Tag Archives: vocabulary
Bleki Posted by Transparent Language 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…
Words of Caution: “Subacxeti” Posted by Transparent Language 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…
Internet Contractions and Abbreviations Posted by Transparent Language 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…
Kiomas? Posted by Transparent Language 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…
Aligxilo Posted by Transparent Language 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”…
Krokodili Posted by Transparent Language 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…
The Less Common Pronoun Posted by Transparent Language on May 30, 2009
You might never encounter the pronoun “ci” in your adventures as an Esperantist, unless you happen to be reading some old-fashioned literature. “Ci” is much like the antequated English word “thou” (which would make “cia” the equivalent of “thine,” and the accusative “cin” something like “thee”). I have no idea how you could work that…