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[1]Wretch. Misery = miser-o; suf. -ul denotes having the quality of. [2]Ingenious. To find = trov-i; out = el; suf. -em denotes propensity or aptitude. [3]Deadly. To die = mort-i; suf. -ig denotes to cause to die. [4]Beneficial. Profit-causing; suf. -ig. [5]Fellows. With = kun; suf. -ul denotes state or quality. [6]A band of villagers. Suf. -ar denotes a collection. [7]Axes. To hew = hak-i; suf. -il denotes instrument. [8]Leader of the band. Band = grup-o; suf. -estr enotes chief of. [9]Homes. To dwell = logx-i; suf. -ej denotes place.
"Sed vi tute ne devos planti "But you must not plant the trees la arbojn en la kampoj kaj in the fields and flower-beds," florbedoj," diris Namezo. La arboj said Namezo. "Trees have a havas utilon diferencan de la different use from other plants, aliaj kreskajxoj kaj oni plantos and they will be planted in quite ilin en aparta loko. Se okaze arbo separate places. If by chance a altrudos sin inter la rikoltojn, tree pushes itself in amongst the oni elradikos gxin tuj, antaux ol crops, it will be rooted out at gxi grandigxos." once, before it gets big."
"Ne, arbo estas dangxera," kriis "No, trees are dangerous," cried la hakilistoj; kaj Namezo devis the men with the axes;[1] and alvoki siajn amikojn por defendi Namezo had to call up his friends la arbon. to defend the tree.
Poste Namezo iris hejmen kaj After this Namezo went home and enfermis sin en sia dometo. Lia shut himself up in his cottage. patrino estis jam de longe morta, His mother was by this time kaj la gefratoj jam edzigxis, kaj long dead, and his brother and li vivadis sole. Sed li nun ne sister[2] were now married,[3] povis ecx resti sola. Venis la and he lived all alone. But now sagxuloj de la vilagxo, kaj ili he could not even remain alone. kriadis tra la fenestro, "Arbo The wise men of the village came estas bona ideo, sed vi kreskigis along, and they kept shouting vian arbon malprave. Lasu nin do through the window, "Trees are a flegi gxin laux nia bontrovo, good idea, but you have grown your kaj ni baldaux plibonigos gxin, tree the wrong way. So let us look tiel ke gxi estos vere alpreninda after it as we see fit, and we'll arbo." soon improve[4] it, so that it shall be a tree really fit for us to take to."[5]
[1]The men with the axes. To hew = hak-i; -il denotes instrument; -ist denotes agent. [2]Brother and sister. Prefix ge- denotes both sexes. [3]Were married. Husband (wife) = edz (in) -o; suffix -igx denotes becoming. [4]Improve. Good = bon-a; more = pli; -ig denotes causation. [5]Fit to take to. To take = pren-i; to = al; -ind denotes worthy.
Kaj al ili Namezo respondis And to these Namezo answered nenion. Li sciis ke li estis nothing. He knew that he had given doninta grandan parton de sia a great part of his life to making vivo por eksperimenti kaj estis experiment and had produced a produktinta belkreskan arbon, dum well-grown tree, while the clever la lertuloj nun estis vidantaj men were now seeing a tree for arbon je la unua fojo, kaj tute the first time, and were wholly malsciis la malfacilecojn kiujn ignorant of the difficulties that oni devas venki, kaj ecx ne had to be overcome, and did not komprenis la demandon kiun ili even understand the question they entreprenis solvi. Sed li sciis were undertaking to solve. But ankaux ke tiela konsidero estas he also knew that to clever men por lertuloj malpli ol nenio. such a consideration is less than Estis malutile argumenti kun nothing. It was no good to argue ili, cxar ili ne sciis ke ili ne with them, for they did not know scias, kaj tio cxi estas plej that they did not know, and this malfacila lerni. Tial li lasis is the hardest thing to learn. So ilin paroladi, kaj flegis sian he let them keep on talking, and arbon kiel antauxe. "Cxar," tended his tree as before. "For," li diris al si mem, "kiam la said he to himself, "when the tree arbo estos disvastigxinta kaj has spread and multiplied after multobligxinta lauxspece tra its kind throughout the land, from la lando, per la grada sperto many men's gradual experience de multaj homoj farigxos arba there will arise a science of scienco, kaj tial ni fine ellernos trees, and thus we shall in the la plej bonan flegmanieron." end find out the best way of Ankaux li pensis, "la diablo estis tending them." Also he thought, prava: la diablo estas lertulo." "The devil was right: the devil is a clever man."
