What is Esperanto? · Kio estas Esperanto?
Esperanto is an expressive, flexible language used for international communication. Unlike most languages, Esperanto favors no one nationality, ethnicity, religion, or political ideology. It's a shared second language that allows people from different countries to communicate on an equal footing. And it works!
Why Esperanto? · Kial Esperanto?
- It's relatively easy
- With many languages you have to worry about memorizing verb conjugations, irregular spellings, or the genders of inanimate objects. With Esperanto, you get to spend your time learning how to communicate. Esperanto has no irregular verbs, no grammatical genders, and a simple, phonetic spelling system. Students can gain fluency in a fraction of the time needed for other languages.
- It opens doors to world culture
- For over a century, millions of people have been using this shared “second language” to make friends around the globe. The expressiveness of Esperanto has made it especially popular for literature, with tens of thousands of translated and original works so far from cultures large and small. Few other languages give you access to radio broadcasts from Beijing, poetry from São Paulo, news from Brussels, short stories from Kaliningrad, and rap from Helsinki!
- It's practical
- Want to see the world on the cheap? Like traveling to foreign cities? Why use tour guides when you can speak directly to the locals—or even stay with them for free? You can do just that with the Pasporta Servo, a free service for Esperanto-speaking tourists in over 90 cities worldwide. (We occasionally get visitors via the Pasporta Servo here in Rochester; if you'd like a chance to meet them, join our mailing list!)
- It's fun! (Yes, really!)
- Esperanto is a beautiful language. The rich morphology and flexible grammar lend themselves to puns, wordplay, and an elegance of expression that can't easily be duplicated in other tongues. And the rich original literature of the language is “worth the price of admission” in and of itself. The 20th century produced a number of world-class Esperanto authors from around the world. Most notable, perhaps, is William Auld, the Scottish poet whose epic Infana raso was nominated eight times for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Who are we? · Kiuj ni estas?
We're an informal group of UR students, alumni, and staff interested in learning and using Esperanto. We welcome folks from UR and the greater Rochester community who are interested in languages, travel, linguistic/cultural diversity and world literature.
What do we do? · Kion ni faras?
- Classes
- We offer free classes on the UR campus each spring semester. The tuition is free, and all are welcome.
- Conversation tables
- We hold regular meetings to help beginning and progressing students practice in a casual, supportive atmosphere. Whether you want to chat, play Skrablo, or just drop by to hear what the language sounds like, feel free to join us!
- Field trips
- Occasionally we'll organize excursions to regional events like the Aŭtuna Renkontiĝo de Esperanto, or we'll take an overseas visitor from the Pasporta Servo out to see the local sights.
Find out more · Eksciu pli
Subscribe to our mailing list to find out about upcoming events. Send a message to lists at lodestone dot org with the subject line: subscribe ur-eo
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