[dragonwriter]

> English does not fulfill the neutrality ideal of Esperanto, which many people that speak Esperanto think it's very important.

Yeah, but neither does Esperanto; it's kind of unlikely that a language designed by a human without a strict, mechanical methodology to assure neutrality would, and even then it would need to be isolated from the normal forces that affect natural languages for it to retain that neutrality.

English is probably, in some senses, more neutral than Esperanto; for one thing, English probably has a far greater share of speakers (even first-language speakers) that aren't middle-class-and-above natives of developed countries in Europe or dominated by populations of European descent.

[chillacy]

Eh, I wouldn't say the share of english speakers everywhere reflects its neutrality as much as its usefulness in the modern world.

English is currently the international language, even at the esperanto congress. But it makes me appreciate having english as a native language, because I have to watch two non-native speakers struggle (like a polish guy ordering coffee from a korean barista).