Iom poste alvenis en la vilagxon Now, some time after there arrived homoj el aliaj lokoj, kunportantaj in the village men from other diversajn semojn. Cxiu el ili places, bringing with them various lauxdis sian propran semon, seeds. Each of them praised his dirante ke li estas kreskiginta own seed, telling how he had grown belan arbon el tia semo, kaj a fine tree from such seed, and postulante ke la vilagxanoj plantu urging the villagers to plant his nur liajn semojn. Tiam iuj diris, seeds only. Then certain of them "Ni metu cxiujn la diversajn said, "Let us put all the divers semojn kunen, kaj ni kreskigu el seeds together, and let us grow ili unu bonan arbon." Kaj tiuj from them one good tree." And cxi petis Namezon ke li neniigu these begged Namezo to destroy[1] sian arbon kaj pistu gxiajn semojn his own tree and pound its seeds kaj almiksu ilin en la kunmetatan and stir them into the compound semajxon, por ke unu bona arbo seedstuff, that one good tree elkresku. might grow out of it.
Tiel ili babiladis kaj bataladis Thus they babbled and kept inter si; kaj ili cxirkaux iradis quarrelling among themselves; en la vilagxo, montrante modelojn and they went round about in the de siaj arboj kaj pruvante, cxiu village showing models of their ke la sia estas la plej bona. Kaj trees and proving each that his fine la vilagxanoj enuigxis kaj own was the best. And at last denove volis dehaki cxiun kaj the villagers grew weary of it, cxies arbon. and wanted again to hew down every tree, no matter to whom it belonged.[2]
[1]Destroy. Nothing = neni-o; suf. -ig denotes causation. [2]No matter to whom it belonged. Lit. every one's.
Sed Namezo kaj liaj amikoj havis But Namezo and his friends had jam du aux tri grandajn arbojn, by this time two or three big kaj gxis nun prosperis al ili trees, and up to this day they defendi ilin kontraux la atakoj de have succeeded in defending them la vilagxanoj. Kaj cxiam, kiam la against the villagers' attacks. vetero estas varmega, ili sidas And always, when the weather is sub la arboj vespere kaj gxuas very hot, they sit under their la fresxecon. Tamen ili havas trees in the evening and enjoy the nur duonan profiton el ili, cxar coolness. Yet have they only half la vilagxanoj malpermesas planti profit by them, for the villagers ian arbon en la vilagxo, kaj tial forbid them to plant any tree la arbanoj devas cxiufoje marsxi in the village, and so the tree malproksimen kaj aparte viziti people have to walk a long way siajn arbojn, anstataux havi ilin each time and have to make special apud siaj pordoj. visits to their trees, instead of having them at their doors.
Kaj la plej granda parto de la And the greater part of the vilagxanoj, malgraux ke oni povas villagers, though the trees are facile piediri al la arboj, diras within a walk, still say, "Trees ankoraux, "Arbo estas neebla." are impossible."
Kaj la diablo ridas. And the devil laughs.
III
GRAMMAR
1. There is one definite article, la, invariable. There is no indefinite article.
2. Nouns always end in -o. Ex. patro = father.
3. Adjectives always end in -a. Ex. patra = paternal.
4. The plural of nouns, adjectives, participles, and pronouns (except only the personal pronouns) ends in j. Ex. patroj = fathers; bonaj patroj = good fathers.
