Editing Esperanto (section)

== Linguistic properties ==
=== Classification ===

Esperanto has been described as "a language [[Lexicon|lexically]] predominantly [[Romance languages|Romanic]], [[morphology (linguistics)|morphologically]] intensively [[agglutination|agglutinative]], and to a certain degree [[isolating languages|isolating]] in character".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Blanke |first=Detlev |title=Internationale Plansprachen. Eine Einführung |trans-title=International Planned Languages. An Introduction |journal=Sammlung Akademie-Verlag |publisher=Akademie-Verlag |year=1985 |issn=0138-550X}}</ref> Approximately 80% of Esperanto's vocabulary is derived from Romance languages, and the remainder primarily from [[German language|German]], [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] languages.<ref name="Koutny 2015 p. 106"/> New words are formed through extensive use of affixes and [[Compound (linguistics)|compounds]].

[[Linguistic typology|Typologically]], Esperanto has [[Preposition and postposition|prepositions]] and a [[information flow|pragmatic word order]] that by default is ''[[Subject–verb–object word order|subject–verb–object]]'' (SVO). Adjectives can be freely placed before or after the nouns they modify, though placing them before the noun is more common.<ref name="Koutny 2015 ch. Typology">{{cite book | chapter=A typological description of Esperanto as a natural language| author=Ilona Koutny|editor=Ilona Koutny | title=Interlingwistyka i Esperantologia | date=2015 | isbn=978-83-63664-96-1 | pages=43–62| publisher=Wydawnictwo Rys}}</ref><ref name="Tonkin 2010"/> The [[article (grammar)|article]] {{lang|eo|la}} "the", [[demonstrative]]s such as {{lang|eo|tiu}} "that" and [[preposition]]s (such as {{lang|eo|ĉe}} "at") must come before their related nouns. Similarly, the negative {{lang|eo|ne}} "not" and [[Grammatical conjunction|conjunctions]] such as {{lang|eo|kaj}} "and" and {{lang|eo|ke}} "that" must precede the [[phrase]] or [[clause]] that they introduce. In [[copula (linguistics)|copular]] (A = B) clauses, word order is just as important as in English: "people are animals" is distinguished from "animals are people".

Esperanto's [[phonology]], [[grammar]], [[vocabulary]], and [[semantics]] are based on the [[Indo-European languages]] spoken in Europe. Beside his native Yiddish and (Belo)Russian, Zamenhof studied German, Hebrew, Latin, English, Spanish, Lithuanian, Italian, French, Aramaic and [[Volapük]], knowing altogether something of 13 different languages, which had an influence on Esperanto's linguistic properties.<ref>''Prace Komisji Spraw Europejskich PAU''. Tom II, pp. 40-41. Ed. Andrzej Pelczar. Krak'ow: Polska Akademia Umiejętności, 2008, 79 pp.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Devlin |first=Thomas Moore |date=April 25, 2019 |title=What Is Esperanto, And Who Speaks It? |url=https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-many-people-speak-esperanto-and-where-is-it-spoken |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=Babbel Magazine |language=en |quote=Evidence also shows that he learned Yiddish from his mother and that he studied German, English, Spanish, Lithuanian, Italian and French. In addition, Zamenhof learned the classical languages Hebrew, Latin and Aramaic in school. Esperanto was not even the first constructed language he'd dealt with. First, he learned a bit of Volapük, which was invented in Germany almost a decade before Esperanto. Having command of so many languages had a tremendous impact on his creation of Esperanto, which would be Zamenhof's 14th language.}}</ref>

