Kiom da fremdaj lingvoj vi povas paroli? For those of you who can’t speak Esperanto, the previous sentence is asking: how many foreign languages can you speak? No, Esperanto is not a misspelling of Espresso; it’s a constructed language that was invented in the 19^th century to promote world peace. So, I bet you're asking yourself, "Why should I learn a made up language?", well...

1. Esperanto is EASY to Learn

Esperanto has been declared “the world's easiest language to learn”, Unu, du, tri, kvar, kvin. If those numbers seemed familiar to you, they should; Esperanto was created from a mixture of common languages. Sort of like a Frankenstein’s monster of languages, Esperanto is a mix of English, French, German, and Slavic languages. Esperanto is written in Latin script, and its alphabet contains 28 letters. Not only is Esperanto familiar, there are no idioms, no irregularities, and no strict grammar rules. Some estimates say you could learn Esperanto in as little as 150 hours!

2. Esperanto provides a base for learning other languages

Having the ability to learn Esperanto so quickly can allow you to move on to learning other foreign languages. Since Esperanto is derived from Germanic, Romance, and Slavic languages, it will help you recognize words in these different language groups.

3. More than 2 million people can speak it

People from all over the world have learned Esperanto. You can search for Esperanto-speaking clubs in your area, where you can have conversations in Esperanto with your fellow Esperanto speakers. In addition to finding your local Esperanto community, you can attend the World Esperanto Congress, an annual event where Esperantists come together to speak Esperanto and promote the language. The last congress took place in Lille, France in 2015. The next Esperanto Congress will be taking place in Nitra, Slovakia in 2016!

4. Hitler hated Esperanto

Nazi Germany outlawed the use of Esperanto in 1939 because its creator, Ludwig Zamenhoff, was Jewish. Many Esperantists were even sent to concentration camps, including some of Zamenhoff’s relatives. Adolf Hitler had a visible hatred for the language, which he expressed in his autobiography, Mein Kampf: Its no wonder why someone like Hitler would hate a language that promotes peace and diversity. If you wanna make Hitler role in his grave, learn Esperanto!

5. William Shatner performed in a low-budget Sci-fi film that was spoken entirely in Esperanto

Yes, I am not kidding, Incubus: a B-rated horror film starring William Shatner, was spoken entirely in Esperanto. The film was released in 1968 and was Shatner's first film debut! Above is the full version.

Where can I learn?

There are many ways to go about learning Esperanto. One great website for learning Esperanto is lernu.net. Lernu is a free website devoted to teaching Esperanto without a teacher or classes. With over 100,000 members, it is the largest tool to learning Esperanto. Duolingo is another great language learning website that has an Esperanto course, which I used to learn it. Not only are there websites to help you learn Esperanto, but also there are also books, films, TV shows, and music albums performed in Esperanto.