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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 40 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Esperanto
| Encountering a fellow Esperantist ("samideano"), you might greet him or her by saying "Bonan tagon!" What does "bonan tagon" mean in Esperanto? | Esperanto for Beginners
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Good day! Hello!. "Bona" is an adjective meaning "good" and "tago" a noun meaning "day". The first word has its roots in the Romance languages, while the second is based on the German word having the same meaning.
"one", "two", and "three". "Mother", "Father" and "Son" would be "Patrino", "Patro", and "Filo", and while there are one or two variations of Esperanto, all of them have these three words, the first three ordinal numbers: "one", "two", and "three". Their origins lie in the Romance languages.
| An Esperanto speaker ("Esperantisto") who has never seen a gummy bear in his life before might point to it and say "Kio estas tio?" What is he asking? | Esperanto for Beginners
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What is that?. "Kio estas tio?" translates as "What is that (thing)?" To say "What is that for", you must re-arrange the words, because Esperanto forbids sentences ending in prepositions: "Por kio estas tio?"
| If something is described in Esperanto as "blua", "verda", and "granda", what is true about it? | Esperanto for Beginners
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It is blue and green and large. "Blua" and "verda" are both colors. "Granda" means "big" or "great", but not in the sense of "grandiose", which is "grandiosa".
| What do the following Esperanto words represent: "viro", "studento", "laboristo", and "policisto"? (Look at the words carefully.) | Esperanto for Beginners
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people. Two of the words end with the suffix "-ist-" which indicates a professional (like the suffix -ist" in English). The words translate to: "man" (think "virile"), "student", "worker" (think "labor"), and "policeman".
| What kind of things do the following Esperanto words represent: "muso", "hundo", "insekto", and "kato"? (Say them to yourself as you think they are pronounced. It might be easier.) | Esperanto for Beginners
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Animals. The words mean: "mouse" ("muso"), "dog" ("hundo"), "insect" ("insekto"), and "cat" ("kato").
| Here are some basic Esperanto words: "blua", "telefono", "ne", "granda", "insekto", "libera",
"fakto", "alta". What letter do all Esperanto nouns end in? | Esperanto for Beginners
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O. All nouns in Esperanto end in --O (ALWAYS pronounced "oh"). They are made plural by adding --J. The diphthong --OJ is always pronounced "oy" as in "boy".
| Here are some basic Esperanto words: "blua", "telefono", "ne", "granda", "insekto", "libera",
"fakto", "alta". What letter do all Esperanto adjectives end in? | Esperanto for Beginners
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A. All adjectives end in -A and A is always pronounced "ah" as in "father". If the noun it modifies is plural, the adjective will take a --J at the end: --AJ, which is always pronounced "I" as in "like".
Hope you enjoyed your first taste of Esperanto!
| Esperanto is a language invented in 1887 by an occulist named L. L. Zamenhof. The name of the language comes from the pseudonym he used for his first book. That pseudonym was "Doktoro Esperanto". What does the word "esperanto" mean in the language of Esperanto? | About Esperanto
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one who hopes. The Esperanto verb "esperi" means "to hope". Adding "anto" to the end of the verb creates a noun participle meaning "one who does this".
| Dr. Zamenhof, the creator of Esperanto, was able to compile the grammar of the Esperanto language into how many rules? | About Esperanto
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16. The rules are esoteric to someone unfamiliar with the study of languages, but yes, you can break down the grammar of Esperanto into just 16 rules.
| Speakers of Esperanto are often called Esperantists. Throughout history, where were Esperantists persecuted for their interest in the language? | About Esperanto
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All of these (The Soviet Union, The United States, Nazi Germany). Tyrants thrive on creating enemies. Esperanto helps unite people of many various nationalities; common language brings common understanding. Under Nazi Germany, Esperantists were singled out and sentenced to death or worse in concentration camps for their interest in the language (in "Mein Kampf", Hitler calls it "the language of spies"). Stalin had Esperantists killed, and US Senator Joseph McCarthy considered knowledge of Esperanto to be nearly synonymous with sympathy for the "Communist cause".
| The League of Nations ALMOST made Esperanto the official second language of the world. What country vetoed the resolution? | About Esperanto
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France. French was the language of international communication then, much like English is now. The United States was not a member of the League of Nations, and Russia ceased to exist shortly before the end of World War I (replaced by the USSR). Two years after the French delegate vetoed the resolution, he called for the language to be taught in French schools.
