Esperanto Viva! Via kvara leciono

Ĉ ĉ Ĝ ĝ Ĥ ĥ Ĵ ĵ Ŭ ŭ

Of course, La Universala Kongreso de Esperanto is the highlight of the Esperanto calender, but there are many other events as well.

Firstly, there are satellite events of the Universala Kongreso; there are antaŭkongresoj [pre-congresses] and postkongresoj [post-congresses], which are really holiday arrangements, often to see something of the country where the Universala Kongreso is held, or surrounding countries. Then there's the Junulara Kongreso [youth congress], and the Infana Kongreseto [children's mini-congress]. The Infana Kongreseto consists of children from perhaps thirty nationalities, all speaking in Esperanto for a whole week (no parents, except gvidantoj [leaders]), doing various activities of interest to children.

Then there are smaller events all over the world, ranging from familiaj semajnoj [family weeks] to skiferioj en la Alpoj [skiing holidays in the Alps]. Most countries hold a national conference. This is where promotion of Esperanto is discussed, but it usually provides a good opportunity to practise your Esperanto as well.

And we mustn't forget the Pasporta Servo [Passport Service]. This was originally set up by the youth section, but is open to all. It offers free overnight accommodation in homes of Esperantists, so you can tour foreign countries on a very low budget. The main thing, though, is that you get to know the local people, using Esperanto. Membership is free if you speak Esperanto and can offer your own home as well. Otherwise there is a small charge.

The picture is of Kastelo Gresillon [Cha^teau Gresillon] near the Loire Valley. It was bought up by the Esperantists, and is now used as a course and holiday centre. It is open throughout the Summer, and there is a children's week at Easter. I believe the event especially recommended is the Internacia Semajno [International Week].

There's a current calender of events on the Internet.

We'll now expand your vocabulary a little bit more.

Remember the adjectives: sama [same], verda [green], granda [big], bona [good], sana [healthy], kontenta [happy / satisfied]? And the nouns: samo, verdo, grando, bono, sano?

Well, there's the prefix mal, which turns a meaning into the opposite. So malbona means bad; malgranda means small; malsama means different; malsana means ill; malkontenta means unhappy in the sense dissatisfied.

We can also derive: malbono [badness]; malgrando [smallness]; malsamo [difference]; malsano [illness]; malkontento [dissatisfaction]. As your vocabulary expands, try making your own words up, and you will find your vocabulary expands even faster.

Now you can say: "Ĝi havas malsaman verdon ol [than] la herbo [grass]"; "Mi ne ŝatas la vinon; ĝi estas malbona"; "Ĉu vi estas kontenta? - Ne, mi estas malkontenta; mi estas malsana".

You have also learned quite a lot of verbs: estas [am / is / are], trinkas [drink], ŝatas [like], komprenas [understand], konas [know / ken], petas [request], deziras [want], lernas [learn], parolas [speak], havas [have], iras [go], demandas [ask (a question)], serĉas [search for], ĝuas [enjoy]. Just as saluton comes from salutas [greet], dankon comes from dankas [thank]. And you may have guessed loĝas [live / dwell] from loĝejo [accomodation, living place].

You can also make the past tense: estis [was / were], dankis [thanked], trinkis [drank], ŝatis [liked], komprenis [understood], konis [knew], and so on.

Note how irregular they can be in English. Imagine how much work you've saved by just having to learn the roots (est, dank, trink, ŝat etc.) and then add regular endings, rather than having to learn am, is, are, was, were; drink, drinks, drank; ....!

And you can make the future: estos [shall / will be], dankos [shall / will thank], ŝatos [shall / will like] ... And you can make the command form: "Estu bona!" [Be good], "Trinku la kafon!" [Drink the coffee] etc.

You can now add mal to these verbs, where it makes sense to do so: malŝatas [dislike], maldankas ['unthank'] (You may hear children occasionally say maldankon!), malĝuas [Can you think of a word?]. You may also hear children occasionally say malsaluton!. And then there's the colloquial maltrinkas!

There's another form of the verb you haven't learned yet. Sometimes you want to express a verb without showing whether it is past, present or future, as in "I (don't) like to drink wine". The tense is shown by like. Here to drink is called the infinitive, and in Esperanto the ending is -i. So it's "Mi (ne) ŝatas trinki vinon".

So, now we've brought a few loose ends together, and extended your vocabulary, we can follow this conversation between Pepe, from Hungary, and Meziane, from Algeria:

Saluton! - Saluton! - Kio estas via nomo? - Mi estas Pepe. - Kiom [how much] aĝa [aĝo = age] vi estas? - Mi estas dek-unu-jaraĝa [dek unu = eleven; jaro = year]. - Ĉu vi ĉeestas [ĉe = at; ĉeesti = attend] la Infanan Kongreseton? - Jes, sed hodiaŭ [today] la infanoj vizitas [visit] la Universalan Kongreson. - Jes, mi aŭdis [heard] la infanojn kanti [sing]. Ĉu vi estas ano [member] de la infana orkestreto [little orchestra]? - Ne. Mi ludas [play] violonon [violin], sed mi ne kunportis [kun = with; porti = bring] ĝin. - Kial [why] vi ne kunportis vian violonon? - Ĝi ne estas la mia. Ĝi estas de la muziklernejo en Hungario [Hungary]. - Ĉu vi ŝatas violoni? - Jes, mi ŝatas violoni. - Ĉu vi trovis viajn gepatrojn [parents]? - Ne, nur mia patrino estas ĉi tie [ĉi tie = here]. Sed nun mi devas [must] iri por la aŭtobuso. Ĝis la. - Ĝis la.

	Meziane el Alĝerio kaj Pepe el Hungario interparolas.

How did you get on? We're getting into quite advanced conversation now. Just a few things to note. Notice the phrase miaj gepatroj. The j is plural, so we have: patro / patroj [father / fathers]; patrino / patrinoj [mother / mothers]. Ge means both sexes taken together, so gepatroj is parents.

The j is added to the adjective mia as well - just as with the n in bonan tagon. This, again, makes the language easier to interpret in a noisy room, or through the crackle of a short wave radio receiver! So you would say "Ili estas bonaj gepatroj", or "Mi havas du bonajn gepatrojn".

Let's look at a few more points. You've already met kie [where] and kio [what], and you know that wh- words in English are ki- words in Esperanto. Well now you've met kiom [how much / how many] and kial [why].

Similarly, English th- words are in Esperanto ti- words, so we have: "Kie li estas? Tie li estas." [Where is he? There he is], Kio estas tio?" [What is that?], "Kiom? - Ne tiom!" [How much? - Not that much!]. So if kial means why, then what does tial mean?

Ano is a useful little word, meaning member. It can be used as a suffix, as in kongresano [congress member], orkestrano [member of an orchestra], klubano [club member], and so on.

Note that you can either say ludi violonon or simply violoni. The word ĉi has no direct translation. It expresses proximity. Tie is there, so ĉi tie is here. Tiu is that, so ĉi tiu is this, etc. The la in la mia is optional. You could say in English The violin of mine or My violin, but you wouldn't say the mine.

There is an excellent little magazine designed especially for people learning Esperanto. It gives hints of all sorts and easy texts to read, as well as current international news about Esperanto in English. It's called Esperanto Eko, and is available from the Esperanto-Asocio de Britio (140 Holland Park Avenue, London, England, W11 4UF, tel: +44 (0)171 727 7821.

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