David Richardson (1) (1926–2012)

The way to judge any foreign language textbook is simple--can you learn that foreign language by using it? The fact that Esperanto is an "international auxiliary language" and not a natural language does not change this.

The book is divided into three parts, plus the usual vocabulary lists and tables that appear in the back. The first part is the weakest, a justification for the language and a full biography of its development. The information is interesting, but only tangentially applicable to the language itself. Presumably if you are at the point of buying an Esperanto textbook, you are already fully on board with the reasons to learn it.

The second part is a ten-lesson course in the language. As a student of other languages, ten lessons seems ludicrously short, but given the engineered simplicity of Esperanto, this is just right. Grammatical concepts and word-building particles are introduced gradually, complete with exercises and dialogues and all the rest. The emphasis here is on grammar, not vocabulary, so students who are used to a more gradual, functional approach to language learning might be a little put off. For me, it worked, but then again, I tend to like grammar.

The final part of the book is by far the most useful, a graduated reader of texts which builds from the vocabulary used in the initial lessons, glossing new words and generally building up skill through primary texts. By the time this part of the book is complete, the student should have a decent grasp of the language.

Although there are some issues, the book does everything it sets out to do. I would recommend it for anyone planning to learn Esperanto.… (meer)