| Esperanto as a learning tool? You can master Esperanto in a fraction of the time it takes to gain beginner status in other languages. In 1965, two groups of English-speaking students were separated, one learned French for four years, while the other studied Esperanto for one year and French for three years. What was the result? | About Esperanto
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Those studying French for three years were more proficient in the language than those studying for four years.. Taking the time to learn this simple auxiliary language has proven time and again to better prepare students for natural languages. This study took place in Europe. Similar results were shown when the language studied was Japanese or when the time was reduced to two years. It turns out that mastering a language--even an artificial one--improves confidence and understanding of language structures.
| What is the symbol of Esperanto? (Many Esperantists will wear a pin displaying this thing when travelling abroad.) | About Esperanto
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a green star. Esperanto actually has its own flag: a field of green with a white block in the upper-left corner in which appears the green star.
| Of what nationality was Dr. Zamenhoff, the creator of Esperanto? | About Esperanto
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Polish. He grew up in a neighborhood in Poland where there were speakers of many different languages. He witnessed a lot of anger between the various groups, and believed that if they shared a common language, there would be more understanding and less violence.
| The original vocabulary of Esperanto contained how many root words, which because of the Esperanto concept of "word-building" with affixes and compound words, allowed a speaker to quickly understand and speak tens of thousands of words? | About Esperanto
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900. Prefixes and suffixes have uniform meaning and any words can be combined to create a new meaning. The most useful prefix is "mal--" which means "the direct opposite of". Given words like "alta" (high), "pura" (clean), and "sana" (healthy), you can easily double your vocabulary with "malalta" (low), "malpura" (dirty), and "malsana" (sick).
| Every vowel represents a new syllable. How many syllables does the Esperanto word for "boat" have: boato? | About Esperanto
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3. Esperanto letters all have one sound only, and there are no silent letters. "Boato" is pronounced "boh-AH-toe" The accent is always on the second to last syllable.
| "Bona" is the Esperanto adjective meaning "good". To make a word denote the direct opposite of its root meaning, the prefix "MAL--" is used. What does "malbona" mean in English? | More Beginner's Esperanto
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bad. The direct opposite of "good" is "bad", and based on the information provided, the direct opposite of "bona" is "malbona", meaning "bad".
| "Malsana" means "the direct opposite of 'sana'". "Sana" means "healthy". The suffix "--UL--" indicates a person represented by the condition expressed by the word. What is a "malsanulo"? | More Beginner's Esperanto
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a sick person. "MAL--" (opposite) + "SAN--" (healthy) + "--UL--" (person) + "--O" (noun) means "a sick person".
| The suffix "--EJ--" is very useful. It denotes a place for what is described in the root word. The verb "lerni" means "to learn". Just what is a "lernejo" (lehr-NAY-o)? | More Beginner's Esperanto
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a school. "LERN--" (learn) + "--EJ--" (place) + "--O" (noun ending) = "a place to learn" or more colloquially, "a school".
| "EK--" is a neat prefix that denotes an instance of doing something or the beginning of the action, narrowing the action down to a single moment in time. For example, "Brili" means "to shine" while "ekbrili" means "to flash". "Stari" means "to stand" while "ekstari" means "to stand up". What does "eksidi" mean? | More Beginner's Esperanto
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to sit down. "EK--" (instantaneous action) + "SID--" (sit) + "--I" (verb ending) = "to sit down" (i.e. the actual instant of sitting).
| "GE--" is a convenient prefix meaning "both genders". Patro is "father". "Patrino" is "mother". Just what are "Gepatroj" ("--OJ" being the ending for plural nouns)? | More Beginner's Esperanto
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Parents. The answer is "parents". "GE--" (both genders) + "PATR--" (father) + "--OJ" (plural noun) = "parents"
All of these (I sit, I am sitting, I do sit). Esperanto makes no distinction between the various versions of the present tense (and this is true of many other languages as well). "Mi sidas" can mean "I sit", "I am sitting", or "I do sit". You can of course use adverbs (and affixes) to stress one or more of these ideas. For example, "Mi ja sidas" means "I indeed sit", expressing the idea of "I do sit" or "I am sitting".
