Posts from August 2009

Games catch on!

Posted by Transparent Language 1 Comment
Aug 31 2009

I’ve always thought that one way Esperanto could receive a good deal of notice is if it appeared in a popular video game. Perhaps appearing as a coded language of some kind would motivate people to learn it. As matters stand, I’ve only glimpsed Esperanto in one video game: the weird and wonderful Katamari Damacy.

One of the characters greets you with “saluton!” in the beginning of Katamari Damacy’s final level. I find it appropriate that the greeting comes from the purported “King of All Cosmos.” He rules the universe, so of course he’d approve of a universal language! You can glimpse a video of it on YouTube. I highly recommend the game or any of its sequels, too…It’s rather hilarious, as the rest of the video suggests!

Esperanto Extensions

Posted by Transparent Language 1 Comment
Aug 28 2009

A while back, I mentioned the Esperanto word processor Esperantilo. On its own, it’s a useful little program. However, its developers have made it functional for even more programs!

The free office software suite OpenOffice has a plethora of extensions. So far, the only Esperanto one I’ve found is one for Esperantilo. You can find the download here. If you already have OpenOffice, I suggest you give it a go. If not, I highly recommend trying out OpenOffice for yourself – it saves a lot of money on programs!

Esperanto Onomatopoeia

Posted by Transparent Language 3 Comments
Aug 20 2009

“Onomatopoeia” is the formal term for any word whose function is to imitate a sound. In English, they encompass such words as “woof” for the bark of a dog, “moo” for the lowing of a cow, and the like. Esperanto has its fair share of them, as well. You can find a quick sample list in this Lernu! discussion thread. So far, I’m a fan of “zum,” the Esperanto term for buzzing. It sounds much like the English “zoom,” so they’re roughly cognates in my mind.

Since onomatopoeia are supposed to be phonetically similar to the sounds they identify, many can be improvised, and some can vary from country to country. For example, I’ve heard that the German word for the sound of a barking dog is “gow” or “gau.” This leads me to the question for today, dear audience. Do you know of any varied onomatopoeia for the same sound in Esperanto? Also, what other onomatopoeia do you happen to enjoy? Feel free to share them here.

Multi-Fractal Analysis…?

Posted by Transparent Language 4 Comments
Aug 19 2009

An article published last year in the New Scientist Technology Blog suggests that Esperanto is fundamentally different from other languages. Astonishing! To be frank, I have no idea what multi-fractal analysis has to do with linguistic comparison, but the author of the post seems to draw a conclusion the rest of us missed. If you can follow it, I’m sure it’s an interesting read. In the meantime, however, I find the commentary from equally confused or unreceptive readers far more amusing!

In the meantime, I’m testing the Esperanto features (spell-check and character support) of the latest build of Sun Microsystem’s freeware office software suite, OpenOffice. The overview and examination will be posted in a forthcoming article. Until then, stay cool!

Septembra Mateno – William Auld

Posted by Transparent Language No Comments
Aug 11 2009

Autumn is on its way! The stint of cooler weather in my part of the country has me in a mode of nostalgia for seasons past.  So, I thought I’d share one of William Auld’s fall-themed poems, entitled “Septembra Mateno” (September Morning). Not only is it a great, short piece, but it also illustrates examples of poetic omission of suffixes in Esperanto poetry. Of course, you don’t need to contemplate all the technical aspects to appreciate the poem. Enjoy!

Kartonajn siluetojn de uzinoj
ĉe l’ horizonto iluminas suno.
Ĉi aŭtobuso glisas tra l’ scenejo
kun plena ŝarĝ’ de plusrolantoj fuŝaj.
Leviĝas la kurteno. Sur fotelo,
cinika karapaca kritikisto –
Dio — la manojn plektas sur la sino
kaj lace atendadas la kutimajn
replikojn netrafitajn, troajn gestojn,
parolojn forgesatajn, de ĉi trupo,
kiu sensuke ludis jam milfoje
gurditan dramon de verkisto Dio.
Diablo! — (ĝemas Dio sur fotelo) –
kia rimedo perlabori panon:
ĉeesti tiajn aĉajn komediojn!
Kaj dum la teatraĵo disvolviĝas,
Li forŝteliras al tavern’ apuda.

(As featured on Don Harlow’s Esperanto-Literatura en la Reto.)

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