultural bias – it’s a culture of being the “anti-English” because otherwise why not just promote English? Who the hell actually speaks Esperanto? There are apparently 300 “native” speaking families worldwide. It certainly isn’t a language you’ll hear at a market or a playground. It has zero practical value beyond being a possibly fun hobby.

English might be “hard” but the benefits are extensive. Why someone in the Americas would learn Esperanto as a second language rather than English or Spanish is beyond me. That’s an exceedingly irrational. Why a Italian-speaking European would learn Esperanto before French, German, Dutch or English – that is also ridiculous.

Esperanto advocates aren’t advocating it as a third or fourth language but a second language. That suggests that they are delusional or at least highly irrational. Why would I spend 150 hours mastering Esperanto rather than 150 hours getting conversational in Spanish?

I can respect it as a hobby that people enjoy, but as a legitimate language? It’s as legitimate as Klingon and spoken by fewer people.