Esperantist and linguist [[Ilona Koutny]] notes that Esperanto's vocabulary, phrase structure, agreement systems, and semantic typology are similar to those of Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. However, Koutny and Esperantist [[Humphrey Tonkin]] also note that Esperanto has features that are atypical of Indo-European languages spoken in Europe, such as its agglutinative morphology.<ref name="Koutny 2015 ch. Typology"/><ref name="Tonkin 2010">{{cite book | last=Tonkin | first=Humphrey | title=Studies in World Language Problems | chapter=10. The semantics of invention: Translation into Esperanto | publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company | publication-place=Amsterdam | volume=3 | date=2010 | pages=169–190 | isbn=978-90-272-2834-5 | doi=10.1075/wlp.3.15ton}}</ref> Claude Piron argued that Esperanto word-formation has more in common with that of Chinese than with [[Standard Average European|typical European languages]], and that the number of Esperanto features shared with Slavic languages warrants the identification of a Slavic-derived stratum of language structure that he calls the "Middle Plane".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://claudepiron.free.fr/articlesenanglais/europeanorasiatic.htm|title=Esperanto: european or asiatic language?|last=Piron|first=Claude|date=1981|author-link=Claude Piron}}</ref> A 2010 [[Linguistic typology|linguistic typological]] study concluded that "Esperanto is indeed somewhat European in character, but considerably less so than the European languages themselves."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Parkvall|first=Mikael|date=2010-04-01|title=How European is Esperanto?: A typological study*|url=http://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/lplp.34.1.04par|journal=Language Problems and Language Planning|language=en|volume=34|issue=1|pages=63–79|doi=10.1075/lplp.34.1.04par|issn=0272-2690|access-date=November 6, 2021|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106190107/https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/lplp.34.1.04par|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

=== Phonology ===
{{Main|Esperanto phonology}}

Esperanto typically has 22 to 24 consonants (depending on the phonemic analysis and individual speaker), five vowels, and two [[semivowel]]s that combine with the vowels to form six [[diphthong]]s. (The consonant {{IPA|/j/}} and semivowel {{IPA|/i̯/}} are both written ⟨j⟩, and the uncommon consonant {{IPA|/dz/}} is written with the digraph ⟨dz⟩,<ref>Kalocsay & Waringhien (1985) {{lang|eo|Plena analiza gramatiko de Esperanto}}, §&nbsp;17, 22</ref> which is the only consonant that does not have its own letter.) [[tone (linguistics)|Tone]] is not used to distinguish meanings of words. [[Stress (linguistics)|Stress]] is always on the second-to-last vowel in proper Esperanto words, unless a final vowel {{lang|eo|o}} is [[elided]], a phenomenon mostly occurring in poetry. For example, ''{{Wikt-lang|eo|familio}}'' "family" is {{IPA|[fa.mi.ˈli.o]}}, with the stress on the second ''i'', but when the word is used without the final ''{{lang|eo|o}} ({{lang|eo|famili’}}),'' the stress remains on the second {{lang|eo|i}}: {{IPA|[fa.mi.ˈli]}}.

==== Consonants ====


{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 0 auto;" style="text-align:center;"
|+ The 23 consonants
!
! colspan="2" | [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! colspan="2" | [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! colspan="2" | [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! colspan="2" | [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|m}}
| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|n}}
| colspan="2" | 
| colspan="2" | 
| colspan="2" | 
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[stop consonant|Stop]]
| {{IPA link|p}} || {{IPA link|b}}
| {{IPA link|t}} || {{IPA link|d}}
| colspan="2" | 
| {{IPA link|k}} || {{IPA link|ɡ}}
| colspan="2" | 
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
| colspan="2" | 
| {{IPA link|t͡s}} || ({{IPA link|d͡z}})
| {{IPA link|t͡ʃ}} || {{IPA link|d͡ʒ}}
| colspan="2" | 
| colspan="2" | 
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
| {{IPA link|f}}
|{{IPA link|v}}
| {{IPA link|s}} || {{IPA link|z}}
| {{IPA link|ʃ}} || {{IPA link|ʒ}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|x}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|h}} 
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| colspan="2" | 
| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|l}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|j}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" | 
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
| colspan="2" | 
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|r}}
| colspan="2" | 
| colspan="2" | 
| colspan="2" | 
|}