5. The accusative (objective) case always ends in -n. Ex. Mi amas mian bonan patron = I love my good father. Ni amas niajn bonajn patrojn = we love our good fathers.
6. Adverbs always end in -e. Ex. bone = well; patre = paternally. (There are a few non-derived adverbs without the ending -e, as jam, ankaux, tiel, kiel).
7. The personal pronouns are:
mi = I sxi = she ni = we vi = you gxi = it vi = you li = he oni = one ili = they
Also a reflexive pronoun, si, which always refers to the subject of its own clause.
All these pronouns form the accusative case by adding -n.
8. The verb has no separate ending for person or number.
The present ends in -as. Ex. mi amas = I love.
The past ends in -is. Ex. vi amis = you loved.
The future ends in -os. Ex. li amos = he will love.
The conditional ends in -us. Ex. ni amus = we should love.
The imperative ends in -u. Ex. amu = love! ni amu = let us love. This form also serves for subjunctive. Ex. Dio ordonas ke ni amu unu la alian = God commands us to love one another.
The infinitive ends in -i. Ex. ami = to love.
There are three active participles.
The present participle active is formed by -ant. Ex. amanta = loving; amanto = a lover.
The past participle active is formed by -int. Ex. aminta = having loved; la skribinto = the author (lit. the man who has written).
The future participle active is formed by -ont. Ex. amonta = being about to love.
There are three passive participles.
The present participle passive is formed by -at. Ex. amata = being loved.
The past participle passive is formed by -it. Ex. amita = having been loved.
The future participle passive is formed by -ot. Ex. amota = being about to be loved.
All compound tenses, as well as the passive voice, are formed by the verb esti (to be) with a participle. Compound tenses are employed only when the simple forms are inadequate. Ex. mi estas aminta = I have loved (lit. I am having loved); vi estis aminta = you had loved (lit. you were having loved); ili estas amataj = they are loved; sxi estas amita = she has been loved; ni estis amitaj = we had been loved; ili estos amintaj = they will have loved; sxi estus aminta = she would have loved; mi estus amita = I should have been loved.
IV
LIST OF AFFIXES
I. Prefixes
bo- denotes relation by marriage: bopatro = father-in-law.
dis- denotes dissemination, division: dismeti = to put apart, about, in pieces.
ek- denotes sudden action or beginning: ekdormi = to fall asleep; ekiri = to start.
ge- denotes both sexes: gepatroj = parents; geviroj = men and women.
mal- denotes the opposite: bona = good; malbona = bad.
re- denotes back, again: repagi = to repay; rekomenci = to begin again.
II. Suffixes
-ad denotes continuation: penadi = to keep striving, to make continued effort.
-ajx denotes something concrete, made of the material, or possessing the qualities of the root to which it is attached: bovo = ox; bovajxo = beef; okazi = to happen; okazajxoj = happenings, events. (For English speakers a good rule is to add "thing" or "stuff" to the English word; propra = one's own, proprajxo = own-thing, property; vidindajxoj = see-worthy-things, notable sights. N.B.: -ajx added to transitive verbal stems generally has a passive sense: tondi = to clip, tondajxo = clipped-thing, clippings; whereas tondilo = clipping-thing, shears.) See Zamenhof's explanation of -ajx, La Revuo, Vol. I., No. 8 (April), pp. 374-5.
-an denotes an inhabitant, member, or partisan: urbano = a town-dweller; Kristano = a Christian.
-ar denotes a collection: vortaro = a dictionary; arbaro = a forest; homaro = mankind.
-cxj denotes masculine affectionate diminutives: pacxjo = daddy; Arcxjo = Archie.
-ebl denotes possibility: kredebla = credible.
-ec denotes abstract quality: boneco = goodness.
