Esperanto Language Blog
Menu
Search

Bleki Posted by on Jun 26, 2009

The other day I stumbled upon a surprisingly useful word – “bleki.” There is no one-word English translation, but “bleki” is a general verb that means “for an animal to cry.” You can use it to refer to birds calling, dogs barking, horses neighing…It works for pretty much any non-human creature! Mi opinias ke la…

Continue Reading

Purism or Pluralism? Posted by on Jun 24, 2009

Based on an insightful comment from Pascal Blondiau in regards to “krokodili” the other week, I find myself asking whether or not I want to see Esperanto evolve or not. Moreover, if the language needs to change, I wonder how we should go about changing it. Before you read any further, I highly recommend reading…

Continue Reading

Words of Caution: “Subacxeti” Posted by on Jun 23, 2009

If you’re feeling adventurous, and want to devise some exciting new verbs using your word roots, make sure that your new creation doesn’t have a wholly different meaning! Continuing in our theme of idiotismoj, today we’ll examine the verb “subacxeti.” When you think of “underpay” in English, you think of giving someone too little payment…

Continue Reading

Internet Contractions and Abbreviations Posted by on Jun 20, 2009

Since I’m a student of English, I typically bemoan the decline of proper grammar due to Internet chatrooms and instant-message programs. However, when brevity is imperative, I can see how a few bits of contractions or abbreviations may be appropriate. There are a few commonplace contractions in Esperanto that you might encounter during casual online…

Continue Reading

Kiomas? Posted by on Jun 19, 2009

Here’s a shortcut for asking the time! Normally, one would ask, “Kioma horo estas?” If you’re really in a hurry, though, you can eliminate half of the syllables in the expression, and ask “Kiomas?” You might not receive an answer, since I don’t imagine the majority of Esperantists would regularly use the expression. If that…

Continue Reading

Aligxilo Posted by on Jun 16, 2009

This entry’s focus is the Esperanto word “aligxilo.” You might notice a lot of simple pieces within the word: “al,” “igx,” and “ilo.” But, if we translate the word literally, based upon these roots, it seems as though aligxilo means “tool for becoming-to.” What could this possibly mean in English? Believe it or not, “aligxilo”…

Continue Reading

Krokodili Posted by on Jun 12, 2009

This month I decided to hunt down some more idiomatic expressions in Esperanto. The best one I could find for this entry (i.e., one that is not an expletive, and thus fit for polite company!) is the verb “krokodili.” Native English speakers might know of the expression “crocodile tears,” which refers to a display of…

Continue Reading

Older posts
Newer posts