There is some degree of allophony:
* The sound {{IPAslink|r}} is usually rendered as an [[alveolar trill]] {{IPAblink|r}}, but can also be a [[uvular trill]] {{IPAblink|ʀ}},<ref>{{cite web|title=PMEG – Bazaj elparolaj reguloj – Konsonanta variado|url=http://bertilow.com/pmeg/skribo_elparolo/elparolo/bazaj_reguloj.html#i-7fo|website=PMEG|access-date=January 31, 2018|archive-date=February 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213013903/http://bertilow.com/pmeg/skribo_elparolo/elparolo/bazaj_reguloj.html#i-7fo|url-status=live}}</ref> a [[Voiced uvular fricative|uvular fricative]] {{IPAblink|ʁ}},<ref>{{cite web|title=Fundamento de Esperanto – Gramatiko Franca|url=http://www.akademio-de-esperanto.org/fundamento/gramatiko_franca.html|website=Akademio de Esperanto|access-date=January 31, 2018|archive-date=February 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201075352/http://www.akademio-de-esperanto.org/fundamento/gramatiko_franca.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and an [[Alveolar and postalveolar approximants|alveolar approximant]] {{IPAblink|ɹ}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fundamento de Esperanto – Gramatiko Angla|url=http://www.akademio-de-esperanto.org/fundamento/gramatiko_angla.html|website=Akademio de Esperanto|access-date=January 31, 2018|archive-date=May 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530075537/http://www.akademio-de-esperanto.org/fundamento/gramatiko_angla.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Many other forms such as an [[alveolar tap]] {{IPAblink|ɾ}} are done and accepted in practice.
* The {{IPAslink|v}} is normally pronounced like English ''v,'' but may be pronounced {{IPAblink|ʋ}} (between English ''v'' and ''w'') or {{IPAblink|w}}, depending on the language background of the speaker.
* A semivowel {{IPA|/u̯/}} normally occurs only in [[diphthong]]s after the vowels {{IPAslink|a}} and {{IPAslink|e̞|e}}, not as a consonant {{IPA|/w/}}.
* Common, if debated, [[assimilation (linguistics)|assimilation]] includes the pronunciation of {{lang|eo|nk}} as {{IPA|[ŋk]}} and {{lang|eo|kz}} as {{IPA|[ɡz]}}.

A large number of consonant clusters can occur, up to three in initial position (as in ''{{Wikt-lang|eo|stranga}}'', "strange") and five in medial position (as in ''ekssklavo'', "former slave"). Final clusters are uncommon except in unassimilated names, poetic elision of final ''{{Wikt-lang|eo|o}},'' and a very few basic words such as ''{{Wikt-lang|eo|cent}}'' "hundred" and ''{{Wikt-lang|eo|post}}'' "after".

==== Vowels ====
Esperanto has the five monophthongs found in such languages as <!--Not Italian: Italian has seven vowels.-->[[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Modern Hebrew]], and [[Modern Greek]].
{| style="margin: 0 auto;"
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+Monophthongs
!
! | [[Front vowel|Front]]
! | [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! style="text-align: right;" | [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|i}}
| {{IPA link|u}}
|-
! style="text-align: right;" | [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|e̞|e}}
| {{IPA link|o̞|o}}
|-
! style="text-align: right;" | [[Open vowel|Open]]
| colspan=2 | {{IPA link|ä|a}}
|}
| &nbsp;&nbsp;
|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+Diphthongs
!
! | [[Front vowel|Front]]
! | [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! style="text-align: right;" | [[Close vowel|Close]]
| 
| {{IPA|ui̯}}
|-
! style="text-align: right;" | [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA|ei̯}}, {{IPA|eu̯}}
| {{IPA|oi̯}}
|-
! style="text-align: right;" | [[Open vowel|Open]]
| colspan=2 | {{IPA|ai̯}}, {{IPA|au̯}}
|}
|}

Since there are only five vowel qualities, significant variation in pronunciation is tolerated. For instance, ''e'' commonly ranges from {{IPA|[e]}} (French {{lang|fr|é}}) to {{IPA|[ɛ]}} (French {{lang|fr|è}}). These details often depend on the speaker's native language. A [[glottal stop]] may occur between adjacent vowels in some people's speech, especially when the two vowels are the same, as in ''{{Wikt-lang|eo|heroo}}'' "hero" ({{IPA|[he.ˈro.o]}} or {{IPA|[he.ˈro.ʔo]}}) and ''{{Wikt-lang|eo|praavo}}'' "great-grandfather" ({{IPA|[pra.ˈa.vo]}} or {{IPA|[pra.ˈʔa.vo]}}).