-eg denotes great size or intensity: grandega = enormous; varmega = intensely hot.
-ej denotes place: lernejo = a learn-place, a school.
-em denotes propensity to: lernema = studious; kredema = credulous.
-er denotes one out of many, or a unit of a mass: sablero = a grain of sand; fajrero = a spark.
-estr denotes a chief or leader: lernejestro = a head master.
-et denotes diminution: infaneto = a little child; varmeta = warmish.
-id denotes the young of, descendant of: bovido = a calf.
-ig denotes causation: bonigi, plibonigi = to make good, to improve; mortigi = to kill; venigi = to cause to come, to send for.
-igx denotes becoming, and has a passive signification: sanigxi, resanigxi = to get well (again); paligxi = to grow pale; trovigxi = to be found, occur.
-il denotes an instrument: razilo = a razor.
-in denotes feminine: patrino = mother; bovino = cow.
-ind denotes worthiness: lauxdinda = laudable, praiseworthy.
-ing denotes a holder: kandelingo = a candlestick; glavingo = scabbard.
-ist denotes profession or occupation; maristo = a sailor; bonfaristo = a benefactor.
-nj denotes feminine affectionate diminutives: Manjo = Polly; patrinjo (or panjo) = mamma.
-uj denotes containing or producing: inkujo = inkpot; Anglujo = England.
-ul denotes characteristic: timulo = a coward: avarulo = a miser.
[The suffix -acx (not in the Fundamento) is coming into use as a pejorative (= Italian -accio): ridi = to laugh; ridacxi = to grin, sneer.]
V
TABLE OF CORRELATIVE WORDS
DEMONSTRA- RELATIVE NEGATIVE. UNIVERSAL. INDEFINITE. TIVE. AND INTER- ROGATIVE.
PERSON* tiu kiu neniu cxiu iu that who, no one every, all, some, which every one some one
THING* tio kio nenio cxio io that what, nothing everything something (thing) which
QUALITY tia kia nenia cxia ia that kind what kind no, each, every any, some of a of a no kind of kind of kind of
TIME tiam kiam neniam cxiam iam then when never always ever, at some time
PLACE tie kie nenie cxie ie there where nowhere everywhere somewhere
MANNER tiel kiel neniel cxiel iel thus, so how in no way in every way in some way, somehow
MOTIVE tial kial nenial cxial ial therefore why for no for all for some reason reasons reasons
QUANTITY tiom kiom neniom cxiom iom so/as much how much none the whole somewhat, so/as many how many amount a certain amount
POSSESSION ties kies nenies cxies ies of that whose, nobody's everybody's somebody's of which
In the demonstrative column, to express "this" instead of "that," add cxi.
*N.B.—Tiu, kiu, etc., are used in agreement with a noun expressed, even when it does not represent a person.
Ex. Tiu libro, kiun mi legis = that book which I read. Tiuj cxi floroj = these flowers.
Tio, kio, etc., are used when there is no noun, so that they stand alone.
Ex. Tio estas vera = that is true; kion vi diris? = what did you say? Tio cxi estas pli granda ol tio = this is bigger than that.
N.B.—In memorizing the above, it is well to remember that t = demonstrative, k = relative-interrogative, cx = distributive, i = indefinite, nen = negative.
VI
VOCABULARY
= A =
-a = termination of adjectives. acxet-i = to buy. -ad = suffix denoting continued action. aer-o = air. ag-i = to act. -ajx = suffix denoting concrete substance. ajn = (what)ever; kiu ajn, whoever. al = to. ali-a = other. almenaux = at least. alt-a = high. am-i = to love. amas-o = crowd, mass. ankaux = also. ankoraux = still. anstataux = instead of. -ant = present participle active. antaux = before (time and place). apart-a = special. apud = at. -ar = suffix denoting a collection. arb-o = tree. -as = ending of present tense. auxd-i = to hear.
