Esperanto: A New Translation

Ili kreis novan lingvon. 

Do you know what language the above sentence is written in? After reading this post, you will!

On Earth, there are over 5,000 distinct dialects of languages. With so many different languages spread across so many different places, the issue of communication between groups of people from diverse backgrounds became problematic. The need for a new international language became more and more apparent.

In the late 19th century, an ophthalmologist living in a diverse part of the Russian Empire found that many of its inhabitants could not communicate, as they spoke different languages. This created tension, as the cultures had a tendency to be mistrustful of one another. Wishing to create a sense of harmony, L. L. Zamenhof came up with the idea of creating a new language, free of political and social affiliations.

L. L. Zamenhof spent a decade working on the language, constructing the grammar and translating works from other languages into Esperanto. In 1887, he published the first official grammar guide of Esperanto, Unua Libro (The First Book).

Initially, the first speakers of the language kept in contact with each other through correspondence and journalism composed in Esperanto. Eventually, small groups began to pick up the language, using it for business and travel purposes.

The majority of the language uses root words from the Romance Languages. As many who have come into contact with Spanish will know, the Esperanto word for book, libro, is the same as in Spanish. Other words are a mixture of root words from several languages. The Esperanto word for thunder, tondri, is a mixture of the French, German, and English terms for thunder (tonner, donner, and thunder, respectively).

Currently, there are estimated to be up to 2 million speakers of Esperanto worldwide, with many of them concentrated in Europe and Asia. Do you know any speakers of Esperanto? Would you like to learn how to speak it? Join the discussion below!

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The Dash vs The Hyphen

What on earth is the difference between the dash "—" and the hyphen "-"?

Let's begin with the dash. It is important to note that there are two types of dashes. First, we will look at the em dash. Then, we will look at the en dash.

The em dash "—" is used to signify a change in thought, or to highlight a purposeful pause.

Example: The family will be going to Timothy's graduation—if he doesn't fail his physics class. 

Example: Stockholm—the capital city of Sweden—is about a six hour drive from Denmark.

The em dash is also used as a substitute for commas when a particular part of a sentence is important and needs to be stressed.

Example: Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology—the most difficult college courses—have to be completed by sophomore year.

Example: The most important items on my grocery list—sugar, milk and flour—must be bought this week so that I can make the cake.

The en dash "–" is used in place of the word to when referring to a span of time or measure of distance. It also used to form compound words.

Example: John played professionally from the years 1990–2000. 

Example: The London–New York flight is scheduled for eight hours.

Example: Janet attended the monthly Parent–Teacher conference.

The hyphen is used to join two or more words. Hyphens distinguish individual words in a compound verb, adjective or adverb. Hyphens are also use for some numbers.

Example: His store only sold high-quality suits.

Example: The English-based course was given in Berlin. 

Example: Paulette's mother is forty-nine years old.

Never use the hyphen, em dash and en dash interchangeably! They each have their specific purpose. Do you have any good examples of correct (or incorrect) usages of dashes and hyphens? Join the conversation by posting a comment!

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Welcome!

Welcome to the University Proofreading blog!

This is a new addition to our services. Our team is in the process of updating useful information that will help you in your writing endeavors! Our aim to help all English as a second language (ESL) students and native speakers fine-tune their writing skills. 

You'll be able to view our blog feed on our website www.universityproofreading.com. Also be sure to check us out on our official blog to comment and join the conversation! We'll be posting new content every week, ranging from writing tips, grammar resources and interesting facts. We hope to see you soon! 

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University Proofreading