=== Orthography ===
{{Main|Esperanto orthography}}

==== Alphabet ====
The Esperanto alphabet is based on the [[Latin script]], using a one-sound-one-letter principle, with the exception of [d͡z]. It includes six [[Letter (alphabet)|letters]] with [[diacritics]]: five with circumflexes (⟨ĉ⟩, ⟨ĝ⟩, ⟨ĥ⟩, ⟨ĵ⟩, and ⟨ŝ⟩), and one with a [[breve]] (⟨ŭ⟩). The alphabet does not include the letters ⟨q⟩, ⟨w⟩, ⟨x⟩, or ⟨y⟩, which are only used in the writing of proper names and unassimilated borrowings.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; table-layout:fixed"
|+ Esperanto alphabet
! Number ||1||2||3||4||5||6||7||8||9||10||11||12||13||14||15||16||17||18||19||20||21||22||23||24||25||26||27||28
|-
! [[Upper case]]
|[[A]]||[[B]]||[[C]]||[[Ĉ]]||[[D]]||[[E]]||[[F]]||[[G]]||[[Ĝ]]||[[H]]||[[Ĥ]]||[[I]]||[[J]]||[[Ĵ]]||[[K]]||[[L]]||[[M]]||[[N]]||[[O]]||[[P]]||[[R]]||[[S]]||[[Ŝ]]||[[T]]||[[U]]||[[Ŭ]]||[[V]]||[[Z]]
|- 	
! [[Lower case]]
|a||b||c||ĉ||d||e||f||g||ĝ||h||ĥ||i||j||ĵ||k||l||m||n||o||p||r||s||ŝ||t||u||ŭ||v||z
|- 	
! [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] [[phoneme]]
|{{IPA link|a}}||{{IPA link|b}}||{{IPA link|t͡s}}||{{IPA link|t͡ʃ}}||{{IPA link|d}}||{{IPA link|e}}||{{IPA link|f}}||{{IPA link|ɡ}}||{{IPA link|d͡ʒ}}||{{IPA link|h}}||{{IPA link|x}}||{{IPA link|i}}||{{IPA link|j}}, {{IPA link|i̯}}||{{IPA link|ʒ}}||{{IPA link|k}}||{{IPA link|l}}||{{IPA link|m}}||{{IPA link|n}}||{{IPA link|o}}||{{IPA link|p}}||{{IPA link|r}}||{{IPA link|s}}||{{IPA link|ʃ}}||{{IPA link|t}}||{{IPA link|u}}||{{IPA link|u̯}}||{{IPA link|v}}||{{IPA link|z}}
|}

The alphabet was designed with a French typewriter in mind, and although modern computers support Unicode, entering the letters with diacritic marks can be more or less problematic with certain operating systems or hardware. One of the first reform proposals (for [[Esperanto 1894]]) sought to do away with these marks and the language [[Ido]] went back to the basic Latin alphabet.

==== Phonology ====
All letters lacking diacritics are pronounced approximately as their respective [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] symbols, with the exception of ⟨c⟩.

The letters ⟨j⟩ and ⟨c⟩ are used in a way that is familiar to speakers of many Central and Eastern European languages, but may be unfamiliar to English speakers. ⟨j⟩ has the sound of English ⟨y⟩, as in '''''y'''ellow'' and ''bo'''y''''' (Esperanto ''jes'' has the same pronunciation as its English cognate ''yes''), and ⟨c⟩ has a "''ts''" sound, as in ''hi'''ts''''' or the ⟨zz⟩ in ''pi'''zz'''a''. In addition, the ⟨g⟩ in Esperanto is always 'hard', as in '''''g'''ift''. Esperanto makes use of the five-vowel system, essentially identical to the vowels of Spanish and Modern Greek.

The accented letters are:
* ⟨ĉ⟩ is pronounced like English ''ch'' in '''''ch'''atting''
* ⟨ĝ⟩ is pronounced like English ''g'' in '''''g'''em''
* ⟨ĥ⟩ is pronounced like the ''ch'' in German {{lang|de|Ba'''ch'''}} or Scottish English ''lo'''ch'''''.
* ⟨ĵ⟩ is pronounced like the ''s'' in English ''fu'''s'''ion'' or the ''j'' in French '''''J'''acques''
*⟨ŝ⟩ is pronounced like English ''sh''.
*⟨ŭ⟩ in ⟨aŭ⟩ is pronounced like English ''ow'' in ''c'''ow'''''.

According to one of Zamenhof's entries in the ''Lingvaj respondoj'', the letter ⟨n⟩ ought to be pronounced as [n] in all cases, but a rendering as [ŋ] is admissible before ⟨g⟩, ⟨k⟩, and ⟨ĥ⟩.