= B =
baldaux = soon. bed-o = flower bed. bel-a = fine, beautiful. bezon-o = need. blank-a = white. bon-a = good. bord-o = edge, shore. bril-i = to shine. burgxon-o = bud.
= C =
cel-o = object, aim. cerb-o = brain. cert-a = certain.
= Cx =
cxagren-o = trouble. cxar = for, because. cxe = at. cxes-i = to cease. cxi = added to demonstrative tiu, expresses nearer connexion: tiu = that; tiu cxi = this. cxiam = always. cxie = everywhere. cxirkaux = around. cxiu = all, each, every. cxu = interrogative particle.
= D =
da = used after words of quantity: Ex. multe da vino, much wine. dauxr-i = to last, continue. de = of, from, by (with passive). des = comparative particle; ju...des, the...the: Ex. ju pli des pli bone, the more the better. dev-i = to owe, to be obliged to. deviz-o = device, motto. difekt-i = to spoil. dir-i = to say. dom-o = house. don-i = to give. du = two. dub-i = to doubt. dum = whilst.
= E =
-e = ending of adverbs. eben-a = flat, level. -ebl = suffix denoting possibility. -ec = suffix denoting abstract quality: bon-ec-o, goodness. ecx = even. edz-(in)-o = husband (wife). -eg = suffix denoting great size. -ej = suffix denoting place. ek- = prefix denoting beginning. ekster = outside. el = out of. -em = suffix denoting propensity. en = in. entrepren-i = to undertake. enu-i = to weary, bore. esper-i = to hope. Esperant-o = Esperanto. est-i = to be. -et = suffix denoting little. etend-i = to stretch.
= F =
facil-a = easy. fajr-o = fire. fakt-o = fact. far-i = to do. fenestr-o = window. ferm-i = to shut. fil-o = son. fin-o = end. flank-o = side. fleg-i = tend. flu-i = flow. flug-i = to fly. foj-o = time; du fojoj, twice. foli-o = leaf. for = away. forn-o = oven. frat-o = brother. fraz-o = sentence. frenez-o = madness. fru-a = early. frukt-o = fruit.
= G =
ge- = prefix denoting both sexes. gent-o = race, tribe. grand-a = big, great.
= Gx =
gxi = it. gxis = until. gxoj-o = joy. gxu-i = to enjoy.
= H =
hav-i = to have. hejm-o = home. hodiaux = to-day. hom-o = man (mortal; no distinction of sex).
= I =
-i = ending of infinitive. ideal-o = ideal. -ig = suffix denoting causation. -igx = suffix denoting becoming. -il = suffix denoting instrument. ili = they. -int = past participle active. inter = between, among. ir-i = to go. -is = ending of past tense. -ist = suffix denoting agent. iu = some one.
= J =
-j = ending of plural. jam = already. jar-o = year. jen = here is, here are (French voici). ju = comparative particle. See des. jun-a = young.
= Jx =
jxus = just now.
= K =
kaj = and. kamen-o = fireplace. kamp-o = field. kap-o = head. ke = that (conjunction). kelk-a = some. kiam = when. kiel = how, as. kiu = who, which. knab-o = boy. komerc-o = commerce. kompat-o = sympathy, pity. kompren-i = to understand. kon-i = to know. konsil-i = to counsel. konstru-i = to build. kontraux = against. kred-i = to believe. kresk-i = to grow. krom = besides. krut-a = steep. kun = with. kusx-i = to lie. kutim-i = to be accustomed. kvankam = although. kvar = four. kvazaux = as if. kvin = five.
= L =
la = the. lac-a = tired. lag-o = lake. land-o = land. lang-o = tongue. las-i = to let, leave. laux = according to. leg-i = to read. legom-o = vegetable. lern-i = to learn. lert-a = clever. lev-i = to raise. li = he. lim-o = limit. lingv-o = language. lit-o = bed. long-a = long. lum-o = light.
