Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 (Denver Mods 7/26/84) 6/24/83; site druny.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!bellcore!petrus!scherzo!allegra!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!mhuxm!mhuxf!mhuxi!mhuxh!mhuxv!mhuxt!houxm!mtuxo!drutx!druny!neal From: neal@druny.UUCP (Neal D. McBurnett) Newsgroups: net.nlang Subject: Re: Making Esperanto Universal.. (non-western word roots) Message-ID: <33@druny.UUCP> Date: Sun, 10-Nov-85 00:47:19 EST Article-I.D.: druny.33 Posted: Sun Nov 10 00:47:19 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 5-Nov-85 22:09:04 EST Organization: AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Denver Lines: 46 > Is there anyone `in charge' of the language? As with all living languages, the users of Esperanto are in control. While Esperanto does have an "Academy", it is only somewhat more effective than the French Academy: i.e., the typical Esperanto speaker doesn't pay much attention to it. It usually either debates refined points of grammar which are of little practical interest, or votes to accept new words as "official" only long after they have in fact been used by a wide variety of writers, and appear in many dictionaries. Thus, the way to go about adding words to Esperanto is the same as in any other language: you use them yourself, preferably by writing a "best-seller". Currently almost all the new words are for specialized fields, like computer science or religions. Most of the word roots taken from non-european languages refer to local cultural or religious practices, or local flora, fauna and foods. For example, "mosque" is "moskeo", "couscous" is "kuskuso". Two of the words you suggest have already been dealt with: zen zeno (your suggestion "reno" means "kidney", (from Latin)) zen buddhism zenismo humane humana humanism humanismo Tao Tao ("The indefinable, impersonal principle, inherent in the universe, which causes it to move") For the rest of the words, I will give an Esperanto translation of your English translation. I assume that in fact there are other untranslated nuances present in the Chinese words, and I would love to hear a more complete definition. virtue virto cosmos kosmo venerable respekteginda (amuzingly, your suggestion "la^ua" means "in accordance" in Esperanto) ancient antikva, praa, maljuna frog rano > Adding noneuropean terms would seem to seal Esperanto's promise to become the international language this planet needs so badly. I think it is more important for Esperanto to hold on to its established literature and body of speakers than to try to incorporate a lot of words from non-european languages. -Neal McBurnett, ihnp4!druny!neal