Esperanto Language Blog

Did you know that Kelly Clarkson, who sang the national anthem during the Super Bowl, learned Esperanto? Ok, I’ll admit, it wasn’t much. But, I’m sure of it, since I saw it myself! Amusingly enough, Kelly Clarkson was on the Paul O’Grady Show promoting her new album at the same time as Esperanto activist, Tim Morley, also appeared. So, check out the video and then learn more about how Tim ended up teaching Esperanto to Kelly.

Most of my readers don’t live in England, so I’m wondering, how well-known is the Paul O’Grady show?

Paul O’Grady is a very well known presenter on national TV and radio, and The Paul O’Grady Show was attracting about 3 million viewers per show in 2005 when my slot with Kelly Clarkson was broadcast.

How did you end up being on such a show?

They were scouting around for an Esperanto speaker. Originally it was meant to be part of a wider feature about languages, to coincide with the European Day of Languages, but that never happened, and they ended up just loosely tying in a piece about Esperanto with Kelly Clarkson’s tour.

They contacted the London Esperanto Club, and the Esperanto Association of Britain, but I stumbled on some messages that they sent to various Esperanto-related email discussion groups.

I found out later that there was some discussion at the London club about whether it was wise to take up the request, as there was a risk that the show would ridicule or mock the invitee and/or Esperanto, but having seen the show occasionally, I wasn’t really worried about that. It’s quite light-hearted, not an intellectual discussion with “devil’s advocate” questions, but they’re always very good with their guests, so I went for it.

They asked me to meet the production staff a few weeks in advance, and we chatted a bit on camera about Esperanto and other things, then they invited me back for the live broadcast.

When did you hear you would be sitting next to Kelly Clarkson, teaching her a bit of Esperanto? What came to your mind?

It was a week or so beforehand, from memory, and I’m afraid my immediate response was, “Kelly who?” Sorry, Kelly! I don’t watch a great deal of TV, and although I have music on at home, it’s rarely the latest releases, so I had to google Kelly Clarkson to find out who I’d be sharing the sofa with. I was quite impressed with what I read though, and it was a great pleasure to meet her on the day! During the commercial break immediately after the clip that’s on YouTube, we chatted on the sofa for a couple of minutes, and she said it sounded really interesting and asked a couple more questions. Damn, I wish I’d had a business card to give to her, but I didn’t!

Was it your idea to answer Paul’s first two questions in Esperanto? If not, how do you think that went over?

Fakte ne, la produktistoj proponis tion, sed mi ja ŝatis la ideon!

Ummm nice, could you translate that for us?

Sure, yeah! Actually no, it was the producers who suggested it, but I liked the idea.

How much of the interview was scripted and how much was spontaneous?

About 50/50. Some of the questions I’d been told about in advance, and probably already answered in the pre-screening interview, but he threw in other things too. The night before the show, Paul O’Grady had been at an awards ceremony where he’d got rather drunk, so there had been references to that throughout the show, and his request for a translation of “help me!” was part of that, and wasn’t in the script.

The interaction with Kelly was pretty much all scripted — I knew she was going to say “right on!” and she knew that I was going to translate it as “ĝuste!”

I thought the chalkboard in the middle was brilliant. Was that your idea? How did that end up there?

Again, it was the producers’ idea to have it, and it was their questions too, although obviously the Esperanto translations were mine.

Why did you choose to introduce such a long word like “tranoktigonton”?

Ironically, it was partly to make the translation fit on the blackboard! I could have said “Mi bezonas prunti ĉambron por dormi” or something similar, and perhaps I should have in retrospect, but I was just asked to translate them while somebody stood over me waiting to take my piece of paper away to write on the blackboard, so I didn’t have much time to consider it.

Well, I congratulate you again on a terrific media success and I wish you more in your future!

Thanks! My next appearance will be in a month’s time, at TEDxGranta in Cambridge, UK, where I’ll be talking about teaching Esperanto to primary school kids. Watch out for it online afterwards!

"Le Printemps" (1873) by Pierre Auguste Cot

Feliĉan Valentintago! [Happy Valentine's Day!] Want to surprise that special someone by telling them, Mi amas vin [I love you] in Esperanto? Well, now you know how!

