I'm just getting back into Esperanto after putting it down for a long time. I never really mastered it. So, I decided to take up the Duolingo course. This has helped, I'm starting to get passed the eterna komencanto stage. I can tell I need more study after I'm done with Duolingo, so Lernu's course is next.

As I've studied I have noticed that compound words can get very long. This leads to my question: is it common for compound words to become ambiguous to the reader? Are words ever intentionally hyphenated (outside of basic primers) to clear up potential ambiguity?

Unrelated question: the new site looks very good. I can't seem to find a way to search old posts. Did that feature not "make the trip" to the new version of the site?

eojeff:I have noticed that compound words can get very long. This leads to my question: is it common for compound words to become ambiguous to the reader? Are words ever intentionally hyphenated (outside of basic primers) to clear up potential ambiguity?

I always considered as a very important rule for Esperanto "clarity". For instance, you are allowed to change the order of words, but you should always consider the effect for the person that is listening or reading. So, I think that words may become very long if they are very logical or the audience is very skilled.

A word like: "malsanulejaro" (mal-san-ul-ej-ar-o: a set of hospitals) would be understandable, also because "malsanulejo" is common enough. A theoretical word like "malfrenezulriskaro" (mal-frenez-ul-risk-ar-o: a set of risks for people not crazy) would be caught much less easily; I would prefer for sure "riskaro por malfrenezuloj" or even "aro de riskoj por malfrenezuloj". But it may be used if the context and the audience are prepared for it.

There is no strict rule: you are supposed to use common sense. Personal preferences may apply.

But jes... compound words like "malsanulejo" are absolutely normal.

There are cases like,

aĉet-o versus aĉ-et-o, where it could mean a purchase or a small bad thing. But these cases are really no different than having a word take on multiple meanings: context clears it up. English has many of these vague words, like "cardinal," as in the number, the color, the bird, or the Catholic rank.

But I am not confused for even a moment by the sentences, "The cardinal perched on a branch," or ,"The boy learned his cardinal numbers."

Or the word "off," which can mean deactivate (turn off) or activate (went off). Even such a contradictory word does not cause problems (except to the poor soul who has to learn English).

As a side note, these sorts of ambiguities yield to puns and wordplay, and so are not all bad anyway.

One such pun is: Why is the giraffe never lonely? Because it has a kolego!

koleg (companion) + o = kolego (companion)
kol (neck) + eg (big) + o = kolego (big neck)

Mi lernis mian unuan longan vorton hodiaŭ: arbetarego. Mi diras, ke ĝi estas mia unua longa vorto ĉar ĝi venis kun klarigo: Each word particle modifies the one before: with the word "arb et ar eg o" split up, the o shows us that it is a noun; the eg show us that it is something big; the ar shows us that a group is the something that is big; the et shows us that something small makes up the big group; and finally the arb (tree) shows us that we are talking about a large group of little trees.

If Esperanto is entirely regular in this pattern, I am impressed. However, the pun by Anĝel above shows that one needs to know the context and the possible words.

I am at about page 170 of a 200 page online course called Saluton! Esperanto Aŭtodidakte which has taken me very far very quickly. Admittedly, it is not my first brush with Esperanto. I finished the Kurso de Esperanto 4.0 program, and I have done the Teach Yourself Esperanto book at least once, but none of those really stuck to me. The above course, however, forces me to get my hands dirty by typing in answers with words that will fit into correctly-sized boxes. It is just enough of a clue to work most of the time, and it forces me to learn by doing.

The course has a few glitches that can and should be corrected. The HTML page info reveals that there are recordings of words that could be played, probably by a mouse click on the words in the course that are written in bold blue letters. I have tested whether the recordings exist as addressed in the underlying HTML code, and I in fact played one word recording by running the URL for the recording through network streaming in VCL player. So, the course already has recordings that exist and are ready to be used.

The recordings do not play on my computer; so, something is wrong with the course code (or with my CenturyLink DSL Internet service). And, I have enjoyed the course so much that it presents a great motivation to buckle down and learn HTML5, javascript, and CSS, etc., to try and make this great course more fully accessible.

In any event, the course is great as it is.

I think that pun works, but realistically I would write,

La ĝirafo havas longkolon.

A kolego could mean a thick neck I think... maybe not, as in that case I would write,

La ĉevalo havas denskolon.

Or else: longan kolon/densan kolon.