= M =
mal- = prefix denoting the opposite. malgraux = in spite of. mangx-i = to eat. mank-i = to be wanting. mar-o = sea. marcx-o = swamp. maten-o = morning. mem = self. met-i = to put. mez-o = middle. mi = I. mien-o = look, air, gait. mir-i = to wonder. mon-o = money. mond-o = world. montr-i = to show. morgaux = to-morrow. Mosxt-o = term of respect: your Highness, Worship, Honour. mult-a = much, many.
= N =
-n = ending of accusative: also denotes motion towards and duration of time. naci-o = nation. nask-i = to beget. ne = no, not. negx-o = snow. neniam = never. neniu = no one. ni = we. nom-o = name. nov-a = new. nub-o = cloud. nun = now. nur = only. nutr-i = to feed.
= O =
-o = ending of nouns. oft-e = often. ok = eight. okaz-i = to happen. okul-o = eye. ol = than. -on = suffix denoting fraction. oni = one, people (indef pron.). -ont = future participle active. orel-o = ear. -os = ending of future.
= P =
pac-o = peace. parol-i = to speak. pen-i = to try. pens-i = to think. per = by means of. perd-i = to lose. pez-a = heavy. pied-o = foot. pint-o = point, peak. pist-i = to pound. placx-i = to please. plat-a = flat. plej = most. plen-a = full. plend-i = to complain. plenum-i = to fulfill. pli = more. plu = more, further, farther. plug-i = to plough. popol-o = people, race. por = for. pord-o = door. post = after, behind (time and place). pov-i = to be able. pra = original, great-(grandfather). prav-a = right. pren-i = to take. preskaux = almost. pret-a = ready. preter = beyond, by. pri = about, concerning. pro = on account of.
= R =
rakont-i = to narrate. ramp-i = to crawl, climb. rapid-a = quick. rekt-a = straight. rem-i = to row. renkont-i = to meet. renvers-i = to upset, overthrow. rikolt-o = crop.
= S =
sat-a = satisfied, full, replete. sci-i = to know. sed = but. sek-a = dry. sekv-i = to follow. sem-o = seed. sen = without. sent-i = to feel. si = self, relexive pronoun. sid-i = to sit. sinjor-o = sir, Mr., gentleman. skrib-i = to write. sol-a = alone, only. son-o = sound. songx-o = dream. sonor-a = sonorous. spec-o = kind, sort. spert-o = experience. spir-i = to breathe. star-i = to stand. sterk-o = manure. subit-a = sudden. suficx-a = sufficient. supr-a = upper, superior. sven-i = to swoon.
= Sx =
sxajn-i = to seem. sxerc-i = to joke. sxip-o = ship. sxirm-i = to shelter. sxpar-i = to save up, economize. sxtel-i = to steal.
= T =
tag-o = day. tamen = yet, nevertheless. tegment-o = roof. temp-o = time. ten-i = to hold, keep. ter-o = earth. tial = therefore. tiel = thus, so. tiom = so much, so many. tiu = that. tra = through. traf-i = to hit the mark. trans = across. tre = very. trem-i = to tremble. tro = too much. tromp-i = to deceive. trov-i = to find. trud-i = to shove, thrust. tuj = immediately. tut-a = all.
= U =
-u = ending of imperative subjunctive. -uj = suffix denoting "holder". -ul = suffix denoting characteristic. unu = one.
= V =
vapor-o = steam. vek-i = to wake (trans.). vel-o = sail. velk-a = faded. ven-i = to come. venk-i = to conquer. vent-o = wind. ver-a = true. vesper-o = evening. vetur-i = to travel by vehicle (train, carriage, boat, etc.). vi = you. vid-i = to see. vidv-(in)-o = widow(er). vir-(in)-o = man (woman). viv-i = to live. voj-o = way. vojagx-o = voyage, journey. vokal-o = vowel. vol-i = to wish. vom-i = to vomit, be sick. vort-o = word.
