I logged onto an Esperanto website, but I was looking for lists of books available in bookstores, or online. No luck. I’m trying to find an English-Esperanto dictionary, by Montagu C. Butler, I think. Also, the Esperanto “keys” that are apparently available in quite a few languages, including English, Spanish, Russian, German, Greek, and French.
i wanna see the wIlliam Shatner movie thats in esperanto. That would be cool, man
One question:
WHY are you trying to learn Esperanto?!!?
I mean, come on. It’s not even a dead language, it never even actually became a language. Maybe I’m being petty, but I think not. Maybe you have a valid reason for wanting to know Esperanto, but I bet not. Don’t think I’m being harsh with you, I just don’t understand the point of it all.
It’s a madhouse!!!
Feelya, “harsh” isn’t the point here.
Why I learned Esperanto is my business. What your business may be here I’m not certain, but I remember an item in the first Straight Dope book, where Cecil commented, “When I am discussing the price of mangoes in Sumatra, I am not interested in having you drag in your opinions on spit in Wichita.” I am trying to find out where I can buy a modern English-Esperanto dictionary, not debating the merits of learning Esperanto in the first place.
And another thing: When you find some way to surmount these very real obstacles about English–which so many people think is already the international language, I will give the idea serious consideration. Specifically:
- Remedying English’s ghastly spelling.
- Overcoming the very strong nationalistic prejudices against English in other parts of the world. (Ever notice that the United Nations uses six languages–English, Chinese, Russian, French, Arabic, and Spanish, instead of just English?)
- Establishing a standard form of English that will be acceptable to all, including all parts of the world where English is currently spoken. (No language with pretensions to international status can claim it unless they have a standard form. English does not.)
The Esperanto League for North America
They have their book catalong on-line.
As for you, Feelyat, part of fighting ignorance within yourself is learning not to disparage others’ quest for knowledge of any subject. There are several Esperantists (myself included) on the board, and we take exception to people knocking us for doing something we enjoy and find stimulating.
Hell, I should email matt_mcl about this thread just so he can come in here and give you a proper reaming in Esperanto.
Thanks, Olentzero. 
I’m glad to see that 1) at least one Doper viewing this thread has the civility to give me a proper answer to my question and 2) there is a website, at least, where I can go to find what I want. Thanks again.
Venu la Verda Venk’!
I do apologise for seeming to attack you, but I must get this off my chest:
First of all, I was kidding about pretty much everything I said and was really curious about why you want to learn Esperanto. I just don’t understand why someone would want to learn a language that isn’t used anywhere. Second of all, did I say in ANY part of my post that “English is an international language” or anything similar to that??? In my opinion, the English language is the least of the major languages of the world anyway. Goodness. We all need to learn to take things more lightly.
As far as someone thinking English is the best language, which I DON’T, this is about how smart people like that are:
http://www.kithfan.org/work/transcripts/two/english.html
May this Kids in the Hall skit brighten your day. My sincerest apologies for offending you so much. 
I didn’t mean to. Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry. I’m really a nice person. Ask Rockstar. Please don’t look at me as the stereotype you seem to think I fit. I’m not at all. Sorry…I guess if you’ve decided not to accept my apology then more “sorry”'s won’t help, but if you have a few extras won’t hurt. Didn’t mean to be so harsh. As I look back at it I realise that I was.
Feelyat, it’s likely both you and I overreacted. However, don’t be too hard on me: it seems everyone I brought the matter up to in the late 60s, when I first started learning Esperanto, told me “English is already the international language” or the substance thereof. (Not hard to expect in the United States, where the overwhelming majority of people speak English.) One was a girl from high school–I’ll call her Vickie–to whom I quoted a line from an Esperanto book, about an Irish delegate to a conference in Geneva, who always spoke French there. He explained, “I can’t speak my own language, and I’ll be damned if I’ll speak English.”
I backed down because I could tell I was testing her patience. All the same, my contact with her, scant since graduation, disappeared altogether. And another reason I learned it was that I was, and am, socially isolated and perhaps I figured Esperantists would be someone I could contact…
I was the one to blame, sir. I am a mere 16 years old. However, I understand that English isn’t and will never be the international language. I see Spanish becoming a universal language more than English, and even French. Another thing that Americans are quite ignorant about is the metric system! Come on! The “English” system of measurement is archaic, not to mention quite difficult to figure out. Ignorance is a disease, and I don’t want to play any part in spreading it, and I want to keep it from blinding me.
Friends?
