He is a psychotherapist and taught in the psychology department of Geneva University (Switzerland) from 1973 to 1994. His French language book Le defi des langues - Du gachis au bon sens (The language challenge - From chaos to common sense) (Paris: L'Harmattan, 1994) is a kind of psychoanalysis of international communication. A Portuguese version, O desafio das linguas, was published in 2002 (Campinas, Sao Paulo: Pontes, 2002).
His diverse Esperanto writings include instructional books, books for beginners, novels, short stories, poems, articles and non-fiction books. His most famous works are Gerda Malaperis and La Bona Lingvo (The Good Language). Gerda Malaperis is a novella which uses basic grammar and vocabulary in the first chapter and builds up to expert Esperanto by the end, including word lists so beginners can easily follow along. In La Bona Lingvo, Piron captures the basic linguistic and social aspects of Esperanto. He argues strongly for imaginative use of the basic Esperanto morpheme inventory and word formation techniques, and against unnecessary importation of neologisms from European languages. He also presents the idea that once one has learned enough vocabulary to express oneself, it is easier to think clearly in Esperanto than in many other languages.
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