[{"text_idx": "#000002", "text": "Nicole \u2013 3rd gen native Esperanto speaker"}, {"text_idx": "#000003", "text": "Some people don\u2019t believe that native Esperanto speakers exist. Would you then believe that I\u2019ve found a third generation native Esperanto speaker?! Nicole Klu\u0308nder\u2019s great-grandfather learned Esperanto, taught it natively to his kids, who taught it natively to his kids, who taught it natively to Nicole... awesome! It seems that it\u2019s now becoming a tradition in this blog to interview another native Esperanto speaker every year. Last year, I interviewed an Esperanto DJ: DJ Leo Sakaguchi. The year before was second generation native speaker Rolf Fantom. Anyway, without further ado, let\u2019s see what Nicole has to say! (She answered my questions in Esperanto, so you will find my translation in italics under his answers.)"}, {"text_idx": "#000006", "text": "I was born that way. My parents taught me it growing up, and my father was also a native speaker. This was certainly also partly since my parents met through Esperanto, for example my mother was Polish."}, {"text_idx": "#000007", "text": "How did your great-grandfather first learn Esperanto and why? When was that?"}, {"text_idx": "#000008", "text": "Lau\u0306 mia scio, li lernis la lingvon en 1908 por pli bone scii kaj klarigi kial g\u0302i malbonas. Evidentig\u0302is, ke g\u0302i fakte plac\u0302egis al li."}, {"text_idx": "#000009", "text": "As far as I know, he learned the language in 1908 to better know and explain why it\u2019s bad. Later, he realized that he actually really liked it."}, {"text_idx": "#000011", "text": "Nu, kompreneble mankas al mi komparo al ne-denaske-esperanta vivo. Tamen g\u0302i absolute ne g\u0302enis, kaj ofte estis agrabla kiel \u201esekreta\u201c lingvo. Malfacilas priskribi tion, sed g\u0302i estis parto de la familio kaj ielmaniere sentis \u201eagrable\u201c."}, {"text_idx": "#000012", "text": "Well, I can\u2019t compare that to what my life would\u2019ve been like as a non-native Esperanto speaker, of course. However, it wasn\u2019t annoying at all, and often it was nice to have a \u201csecret\u201d language. It\u2019s difficult to describe, but it was part of the family and somehow always felt \u201cnice.\u201d"}, {"text_idx": "#000019", "text": "Do you think you\u2019ll continue the tradition and raise your kids in Esperanto? Why or why not?"}, {"text_idx": "#000020", "text": "Por mi tio ne estas tradicio. Mi ne fiere festas la Klu\u0308nder-klanon se mi parolas Esperanton. \ud83d\ude09 Tamen estas tre vers\u0302ajne, ke mi faros tion \u2013 simple c\u0302ar estas \u201enormala\u201c por mi kaj malfacilos eviti ke miaj infanoj lernas Esperanton."}, {"text_idx": "#000021", "text": "For me, that\u2019s not a tradition. I don\u2019t proudly celebrate the Klu\u0308nder clan if I speak Esperanto. \ud83d\ude09 However, it\u2019s very likely that I\u2019ll do that \u2013 just because it\u2019s \u201cnormal\u201d for me and it will be difficult to keep my kids from learning Esperanto."}, {"text_idx": "#000023", "text": "G\u0302isdatigo: La patro de Nicole, Helmut Klu\u0308nder, j\u0302us skribis por informi min, ke fakte estis la avo de Nicole, kaj ne s\u0302ia praavo, kiu lernis Esperanton por argumenti pli efektive kontrau\u0306 g\u0302i. Espereble baldau\u0306, ni lernos pli pri kiel tio evoluis..."}, {"text_idx": "#000024", "text": "Update: Nicole\u2019s father, Helmut Klu\u0308nder, just wrote to inform me that it was Nicole\u2019s grandfather, not great-grandfather who learned Esperanto to argue more effectively against it. Hopefully soon, we will learn more how this unfolded..."}, {"text_idx": "#000026", "text": "About the Author: Chuck Smith"}, {"text_idx": "#000029", "text": "I\u2019d like to know if he acquired another language at home or if he did it from the societal environnement and what language was that."}, {"text_idx": "#000030", "text": "Very nice interview, Iwant to know is Esperanto really that worth it, I mean did you think it have all the words you need to express your self freely at your home with your family?!"}, {"text_idx": "#000033", "text": "I\u2019d like to hear a podcast where you interview him. I\u2019m curious about how a native speaker sounds compared to someone who just learned it well."