Felichan Esperanto Librotago

December 15, 2004 1:24 PM

Today is World Esperanto Literature Day. December 15th is the birthday of the creator of Esperanto, Dr. L. L. Zamenhof. Don't speak Esperanto yet? You can learn Esperanto on the web, via email, or at home. After all of that learning you may want to relax by playing a game, watching a movie (starring William Shatner!) or listening to some music.
posted by Doug (29 comments total)

When's CAPS LOCK DAY coming back?
posted by AlexReynolds at 1:28 PM on December 15, 2004

Is a little green alien really the best mascot choice for the Esperanto people?

Also -- fun introduction to Esperanto.... Not so fun.
posted by mudpuppie at 1:47 PM on December 15, 2004

[ci est bona]
posted by Robot Johnny at 1:48 PM on December 15, 2004

Shouldn't it be "ci tiu estas bona?"
posted by grouse at 2:02 PM on December 15, 2004

I'll take your word for it, grouse -- I was just bullshitting my way through it.
posted by Robot Johnny at 2:04 PM on December 15, 2004

I hate to self-link, but some here might be interested in an unpublished comic I did on Zamenhof and Esperanto's history.

Sorry the images are a little small. Be kind to my bandwidth.
posted by oraknabo at 2:07 PM on December 15, 2004

More on Esperanto here. (oraknabo: no need to apologize for self-links in comments; it's only a no-no in posts.)
posted by languagehat at 2:08 PM on December 15, 2004

Frank Black's goin' to Llano del Rio to practice it.
posted by NationalKato at 2:09 PM on December 15, 2004

I remember doing an oral report on Esperanto when I was in grade school. It was pretty lame.
posted by Doohickie at 2:12 PM on December 15, 2004

Also read the news or listen to all the latest radio broadcasts.

Eĥoŝanĝo ĉiuĵaŭde!
posted by gubo at 2:20 PM on December 15, 2004

esperanto estas justa kiel utila kiel mamoj sur viro porko.*






*The best thing is only utopian nerds, wild eyed bluegrass twanging swedish backpackers and people who know how to use google will know what I mean.

** Psyche, Esperanto is cool.
posted by Divine_Wino at 2:21 PM on December 15, 2004

Latina est melior, quod est vera lingua.
posted by dd42 at 2:28 PM on December 15, 2004

"A good time seems even better in Esperanto"
posted by Bugbread at 2:49 PM on December 15, 2004 [1 favorite]

Shatner. Is there no end to this man's talent?
posted by arse_hat at 3:47 PM on December 15, 2004

I had been wondering what happened to esperanto -- and didn't even know I was wondering! Cool link -- Interesting that klingon has apparently surpassed it . . .
posted by undule at 6:07 PM on December 15, 2004

Great comic oraknabo. My grandfather had lots of penpals in Esperanto, neither his wife nor "us kids" have any idea of what to make of this giant pile of letters from all around the world, except it = very cool.
posted by dabitch at 6:18 PM on December 15, 2004

Dispairanto (Désésperanto) is a better language. It's what, e.g., John Kerry speaks...
posted by ParisParamus at 6:22 PM on December 15, 2004

Originalname37: Salutons!
posted by interrobang at 6:36 PM on December 15, 2004

Off your meds again, Paris?
posted by majcher at 7:39 PM on December 15, 2004

Tio Esperanton, cu gi estas vibris?

To the acutal Esparantists (Gesperantistoj?), apologies if I got that wrong!
posted by Stoatfarm at 7:42 PM on December 15, 2004

If you were looking for the naughty words in Esperanto, try The Alternative Esperanto Dictionary [NSFW]
[or, perhaps in honor of the holiday, MSEK for "malsekuro en kontoro"?]
posted by Stoatfarm at 7:52 PM on December 15, 2004

Dispairanto (Désésperanto) is a better language. It's what, e.g., John Kerry speaks...

As opposed to Bush, who can't even speak his native language, let alone a second one.

/trollfeeding
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:46 PM on December 15, 2004 [1 favorite]

esperanto estas justa kiel utila kiel mamoj sur viro porko.*

*The best thing is only utopian nerds, wild eyed bluegrass twanging swedish backpackers and people who know how to use google will know what I mean.

I'm neither of these, but this looks like ”Esperanto is just as useful as tits on a male pig.”
posted by Termite at 10:09 PM on December 15, 2004

Just you wait until the Day of the Great Shout, Termite. Then you'll be singing another tune.
posted by interrobang at 10:45 PM on December 15, 2004

Mi ne scias kiel mi ci tiun ne rimarkis, sed [ci tiu estas bonega]. Mi esperas, ke estontecon pli personoj lernos esperanton... (I dunno how I missed this, but [this is very good]. I hope that more people will learn Esperanto in the future...)

Kaj por gramatiko:
Esperanto estas gusta kiel utila kiel mamoj sur virporko. ("Viro porko" is "man" and "pig" separately.)
And:
Ci tiu Esperanto, cu gi vibras?

Fine...se oni ni povas tajpi la capelitajn literojn, oni devas uzi "h" au "x" post la litero. (Finally, if you can't type the letters with hats, you should use "h" or "x" after the letter.)
posted by graymouser at 9:34 AM on December 16, 2004

(To revisit those sentences since MeFi didn't like my supersigns:

Mi ne scias kiel mi chi tiun ne rimarkis, sed [chi tiu estas bonega].
Esperanto estas ghusta kiel utila kiel mamoj sur virporko.
Chi tiu Esperanto, chu ghi vibras?
Fine, se oni ne povas tajpi la chapelitajn literojn, oni devas uzi "h" au "x" post la litero.)
posted by graymouser at 9:37 AM on December 16, 2004

Esperanto estas ĝuste tiel utila, kiel mamoj sur virporko.

/utopian nerd
posted by gubo at 10:04 AM on December 16, 2004

gubo:

Mi opiniis, ke ghi estis tiel; sed mi ne havas "teach yourself esperanto"-n chi tie, kaj mi ne estis tute certa.
posted by graymouser at 10:31 AM on December 16, 2004

Stephen Will Tanner's intro to Esperanto.
posted by kenko at 10:55 AM on December 16, 2004