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What Is Ido? Posted by on Apr 30, 2009

Believe it or not, Esperanto has produced an ancillary language! Much in the same way that Latin evolved into Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese, so too has Esperanto spawned a similar language. The offspring language is called “Ido.” And, appropriately enough, the Esperanto word “ido” means “offspring.” (It’s also a suffix that denotes offspring, such…

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Kritikoj de Esperanto: Rehashing Belorussian? Posted by on Apr 30, 2009

Having covered Ido with my last entry, I began wondering what might have prompted such a large-scale departure from Esperanto. As a continuing series, I think that we might periodically revisit some of la kritikoj that people have of Esperanto, and assess whether they are valid or not. If any of you readers out there…

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La Espero Posted by on Apr 30, 2009

Any good Esperantist will tell you that the name of language comes from “esperi,” which means, “to hope.” So, what exactly are they hoping for? One of L.L. Zamenhof’s artistic works, known simply as “La Espero” (the hope) tries to answer that question. “La Espero” is a simple, 24-line poem written as a series of…

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Try, Try Again Posted by on Apr 30, 2009

In a continuing tradition of specific verbs, Esperanto has multiple different ways of saying things that would all be grouped under “to try” in English. Think of some of the vastly different contexts in which you use the verb “try” in your daily life, and you’ll begin to see why Esperanto has a few varied…

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Fi- on ye! Posted by on Apr 26, 2009

Sometimes it can be tempting to throw down an Latin- or English- sounding word, tack a relevant Esperanto suffix on the end, and hope the word works properly. In some cases, it can be a viable strategy – think of the verb “halti,” which means “to halt,” or the preposition “kun” (with) which is remarkably…

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Fun with Infixes: -estr- Posted by on Apr 25, 2009

Taken on its own, the word “estro” means a leader (or, more colloquially, a boss or a chief). You can put -estr- into a word to create specific types of leaders. Sxipestro (sxip- + -estr- + -o) = Ship’s captain Lernestro (lern- + -estr- + -o) = Principal, professor, etc. Urbestro (urb- + -estr- +…

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Another Verb to Watch: Spezi Posted by on Apr 20, 2009

The useful Esperanto verb “spezi” is often used when a situation involves money. “Spezi” connotes some kind of transaction. However, the verb on its own means either “to pay out” or “to take in” or “to earn.” This might strike you as odd, that a single word should mean two opposite things! There’s a world…

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