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Esperanto estas seeping into my Japanese.

av Aubright, 2 februari 2013

Meddelanden: 30

Språk: English

Aubright (Visa profilen) 2 februari 2013 06:02:33

I was practicing some Japanese the other day, so as to not get rusty, and I all of a sudden realized instead of saying "は(wa: means, for lack of a better term, is/ am)" I was saying "estas" except in my "Japanese accent". Also because the vowels are the exact same in Japanese as they are in esperanto my mind keeps jumping to conclusions and switching between the two, usually mid sentence. I find this more humorous than problematic, and I was curious if this happens/ has happened to any of you with languages you have studied.

Demian (Visa profilen) 2 februari 2013 06:32:41

Aubright:...I was curious if this happens/ has happened to any of you with languages you have studied.
This has happened several times to despite that I am no fluent speaker.

It does feel strange when you remember "altrude" but forget "impose" and "thopna" (Punjabi) and "marhna" (Hindi/Urdu). Then you have to turn to Esperanto dictionary to find out what the word was in your language. I did that this week.

sudanglo (Visa profilen) 2 februari 2013 11:00:42

I haven't had a similar experience for some time, but I do remember in my early days as an Esperantist that on returning from a week long congress during which I had used Esperanto exclusively, my English (my mother tongue) had a distinctively foreign flavour to it. The effect lasted several days.

scorpjke (Visa profilen) 2 februari 2013 11:39:34

Same thing happened to me when I gave up on Esperanto and started learning Spanish, and then after that whenever I was trying to say something in Esperanto I thought about Spanish words all the time.

And wa in Japanese does not mean is, am, are at all. It is a so-called theme paeticlewhich you normally put after the subject (but still not always) to show what you are describing. I understand why wa might seem to be a copula - because in a simple sentence construction "A is B" which is "A wa B (desu/da)" the copula "da" is omitted in colloquial speech if it is not followed by end-sentence particles like yo and/or ne and ohers like kara, kedo.

So you shouldn't confuse estas with wa ^^

Ganove (Visa profilen) 2 februari 2013 12:36:06

Aubright:[...] I was curious if this happens/ has happened to any of you with languages you have studied.
Oh yeah, just a few weeks ago. I tried to speak Spanish with a boy from Barcelona and I used the Esperanto "manĝi" instead of the Spanish "comer" but I was amazed that he understood the word "manĝi" because then he said that "manĝar" is Catalan and not Spanish and since Catalan is his native language he understand what I tried to say.

Maybe Zamenhof adopted the Catalan "manĝar" and adapted it to the Esperanto "manĝi".

Breto (Visa profilen) 2 februari 2013 14:43:05

I have that problem with my German (what's left of it). German was the first foreign language I learned, and afterward, I've found that I seem to keep wanting to use my German vocabulary for any non-English language (Brille especially keeps coming up for "glasses", whether I'm trying to speak Spanish or Esperanto.) The other day, actually, I misplaced my glasses, and I remember wondering to myself "Wo estas mia Brille?", followed shortly thereafter by "...what the hell language was that supposed to be?"

Though it doesn't happen much anymore, because it has sadly been years since I've had occasion to practice my German, every so often I'll find myself dropping German words like ja, echt, or ohne into my English, too.

whysea (Visa profilen) 2 februari 2013 16:05:05

All the time. I have to use Spanish at work and I'll sometimes lapse into Esperanto by mistake, especially if I have been studying it recently. I also occasionally will by mistake omit the second person singular pronoun in Esperanto, because in my mind, the -as ending signifies the conjugation for second person (as in Spanish). "Nu" always threatens to come out when I am trying to pause or think while speaking, in whatever language. And "ĉu" often tries to come out too.

I remember at work one time I was trying to tell a lady that we'd receive a delivery on Saturday, and I said "sabato" instead of Spanish "sábado"...luckily they're close enough that she understood haha.

Aubright (Visa profilen) 2 februari 2013 16:54:25

Scorpjke: 僕は”は”の使い方と本当の意味をよう分かりますが英語で説明するのはちょっと難しかった。でも、説明してくれて有り難うございます。(I know wa really doesn't mean is / am / are, but in the sentence I was practicing it was the closest analogue. Thanks for the more detailed, and more thought out, explanation though.)

erinja (Visa profilen) 3 februari 2013 00:21:39

Ganove:Maybe Zamenhof adopted the Catalan "manĝar" and adapted it to the Esperanto "manĝi".
Unlikely. He probably got it from the French "manger".

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As a beginner in Yiddish, I had issues with Esperanto seeping in, especially if I had just returned from an Esperanto event. However I have not generally had issues, now or in the past, with Esperanto influencing my English after returning from a long event.

verdafeino (Visa profilen) 3 februari 2013 02:48:50

Strangely enough, when I was learning Japanese in highschool I had the exact same problem. It's funny that you mention saying it in your "Japanese accent" because that's exactly what happened to me! Estas pronounced like エスタス ( "esutasu" ) and the like. I would also try to say "ĉu ne?" where "desu ka?" should be used for questions.

I catch myself starting an English sentence with "ĉu" or ending with "ĉu ne?" sometimes. I almost say "nu..." too, when I'm thinking of what to say next.

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