Feelyat: If you look in the U. S. Code Annotated (available in law libraries, and in some regular public libraries too) you’ll find that, according to a law passed in 1866, the metric system is the only one given legal status by U. S. Statute. Amazing, ain’t it?
My goodness! Why are children still learning the English system?!!? Insanity!
Not insanity, just inertia.
I also apologize for missing your other post here. I’d rather be a friend than an enemy.
May I say that you are now my hero?
You must be both much older and, obviously, much wiser than myself. Maybe college life has made me full of myself! I certainly hope not.
Have you gotten to glance at the Kids In the Hall skit? It’s a classic! Good guys, those Kids In the Hall.
I’m 51, and maybe college life has made ME “full of myself”! What is “Kids in the Hall”? Maybe you’d like to send me an e-mail at montgomerydou55@hotmail.com and explain it to me…
You know, you are exactly my father’s age. I think that your 50’s should be a time of learning, like any age. Therefore, I will be happy to teach you about The Kids In the Hall! 
Saluton, dougie_monty!
Mi jxus revenis el mia Esperanto-kluba kunveno en Toronto, kaj mi certe povas respondi al via demando.
<change to English>
I just got back from my Esperanto-club meeting in Toronto, and I can certainly answer your question.
ELNA, the Esperanto League for North America (actually, for the USA only; there are other organizations for Canada and Mexico) is a good place to start.
You don’t have to be a member to order from their online shop, either–and ELNA is definitely the fastest way to get Esperanto things in the USA (and Canada). You can order from Europe but it takes longer and is more expensive (customs fees, etc).
Many online bookshops (amazon.com, chapters.ca, indigo.ca, etc) may be able to get Esperanto-language books, but they will probably take much longer than the Esperanto-specialist organizations.
Dictionaries: I started with the bi-directional Esperanto Dictionary by JC Wells. This is the only Esperanto-English dictionary that I have frequently seen in the shops in Toronto. It is British, so there may be occaisional differences between its usage of English and North American English.
For more detailed information I turn to the Comprehensive English-Esperanto Dictionary by Peter Benson. This one-way dictionary was published by ELNA, and is considered a standard work.
Amazon.com has a pretty good list of dictionaries.
There are online dictionaries too… I use the bilingual echnical dictionary Komputada Leksikono for computer terms (I downloaded it into my PalmPilot) ), and there are general-purpose ones as well.
Other books: Esperanto-language literature seems to be pretty much unknown in North America. This is not surprising; because English serves as the interlanguage in most of North America, North America may be the place where the language is spoken least.
I got many books on a trip to a Esperanto-language cultural festival in Helsinki, Finland, a few months ago. There I saw Esperanto-language music, theatre, literature, and much else. You can get Asterix-books in Esperanto, for instance.
Don Harlow’s site is a good jumping-off point for literature. For music and web-tech, among other things, try Bertilo Wennergren’s site. And for comics, try Martin Weichert’s site.
The language seems to be widely spoken in Europe, especially Eastern Europe (its homeland). It also seems to be widely spoken in China and Brazil. The most common estimate on the Net seems to be about 2 million speakers.
All I know is, I’ve met lots of interesting people in the 14 months or so that I’ve been learning it, and I never would have met many of them in English. I now have acquaintances all over Europe! And Brazil. And Korea. And…
Rigardu, kaj vi ekvido
Oh! Also, thank you for not saying anything about the fact that I’m 16 and in college, because it isn’t even a big deal. I wasn’t bragging in bringing this up.
And now that I’ve looked at all the other messages that accumulated while I was making my reply…
That was a very gracious apology, Feelyat. Such a nice change from trolls and flamewars. (No, I don’t post in the Pit much. Actually, ever.)
I’m not sure what you mean by “keys” in the opening post, dougie_monty. I thought that you meant the free ten-lesson courses that beginners often use as an introduction to the language, but then you mentioned that you started learning it in the sixties.
For anyone else interested, these courses have migrated to the Net as well…
rockstar, that Esperanto movie with William Shatner is called “Incubus” and is available over the net from www.incubusthefilm.com (USD 34.95 plus a maximum of USD 8.95 shipping). It is… an experience.
I lent my copy to someone and never saw it again; I’m still trying to decide whether that was a Good Thing or not.
Just be aware that the dialogue in the movie is NOT terribly good spoken Esperanto. Even as a three-month beginner, I could tell that it was full of anomalies.
:oD Thanks, Sunspace! You seem to be the master of all that is Esperanto! Whoa! I’m still quite curious about it.