So, on this special day, you might want to pick up some ĉokolado [chocolate] at the superbazaro [supermarket], or floroj [flowers] from the floristo [do I really need to translate this one?]. It could also be pleasant to give a karto [card] to your amato or amatino [loved one].

After giving that karto, you could go to a restoracio [restaurant] or a kinejo [movie theater]. Our Australian readers might like a romantika promenado en parko [romantic stroll in a park]. If you don’t have a car, you’ll first promeni en parkon [to stroll into a park]. Note the accusative -n ending denotes movement, whereas without the accusative, it means that you’re just walking within a park… I’m guessing you drove there! While you’re at the park, you might am-ind-um-i [literally: to love-worthy-do], which could be holding hands, kissing or cuddling.

In any case, I hope you have a great day, regardless of whether you are a sam-seks-em-ul-o [literally: same-sex-inclined-person -> homosexual], mal-sam-seks-em-ul-o [heterosexual], or ambaŭ-seks-em-ul-o [literally: both-sex-inclined-person -> bisexual]! You can even avoid mentioning gender of your partner at all by saying am-partnero [love partner] or go with the traditional kor-amik-o [literally: heart-friend -> boyfriend] or kor-amik-in-o [literally: heart-friend-female -> girlfriend].

Despite all the word building examples above, this is not just a textbook exercise. Many people find love with someone in the international language. Such relationships often lead to native Esperanto speakers. For more about that, see my interview with native speaker Rolf Fantom (another native speaker interview coming soon). On The One Show, there was even a story about a British/Slovenian couple who meet through Esperanto and didn’t even have another language in common. Watch it for yourself below (starting at 2:48):

There is even an Esperanto magazine called Familia Esperanto as well as family Esperanto events such as Printempa Semajno Internacia [International Spring Week] with the next one taking place in Bonn on April 2-9, 2012. There Esperanto families meet, Esperanto-speaking kids play together, etc. The Internacia Infana Kongreseto is also worthy of note, in that it lets Esperanto parents bring their kids to the Universal Esperanto Conference and let their kids play and chat with other kids from around the world.

Have you found your ampartnero through Esperanto? Had kids together? Tell us more in the comments!

Today, Libera Folio wrote about the first Esperanto game for iPhone. Amusingly enough, I produced this game, so this article may not be as unbiased as usual. What follows is a translation of their article:

Explain beard without using the word "hairs."

The first Esperanto game for Apple phones and tablets was officially released today, although with an English name: Word Race. Chuck Smith, the well-known American Esperanto speaker, now living in Germany, created the game, which besides being playable in Esperanto, can also be played in English and German. In addition to the iPhone or iPad, you need friends who speak the same language – it’s not possible to play it alone. A trial version of the game has already been presented at various Esperanto conferences, according to Chuck Smith, with success. We asked him to tell us more.

Libera Folio: What is Word Race? How do you play it?

Chuck Smith: Word Race is not an ordinary game. It’s a game, which you can play with 4 to 20 players with only one iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. You need to explain a word to your team without using the forbidden words. So, you have to very cleverly think of the best way to help your team figure out what you’re trying to convey. That way it’s also a great way to practice Esperanto!

Libera Folio: How did you come up with the idea to make an Esperanto game?

Chuck Smith: There used to be this iPhone game I frequently played with friends, which worked the same way. Then, we asked if we could translate the game into German and never heard back from them. Afterwards, we had the idea that we could probably make an even better game, so we did that and also added Esperanto cards.

Libera Folio: How much does the game cost?

Chuck Smith: The game itself is free, but that only gives you 42 cards to try it out. If you like it, you can buy more word packs. For example, our general word pack only costs US$2.99 as an opening offer (it normally costs $3.99). Afterwards, we even want to make a word pack just about Esperanto culture!

Libera Folio: How can you get it?

Chuck Smith: It can be purchased from the Apple App Store, which can be found from the link on our website. I would like to know what everything thinks about it! If you like it, I would be very happy, if you could write a review in your country and language in the store. I playtested it at many different Esperanto meetings and everyone liked it… I hope, that your readers will like it too!