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What do you think Esperanto sounds like?

door ceigered, 21 december 2008

Berichten: 14

Taal: English

ceigered (Profiel tonen) 21 december 2008 14:01:35

I've always found this interesting - what do people think Esperanto sounds like? Sure, when they look at the writing, many will go 'hey it's spanish' but the spoken language of course is a much different matter. So what does Esperanto sound like to you (other than Esperanto of course), or doesn't it sound like anything in particular?

In my opinion it reminds me of Greek (probably because I don't speak it).

Gxis!
Chrisso

Miland (Profiel tonen) 21 december 2008 14:05:47

ceigered:I've always found this interesting - what do people think Esperanto sounds like? ..

In my opinion it reminds me of Greek ..
Well, there's the word kaj, which really is Greek, so you're not completely wrong. Though I must be honest and say that i went for 'Romanesque' myself!

ceigered (Profiel tonen) 21 december 2008 14:07:12

Ah so that's where 'kaj' comes from! I always wondered that.

danielcg (Profiel tonen) 21 december 2008 14:22:04

Well, having been an Esperantist during most of my life (I am 51 and learnt Esperanto in my erarly twenties), Esperanto sounds... well, like Esperanto to me. okulumo.gif

But if I try to strip my Esperantism off from me, perhaps it would sound like a Romance language (probably Italian) but it's written form would remind me of a slavic language (because of the abundance of the letter k and the endings in j).

Regards,

Daniel

Miland:
ceigered:I've always found this interesting - what do people think Esperanto sounds like? ..

In my opinion it reminds me of Greek ..
Well, there's the word kaj, which really is Greek, so you're not completely wrong. Though I must be honest and say that i went for 'Romanesque' myself!

andogigi (Profiel tonen) 21 december 2008 16:04:50

When I talk to my monolingual friends about Esperanto, they usually confuse it with Spanish. I attribute this more to the fact that Spanish is the second language in my country and that is simply the direction our minds go in.

Also, about the Greek, I believe Greek masculine nouns are made plural (in nominative case) by adding "i" (iota) on the end. (correct me if I'm wrong. It has been a LONG time) That would have a similar sound as our adding "j". Does our plural form come from Greek, as well?

danielcg (Profiel tonen) 21 december 2008 16:14:38

This explains why my fellow citizens never think of it as similar to Spanish, since the latter is precisely our language.

Sometimes the most evident matters are the last we think of.

Regards,

Daniel

andogigi:When I talk to my monolingual friends about Esperanto, they usually confuse it with Spanish. I attribute this more to the fact that Spanish is the second language in my country and that is simply the direction our minds go in.

Miland (Profiel tonen) 21 december 2008 18:17:45

andogigi:..about the Greek, I believe Greek masculine nouns are made plural (in nominative case) by adding "i" (iota) on the end. (correct me if I'm wrong. It has been a LONG time) That would have a similar sound as our adding "j". Does our plural form come from Greek, as well?
I believe you're right, and that that's where the expression 'hoi polloi' for the mass of common folk comes from. (Here's a wiki article).

ceigered (Profiel tonen) 22 december 2008 03:40:03

Miland:
andogigi:..about the Greek, I believe Greek masculine nouns are made plural (in nominative case) by adding "i" (iota) on the end. (correct me if I'm wrong. It has been a LONG time) That would have a similar sound as our adding "j". Does our plural form come from Greek, as well?
I believe you're right, and that that's where the expression 'hoi polloi' for the mass of common folk comes from. (Here's a wiki article).
Apparently it's an ancient greek plural, I remember reading an article by someone who was having a crack at Esperanto for using an outdated plural system (let alone other perceived flaws). I don't see what's so bad about an old greek plural though.

RiotNrrd (Profiel tonen) 22 december 2008 06:03:17

Most of the Americans I know would readily confuse Esperanto with Spanish.

Filanator (Profiel tonen) 22 december 2008 06:45:13

Most of my friends confuse Esperanto with Spanish, mostly because when I say Esperanto it sounds a bit like Español.

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