One feature of Esperanto that perhaps doesn't come through as clearly as it should is that every root can be an affix, and every affix can be a root, with total freedom to combine roots/affixes at will. The Esperanto root "esprim", for instance, carries the idea of "express". The adjective "expressive" (ending in "-a") can be created on the fly by combining the building blocks, e.g. with "standard" affixes: "esprima" (pertaining to expression), "esprimeta" (expression-diminutive), "esprimega" (expression-augmentative), "esprimanta" (that which expresses now), "espriminta" (that which has expressed), "esprimema" (expression-having-tendency), "esprimila" (expression-instrumental), "esprimuja" (expression-containing), "espriminga" (expression-holding), then with other roots as affixes: "esprimpova" (expression-able), "esprimhava" (expression-having), "esprimriĉa" (expression-rich), "esprimplena" (expression-full), "esprimkapabla" (expression-capable), "esprimdona" (expression-giving), "esprimdira" (expression-saying) etc., each perfectly good Esperanto, each with its own nuance. As long as you follow the few rules, you can literally combine roots/affixes at will, with no one being able to say "Yeah, you could say it like that, but nobody does". Anyone reasonably fluent in Esperanto can and does create and use words like these regularly.
wonderful words ... without which ... the world would be a less inventive and worthwhile place. Also, ostensibly, the reason 1984 and esperanto secretly suck.
Actually, in Esperanto, the opposite is true: you are incredibly free to invent words at will, instead of waiting for someone else to invent them and the community to accept them and give them enough currency for you to hear about them and use them yourself. The result is a creative and expressive power that rivals and even often exceeds that of English or any other national language. Which takes nothing away from your list of words - they are all delightfully expressive, and a testament to the power of English.
Comments by michjo
michjo commented on the list palabrarium
One feature of Esperanto that perhaps doesn't come through as clearly as it should is that every root can be an affix, and every affix can be a root, with total freedom to combine roots/affixes at will. The Esperanto root "esprim", for instance, carries the idea of "express". The adjective "expressive" (ending in "-a") can be created on the fly by combining the building blocks, e.g. with "standard" affixes: "esprima" (pertaining to expression), "esprimeta" (expression-diminutive), "esprimega" (expression-augmentative), "esprimanta" (that which expresses now), "espriminta" (that which has expressed), "esprimema" (expression-having-tendency), "esprimila" (expression-instrumental), "esprimuja" (expression-containing), "espriminga" (expression-holding), then with other roots as affixes: "esprimpova" (expression-able), "esprimhava" (expression-having), "esprimriĉa" (expression-rich), "esprimplena" (expression-full), "esprimkapabla" (expression-capable), "esprimdona" (expression-giving), "esprimdira" (expression-saying) etc., each perfectly good Esperanto, each with its own nuance. As long as you follow the few rules, you can literally combine roots/affixes at will, with no one being able to say "Yeah, you could say it like that, but nobody does". Anyone reasonably fluent in Esperanto can and does create and use words like these regularly.
April 30, 2009
michjo commented on the list palabrarium
Looks like the secret's out :-).
wonderful words ... without which ... the world would be a less inventive and worthwhile place. Also, ostensibly, the reason 1984 and esperanto secretly suck.
Actually, in Esperanto, the opposite is true: you are incredibly free to invent words at will, instead of waiting for someone else to invent them and the community to accept them and give them enough currency for you to hear about them and use them yourself. The result is a creative and expressive power that rivals and even often exceeds that of English or any other national language. Which takes nothing away from your list of words - they are all delightfully expressive, and a testament to the power of English.
April 30, 2009