Learning Esperanto is more "dorky" than learning Klingon or Elvish
I didn't say nerdy since that's not perjorative anymore. And I say this as a dork/nerd/geek/etc.
If you go to Comic Cons like I do, in cosplay, we all know it's stupid. That's what makes it fun. We know Star Trek is kind of hokey. That's part of the charm. Klingon is so over-the-top with its gutteral, harsh sounds, that it's fun. We all know it's hokey. It's charming in a way.
Elvish was developed by a guy that loved languages, and invented it because he liked the sounds. He nerded out pretty hard and wrote lore more dense and dry than the first few books of the Bible. But it's still got this charm to it.
But Esperanto? It's serious! It was a serious attempt which makes it so...... stupid? Maybe it is the *best* neutral language ever. I couldn't invent Esperanto. It took a lot of work *and* intellect to make it, no doubt. Perhaps it represents the language that is the best general purpose at communicating any concept. But it still seems so stupid.
If a friend of mine speaks Klingon, that's one of their cool traits. It makes them unique. If a friend speaks Esperanto, then I question their judgement. It's weird.
Does anyone else feel the same way? There's a lightheartedness to constructed languages from books and TV shows, but the seriousness of Esperanto makes me silently judge the speakers of it, no matter how smart they are or how useful the language is.