= Z =
zorg-o = care.
APPENDIX A
SAMPLE PROBLEMS IN REGULAR LANGUAGE
Word-building can be made quite an amusing game for children. For instance, give them the suffixes -ej (denoting place) and -il (denoting instrument), and set them to form words for "school," "church," "factory," "knife," "warming-pan," etc. (lernejo, pregxejo, fabrikejo, trancxito, varmigilo).
But since the language is perfectly regular in form and construction, and the learner can therefore argue from case to case, it is a useful instrument for instilling clear ideas of grammatical categories. Thus give the roots—
viv-i = to live san-a = healthy hom-o = man long-a = long sagx-a = wise Di-o = God don-i = to give
and set such sentences as the following to be worked out—
"He lives long"; "A long life is a gift of God"; "It is wise to live healthily"; "God is divine, man is human"; "Human life is short," etc.
The same roots constantly recur with an -o, -a, or -e tacked on; and the practice in sorting out the endings, and attaching them like labels to nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs, soon marks off the corresponding ideas clearly in the learner's mind.
Analogous to simple sums and conducive to clear thinking are such sentences as the following, for rather more advanced pupils:
Given—
raz-i = to shave serv-i = to serve san-a = healthy akr-a = sharp mort-i = to die ven-i = to come uz-i = to use hak-i = to hew kun = with sent-i = to feel
and the table of affixes (pp. 191-2 [Part IV, Chapter IV]).
Translate—"Constant use had blunted his razor"; "He had his servant shaved"; "He killed his companion with an axe"; "Let us send for the doctor."
More advanced exercise (on the same roots):
Translate—"O Death, where is thy sting?" "Community of service brings together men subject to death, and dulls the perception of their common mortality. Willing service dissipates the weariness of the server; the deadliness of disease is mitigated, and the place of sickness becomes a place of health."
By referring to the table of affixes, the use of which has of course been explained, the learner can work out the answers as follows:
Uz-ad-o estis mal-akr-ig-int-a lian raz-il-on. Li raz-ig-is sian serv-ant-(or ist)on. Li mort-ig-is sian kun-ul-on per hak-il-o. Ni ven-ig-u la san-ig-ist-on.
More advanced:
Ho Morto, kie estas via akr-ec-o? Kun-servo (or kuneco de servo) kun-ig-as la mort-em-(ul)-ojn, kaj mal-akr-ig-as la sent-on de ilia kun-a mort-em-ec-o. Serv-em-ec-o dis-ig-as la el-uz-it-ec-on de la serv-ant-o; la mort-ig-ec-o de la mal-san-ec-o mal-akr-igx-as, kaj la mal-san-ej-o igxas san-ej-o.
No national language could be used in this way for building sentences according to rules, and such exercises should give a practical grip of clear use of language. The student is obliged to analyse the exact meaning of every word of the English sentence, and this necessity inculcates a nice discrimination in the use of words. At the same time the necessary word-building depends upon clear-headed and logical application of rule. There is no memory work, but the mind is kept on the stretch, and the exercise is wholesome as combating confusion of thought and slovenliness of expression.
APPENDIX B
ESPERANTO HYMN BY DR. ZAMENHOF
LA ESPERO
En la mondon venis nova sento, Tra la mondo iras forta voko; Per flugiloj de facila vento Nun de loko flugu gxi al loko. Ne al glavo sangon soifanta Gxi la homan tiras familion: Al la mond' eterne militanta Gxi promesas sanktan harmonion. Sub la sankta signo de l'espero Kolektigxas pacaj batalantoj, Kaj rapide kreskas la afero Per laboro de la esperantoj. Forte staras muroj de miljaroj Inter la popoloj dividitaj; Sed dissaltos la obstinaj baroj, Per la sankta amo disbatitaj. Sub neuxtrala lingva fundamento, Komprenante unu la alian, La popoloj faros en konsento Unu grandan rondon familian. Nia diligenta kolegaro En laboro paca ne lacigxos, Gxis la bela songxo de l'homaro Por eterna ben' efektivigxos.
