Kilo Lingo

Ch 11 · Lesson 8

La movado

, , : the words the movement calls itself, built from suffixes you already hold, and the three dates behind them - 1887, 1905 and 1908.

Practise this lesson

17-word session

A quick mix of exercises - recognise, recall, type and build each word. Miss one and it comes back round until it sticks.

Worth knowing

Esperantisto, samideano: the words the movement calls itself

Every movement invents words for its own members. Esperanto did it with parts you already own, which means you can take its whole vocabulary of belonging apart on the table.

is the plain one: plus --, the suffix of the person devoted to a thing, the one in . And the movement defined it before anyone could argue about it. The Declaration adopted at the first world congress, in Boulogne-sur-Mer on 9 August 1905, says that an is anyone who knows and uses the language, for whatever purpose. No membership card, no oath.

is the warm one. Pull it apart: sam- (same), - (idea), -an- (member of), -o. A member of the same idea. Esperantists call each other this the way other clubs say "comrade" or "mate", and you now know enough to say it: .

Three dates, and the words they gave

1887. The first book of the language appeared in Warsaw that July. Zamenhof, in a letter on the origins of the language, gives its title as "D-ro Esperanto. Lingvo internacia". means "a doctor who hopes", and the pen name became the name of the language. The same book gave away every right in it: the language was to be nobody's property.

1905. The Boulogne Declaration also named the one text no one may change: the . A is a foundation, and that is exactly how it is used.

1908. The Universala Esperanto-Asocio was founded. The Historical Dictionary of Switzerland credits Hector Hodler and Edmond Privat, and records that it kept its seat in Geneva until 1947. An is an association; a is a movement, from , to move, with -ad- for the ongoing act. It is still going: the 112th Universala Kongreso is set for Melbourne, 3-10 July 2027.

Put it together

, . - An Esperantist is everyone who knows and uses the language.

1908. - The association was founded in 1908.

. - At the congress I met fellow Esperantists from many nations.

Sources

What do the colours mean?