Saluton kaj bonvenon al Esperanto Miĉigano!
(Hello and welcome to Esperanto Michigan!)

Who are we?
Esperanto Michigan is a non-profit organization in the state of Michigan, looking to increase awareness about Esperanto, provide resources for those wishing to learn, and foster community through regular meetups. For more information, check out the About Us page.

What is Esperanto?
Esperanto is a constructed language (i.e., it is not a language which naturally evolved), created in 1887 by L. L. Zamenhof with the intention of becoming a secondary, international language; to that end it was developed to be as simple to learn as possible for as many people across the globe as possible. In the 100+ years since its inception, it has taken on a culture and community of its own. There are thousands – possibly millions – of speakers across the world, and it is spoken in over 100 countries. Want to know more? Check out the rather in-depth Wikipedia article here.

Why learn Esperanto?
Esperanto has often been touted as the “easiest language to learn,” and to an extent this is true. Unlike a natural language, Esperanto has a rigidly defined (and small) set of grammar rules which have little-to-no exceptions. Its use of prefixes and suffixes on root words means that, once you learn a word, you have numerous ways to modify that word to change its meaning (i.e., instead of “cow”, “calf”, “beef” – Esperanto has “bovino”, “bovido”, and “bovaĵo”).

Every single letter is pronounced exactly the same each time. And every word pronounces every letter. Although speaking another language takes some time to get used to, Esperanto was planned to be as easy as possible to learn and understand. Plus, as an added bonus, it makes for a great foundation for learning other languages.

How to learn Esperanto?
There are numerous apps, books, websites, and classes where one can learn Esperanto. Check out our Resources page to help you get started in learning, finding helpful tools, and locating other Esperanto organizations in the United States – many of which have their own available resources. And of course, the best way to learn is to engage directly with other Esperanto speakers in person.

Where / when do we meet?
We host monthly in-person gatherings. Meeting information is listed on Facebook, Bluesky, and our Meetups page. Come check us out!

Please feel free to reach out to us on Facebook, Bluesky, or via the Contact Us page if you have any questions or concerns. We look forward to getting to know you and exploring this amazing language and culture together!