Posts from November 2009

Skrablo!

Posted by Transparent Language 1 Comment
Nov 28 2009

I’m downright awful at the game Scrabble in my native English. I know plenty of words, but I never seem to pick up the right tiles, and I can’t quite calculate what would give me the highest possible score. Even so, I find it a lot of fun to play. And now, you can play it in Esperanto online against other players!

The game Skrablo plays exactly like the classic board game we all know. The letter values have changed significantly, to accomodate the dispersion of common and uncommon letters in Esperanto. Also, there are separate tiles for enclitic letters (like sx, gx, etc.). Other than that, the game seems virtually unchanged.

The only drawback – if it can even be considered a drawback – is that you need to sign up in order to play the game. However, registration is free. Should you have some time to spare, I recommend the game. It’s sure to test your Esperanto knowledge, and you don’t have to worry about flipping the board in frustration. Not like I’d ever do such a thing…

Pending High-Powered Word Processor

Posted by Transparent Language 2 Comments
Nov 24 2009

While it’s only in its beta phase, the new tool Lingvohelpilo is shaping up to be a valuable tool for Esperantists. If you remember Esperantilo from many entries ago, consider it a Notepad to Lingvohelpilo‘s OpenOffice. It has a ways to go before it’s perfect, but right now it looks promising. Take a look at the link if you would like to try it for yourself.

Lingvohelpilo (language-help-tool) has several links on its site suggesting that it would like for users to try and hunt down bugs and glitches for them, so if you have the time, I would highly recommend working more with it. Frankly, I would like to see this project take off! You can learn more about the project itself here.

Cookbook Vocabulary

Posted by Transparent Language 3 Comments
Nov 22 2009

Thanksgiving is drawing nearer, for all of us Usono residents. Perhaps you’ll be planning to eat many platefuls of food. Or, perhaps you’ll be the one preparing it all, or helping to prepare it! For all of you readers with a culinary bent, this entry has been made to provide you with an Esperanto vocabulary to help you with some of your kitchen needs.

In the meantime, think of how useful an Esperanto cookbook could be! Aside from finding the proper units (since the States still refuse to adopt the Metric System), clear Esperanto instructions could make for a wonderful text that compiles recipes for international cuisine. It might be a good barrier breaker!

To cook – kuiri
To roast – rosti
To boil – boligi
To bake – baki
To simmer – boleti (Notice the infix -et-!)
Oven – forno
Knife – trancxilo
Fork – forko
Spoon – kulero

What Is Ardano?

Posted by Transparent Language 9 Comments
Nov 19 2009

Ever since Zein posted a comment under the Purism or Pluralism? article from a ways back, I’ve been examining some of Esperanto’s “competitors.” I use the word “competitor” lightly, because it’s unfair to say that a language with essentially the same goals as Esperanto should be placed in an adversarial context. Perhaps we could refer to them as alternatives? Regardless, a fairly new and interesting auxiliary language has come into being within the last year, called Ardano.

I’m not entirely sure what to make of Ardano yet. From what I’ve seen there’s only a single book in existence about it. However, you can find free lessons in it online. There’s a popup-laden Ardano website here, where you can find lessons, a listing for Ardano under Yahoo Groups, and a Google Site that contains information and links about it.

While I doubt a mere mention of Ardano would be enough to persuade any devoted Esperantist to jump ship entirely, I do think Ardano may be worth a look. Nobody says you must forget Esperanto in order to study Ardano, after all! Comment if you have anything you’d like to say about it.

How Tempting…

Posted by Transparent Language No Comments
Nov 6 2009

An interesting synonym for the English verb “to tempt” is the word “tantalize.” It can mean “to tease,” but it also connotes some temptation – “tantalizing” refers to something that arouses want, mostly due to that something’s unattainable nature. The word itself comes from the name of the Greek trickster-hero Tantalus, whose skills in deception led the gods to punish him. The legends place him in Tantarus, a region of the underworld reserved for evil-doers; in his particular portion, Tantalus is placed in water that recedes from him when he attempts to drink it, and underneath a fruit tree whose branches dangle ever higher when he tries to procure some of its fruit.

My point is that “tantalize” is one of the cooler English verbs. You can use it as a way to remember the Esperanto word for “tempt.” In Esperanto, we use tenti as “to tempt,” or “to entice.” Phonetically, it’s similar to the name of Tantalus. So, if the lack of an immediate cognate trips you up, think of synonyms for “to tempt.” You’ll remember in no time!

La kuko cxokolada tentas min. – The chocolate cake tempts me.

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