| Prefixes and suffixes can also be words all by themselves! "Lernilo" is "a tool for learning". What does "ilo" mean? | More Beginner's Esperanto
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a tool or instrument. "--IL--" is a suffix meaning tool or instrument of the idea expressed by the root word. "Lerni" means "to learn". "Lernilo" is "a learning tool", perhaps a textbook or something else along those lines. As a word on its own, "ilo" means "a tool or instrument" for doing something.
| "MAL--" is a prefix meaning "the direct opposite of" the root word. The suffix "--UL--" denotes a person having the characteristics of the root word. "--EJ--" is a suffix that denotes a place. Colloquially, one might refer to a "malbonulejo". What might this be in context? | More Beginner's Esperanto
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All of these (a prison, a place for bad people, a brothel). "Malbonulejo" is literally "a place for bad people". Out of context, "prison" is the best answer, but there is a non-contrived word for prison. In fact, one could use "malbonulejo" for all of these places.
| "Granda" is the Esperanto word for "big". The suffix "--EG--" increases the meaning of the word it modifies. What does "grandega" mean? | More Beginner's Esperanto
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Huge. "GRAND--" (big) + "--EG--" (increased intensity) + "--A" (adjectival ending" = "huge, extremely large".
| The adjective "BONA" means "GOOD". The suffix "--UL--" indicates a person having a given trait. "--O" is the ending for a noun. How would one correctly translate the Esperanto word "BONULO"? | A "Good" Esperanto Quiz
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A good person. It can also mean a kind of buddy or pal, someone who is friendly and fun to be around.
| The prefix "MAL--" indicates the direct opposite meaning of the root word. The adjective "BONA" means "GOOD". "--A" is the ending for an adjective. How would one correctly translate the Esperanto word "MALBONA"? | A "Good" Esperanto Quiz
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bad. "MAL--" is the biggest reason so few words need to be learned to speak Esperanto well. Instead of learning "BIG" and "SMALL", you need only learn one word and then use "MAL--" to indicate the opposite: "BONA"/"GOOD" and "MALBONA"/"BAD". "AMI"/"TO LOVE" and "MALAMI"/"TO HATE". "HELPI"/"TO HELP" and "MALHELPI"/"TO HINDER". "BELA"/"PRETTY" and "MALBELA"/"UGLY".
| The prefix "MAL--" indicates the direct opposite meaning of the root word. The adjective "BONA" means "GOOD". The Esperanto suffix "--UL--" indicates a person having a given trait. "--O" is the ending for a noun. How would one correctly translate the Esperanto word "MALBONULO"? | A "Good" Esperanto Quiz
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A bad person. The suffix "--UL--" indicates a person having the given qualities. It's also used to form the names of groups of animals based on their traits. "MAMO" is a "BREAST" or "TEAT" while "MAMULO" is a "MAMMAL", or one of a group of animals having "MAMOJ" ("--J" is the plural ending for nouns).
| The word "BONA" means "GOOD" in Esperanto. The suffix "--ET--" diminishes the meaning of a word. "--A" is the ending for an adjective. How would one correctly translate the Esperanto word "BONETA"?
| A "Good" Esperanto Quiz
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so-so. "--ET--" is a very useful suffix and can double your vocabulary. "DOMO" is a "HOUSE" while "DOMETO" is a "COTTAGE". "URBO" is a "CITY", while "URBETO" is a "VILLAGE". In this way, you can make a great many words from just one. With adjectives, it often implies the English suffix "--ISH". "BLUA" is "BLUE", "BLUETA" is "BLUISH, SOMEWHAT BLUE".
| "BONA" means "GOOD". The suffix "--EG--" augments the meaning of a word. "--A" is the ending for an adjective. How would one correctly translate the Esperanto word "BONEGA"?
| A "Good" Esperanto Quiz
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Great. "--EG--" is a very useful suffix and can help increase your vocabulary immensely. "GRANDA" is "BIG", "GRANDEGA" is "HUGE". "MALGRANDA" is small, while "MALGRANDEGA" is "TINY" (the opposite of "HUGE"). "DOMO" is a "HOUSE" while "DOMEGO" is a "MANSION". "URBO" is a "CITY", while "URBEGO" is a "METROPOLIS". In this way, you can make a great many words from just one.
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