LITERAL TRANSLATION
HOPE
Into the world has come a new feeling, Through the world goes a mighty call; On light wind-wings Now may it fly from place to place. Not to the sword thirsting for blood Does it draw the human family: To the world eternally at war It promises holy harmony. Beneath the holy banner of hope Throng the soldiers of peace, And swiftly spreads the Cause Through the labour of the hopeful. Strong stand the walls of a thousand years Between the sundered peoples; But the stubborn bars shall leap apart, Battered to pieces by holy love. On the fair foundation of common speech, Understanding one another, The peoples in concord shall make up One great family circle. Our busy band of comrades Shall never weary in the work of peace, Till humanity's grand dream Shall become the truth of eternal blessing.
APPENDIX C
THE LETTER C IN ESPERANTO
c = ts in English "bits."
This has given rise to much criticism. The same sound is also expressed by the letters ts. Why depart from the Esperanto principle, "one sound, one letter," and have two symbols (c and ts) for the same sound?
A standing difficulty of an international language is: What equivalent shall be adopted for the c of national languages? The difficulty arises owing to the diversity of value and history of the c in diverse tongues. Philologists, who know the history of the Latin hard c and its various descendants in modern languages, will appreciate this.
(1) Shall c be adopted in the international language, or omitted? If it is omitted, many useful words, which it is desirable to adopt and which are ordinarily spelt with a c, will have to be arbitrarily deformed, and this deformation may amount to actual obscuring of their sense. E.g. cento = hundred; centro = centre; cerbo = brain; certa = certain; cirkonstanco = circumstance; civila = civil, etc. Such works would become almost unrecognizable for many in the forms kento, sento, tsento, etc.
(2) If, then, c"is retained, what value is to be given to it? The hard and soft sounds of the English c (as in English "cat," "civil") are already represented by k and s. Neither of these letters can be dispensed with in the international language; and it is undesirable to confuse orthographically or phonetically c-roots with s- or k-roots. Therefore another value must be found for the symbol c. The choice is practically narrowed down to the Italian soft c = ch, as in English "church," and the German[1] c = ts in English "bits." Now ch is a useful and distinctive sound, and has been adopted in Esperanto with a symbol of its own: cx. Therefore ts remains.
[1]Also late Latin and early Norman French.
(3) Why not then abolish c and write ts instead? For answer, see No. (1) above. It is a worse evil to introduce such monstrosities as tsento, tsivila, etc., than to allow two symbols for the same sound, ts and c. International language has to appeal to the eye as well as to the ear.
This matter of the c is only one more instance of the wisdom of Dr. Zamenhof in refusing to make a fetish of slavish adherence to rule. Practical common-sense is a safer guide than theory in attaining the desired goal—ease (of eye, ear, tongue, and pen) for greatest number. In practice no confusion arises between c and ts.
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TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:
The Esperanto alphabet contains 28 characters. These are the characters of English, but with "q", "w", "x", and "y" removed, and six diacritical letters added. The diacritical letters are "c", "g", "h", "j" and "s" with circumflexes (or "hats", as Esperantists fondly call them), and "u" with a breve. Zamenhof himself suggested that where the diacritical letters caused difficulty, one could instead use "ch", "gh", "hh", "jh", "sh" and "u". A plain ASCII file is one such place; there are no ASCII codes for Esperanto's special letters.
Also: The 7-bit ASCII version of this book uses the German "-e" convention to represent characters with umlauts. The 8-bit ASCII version uses the ISO-8859-1 character set to represent certain French, German and Volapuek characters. The HTML Unicode and UTF8 text versions display all the characters for all the languages properly... including Esperanto!
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