}, {"text_idx": "#000035", "text": "Interesa rakonto, sed c\u0302u Nils estas vere \u2018denaska\u2019 parolanto de Esperanto? Alivorte, c\u0302u g\u0302i estas lia unua lingvo, au\u0306 c\u0302u liaj gepatroj instruis g\u0302in al li apude de la nacia lingvo? Krome, c\u0302u la avo de Nils ankau\u0306 parolis al li en Esperanto?\nAn interesting story, but is Nils really a \u2018native\u2019 Esperanto speaker? In other words, was it his first language, or did his parents teach it to him alongside the national language? Also, did Nils\u2019 grandfather talk to him in Esperanto, too?"}, {"text_idx": "#000036", "text": "Mi ne bone komprenas vian demandon. G\u0302i estis mia unua lingvo, samtempe kun la Germana. Jes \u2013 tio eblas. Mia avo tro frue mortis por havi eblecon paroli kun mi en iu-ajn lingvo."}, {"text_idx": "#000037", "text": "I don\u2019t really understand your question. It is my first language, at the same time with German. Jes \u2013 that\u2019s possible. Mi grandfather died too early to talk to me in any language."}, {"text_idx": "#000039", "text": "Mi pensis ke bebo lernas plejparte unu lingvon, kaj eble alian lingvon kiel \u2018dua\u2019, sed s\u0302ajne oni povas lerni du samtempe! Mi ne sciis tion. Dankon.\nI thought that a baby learned mainly one language, and maybe another language as a \u2018second\u2019, but it seems that one can learn two simultaneously! I didn\u2019t know that. Thanks."}, {"text_idx": "#000042", "text": "Sinjoro Cooper vi eraras lau\u0306 mi. Mi pensas ke vi ne en Centra-Eu\u0306ropo vivas, c\u0302ar c\u0302i tie vi vivus, konus ke la beboj kune multajn lingvojn samtempe ellerneblas. Kun sia avo li parolas germane (ekzemple), kun sio patrino hungare, kun la najbaro rumane \u2013 kiel en Hungara-Transilvanio (Erde\u0301ly) au\u0306 en Hungarujo. Kaj se sia patro volas, kun sia patro li parolus esperante. Tiuj estas jam kvar lingoj. Kaj ankau\u0306 g\u0302i vivas tie c\u0302i la serba, la rusena, la slovaka, la krovata, la greka kaj la jida lingvo kune sur unu tero, en unu lando. La historio certe, sendube estas kredebla."}, {"text_idx": "#000043", "text": "I spoke only Esperanto to my own son, Skajler, until he was six years old. His mom spoke only English to him. It was as if he thought I had only an incredibly thick accent. In public the conversation between himself and me was bi-lingual. I\u2019d speak Esperanto to him, he\u2019d answer in English (completely in accord with the topic at hand).\nSadly, I gave it up when he got into first grade, where it was apparent he had very great difficulty reading and the private school teachers blamed it on me. Under the weight of pressure from every direction I gave it up...to absolutely ZERO effect. turns out his issue was something very like dyslexia (not exactly, but near enough) from which he suffers yet to this day...and has since lost his bilingual facility. I miss it very greatly as it was terrific fun speaking Esperanto (a much favored hobby without political overtones) to my only child. I am greatly disappointed at the lost opportunity now."}, {"text_idx": "#000046", "text": "When I went thru photos at the Museum in Vienna, I did notice that it seemed to be a kind of trope way back to take photos of groups often holding up the newspaper. I didn\u2019t see so many postcards as much as just regular photos. It seemed to be a \u201cthing\u201d that people did \u2013 probably just a visual cue to include in the photo that evoked Esperanto. Similar to holding the flag."}, {"text_idx": "#000047", "text": "Flandra j\u0302urnalisto legis la intervjuon kaj el tio rezultis intervjuo en la flandra radio.\nAntau\u0306 du monatoj estis intervjuo en la flandra televido kun Karlijn plej parte en Esperanto kun subtitoloj en la nederlanda."}, {"text_idx": "#000053", "text": "When our son David was, my wife and I agreed to a consistent policy: I would speak only Esperanto to him, and she only English. It worked splendidly, and David grew up totally bilingual, easily able to distinguish \u201cDaddy\u2019s language\u201d from \u201cMummy\u2019s language\u201d. In fact, his Esperanto was better than his English till he went to school (because Esperanto gave him much more freedom to make up his own words).\nDespite years of mental disturbance (schizophrenia) in his teens and despite having no other contact with Esperanto, David still to this day instantly speaks Esperanto when I ring him."}]