Ch 23 · Lesson 16Esperanto · Chapter 23 · Lesson 16 · Grammar primer
The Esperanto bookshelf: Gerda malaperis! and Piron
Graded readers first, then Piron's Gerda !, and the Valano crime novels; and the words for it: , , , .
The short version
Start with Gerda
Gerda !
Why?Hide
Claude Piron's Gerda ! (1983) is a light mystery written for learners in simple everyday dialogue, and the community's standard first novel. Its companion, ! (1984), reuses the same grammar and vocabulary chapter by chapter. Start there, not with an original novel: a graded reader is practice, a book above your level is homework.
Johán Valano is Claude
?
Why?Hide
After his books for learners, wrote crime fiction under the pen name Johán Valano, starting with ? in 1976. Every title in the series is a yes/no question with , and the Esperanto is clean and readable at intermediate level: for many learners, the first books read for pleasure.
Read in order, and start lower than you think. Graded readers first, then Claude Piron's books for learners, then the classics. Most learners who give up on Esperanto books started three rungs too high.
| Rung | Read | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gerda ! (1983) | written for learners |
| 2 | (1989) | 44 short stories |
| 3 | Piron's crime novels, 1976-1986 | reading for pleasure |
| 4 | , Marta | the translation classics |
| 5 | Kazohinio | the original novels |
| 6 | , | the poetry |
| any time | Beletra Almanako | magazines keep the habit |
Graded readers first
A graded reader caps its vocabulary, so new grammar arrives without a wall of new words. Every story in the Esperanto story collection has a frequency ceiling, checked by a script, so the stories get easier the further into the course you are.
When you want a whole book, the community's standard answer is Gerda ! by Claude (1983): a light mystery about a group of young friends and a disappearance, told in simple everyday dialogue. Esperanto Wikipedia calls it perhaps the most famous instructional story in the language.
Gerda !- Gerda has disappeared!
Its companion, ! (1984), reuses the same grammar and vocabulary chapter by chapter in new stories. , Belgian-born and Swiss, was a UN translator and later a psychologist, and the books read like the work of somebody who knew what an overloaded reader does: stop.
Piron again: short stories and crime
(1989) is 44 short stories by , arranged so that your vocabulary grows as you go. Each story is short enough to finish in one sitting.
Then wrote crime fiction under the pen name Johán o, and this is the rung where reading stops being an exercise:
| Year | Title | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | ? | the first: start here |
| 1978 | ? | |
| 1980 | trakosme? | |
| 1982 | ? | |
| 1986 | ? | short crime stories |
Every title is a yes/no question with , which is a grammar lesson in itself:
?- Do you cook Chinese-style?
The words on the cover
Talking about books takes a handful of verbs and affixes you already know:
| Word | Pieces | English |
|---|---|---|
| root | to write (a work) |
| -- | a writer |
| -- | a translator |
tradukaĵo | -- | a translation |
poemaro | -- | a book of poems |
rakontaro | -- | a story collection |
| -- | a publishing house |
Two verb pairs carry most sentences about a book:
.-wrote the novel.Kabe .- Kabe translated the novel from Polish.Fonto .- Fonto published the book.1983.- The book came out in 1983.
takes an object: a publisher brings a book out. takes none: the book itself appears.
Mistakes with these words
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
Kabe . | Kabe . | of : Prus wrote it |
. | . | |
o. | o. | -- is the thing |
Going further: The translation classics and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
Practise this lesson
8-question session
One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
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