==== Diacritics and Substitutions ====
{{Main article|Substitutions of the Esperanto alphabet|}}

Even with the widespread adoption of [[Unicode]], the letters with diacritics (found in the "[[Latin Extended-A|Latin-Extended A]]" section of the [[Unicode Standard]]) can cause problems with printing and computing, because they are not found on most physical keyboards and are left out of certain fonts.

There are two principal workarounds to this problem, which substitute [[Digraph (orthography)|digraphs]] for the accented letters. Zamenhof, the inventor of Esperanto, created an "h-convention", which replaces ⟨ĉ⟩, ⟨ĝ⟩, ⟨ĥ⟩, ⟨ĵ⟩, ⟨ŝ⟩, and ⟨ŭ⟩ with ⟨ch⟩, ⟨gh⟩, ⟨hh⟩, ⟨jh⟩, ⟨sh⟩, and ⟨u⟩, respectively.<ref>[[Akademio de Esperanto]] (2007): [http://www.akademio-de-esperanto.org/oficialaj_informoj/oficialaj_informoj_6_2007.html ''Oficialaj Informoj, Numero 6 - 2007 01 21''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731050315/http://www.akademio-de-esperanto.org/oficialaj_informoj/oficialaj_informoj_6_2007.html |date=July 31, 2019 }}.</ref> The main issue with this convention is its ambiguity: If used in a database, a program could not easily determine whether to render, for example, ⟨ch⟩ as /c/ followed by /h/ or as /ĉ/. Such words do exist in Esperanto: {{lang|eo|[[wikt:senchava|senchava]]}} could not be rendered unambiguously, unless its component parts were intentionally separated, as in ''senc·hava''. A more recent "x-convention" has also gained prominence with the advent of computing, utilizing an otherwise absent ⟨x⟩ to produce the digraphs ⟨cx⟩, ⟨gx⟩, ⟨hx⟩, ⟨jx⟩, ⟨sx⟩, and ⟨ux⟩; this has the incidental advantage of alphabetizing correctly in most cases, since the only letter after ⟨x⟩ is ⟨z⟩.

There are computer [[keyboard layouts]] that support the Esperanto alphabet, and some systems use software that automatically replaces x- or h-convention digraphs with the corresponding diacritic letters (for example, {{lang|eo|Amiketo}}<ref>Amiketo and Tajpi are keyboard layouts which support the Esperanto alphabet for [http://www012.upp.so-net.ne.jp/klivo/amiketo/ Windows] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123231615/http://www012.upp.so-net.ne.jp/klivo/amiketo/ |date=November 23, 2016 }}, [http://www012.upp.so-net.ne.jp/klivo/amiketo/makamiketo.html Mac OS X] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405160459/http://www012.upp.so-net.ne.jp/klivo/amiketo/makamiketo.html |date=April 5, 2016 }}, and [http://www012.upp.so-net.ne.jp/klivo/amiketo/linamiketo.html Linux] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161207213204/http://www012.upp.so-net.ne.jp/klivo/amiketo/linamiketo.html |date=December 7, 2016 }}</ref> for [[Microsoft Windows]], [[Mac OS X]], and [[Linux]] and [[Gboard]] and [[AnySoftKeyboard]] for [[Android (operating system)|Android]]). On Linux, the [[GNOME]], [[Cinnamon (desktop environment)|Cinnamon]], and [[KDE Plasma 5|KDE]] desktop environments support the entry of characters with Esperanto diacritics.<ref>{{Cite web|title=typography - How do I type the Esperanto letters with accents on Linux?|url=https://esperanto.stackexchange.com/questions/378/how-do-i-type-the-esperanto-letters-with-accents-on-linux|access-date=2021-09-01|website=Esperanto Language Stack Exchange|archive-date=September 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901164905/https://esperanto.stackexchange.com/questions/378/how-do-i-type-the-esperanto-letters-with-accents-on-linux|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Donald|title=Linux|url=https://www.esperanto.org.nz/learn-and-use-esperanto/kiel-tajpi-en-esperanto/linux/|access-date=2021-09-02|website=Esperanto Association of New Zealand|language=en-NZ|archive-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902005626/https://www.esperanto.org.nz/learn-and-use-esperanto/kiel-tajpi-en-esperanto/linux/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Vocabulary ===
{{Main|Esperanto vocabulary}}
{{Wiktionary category|category=Esperanto language}}

The core vocabulary of Esperanto was defined by {{lang|eo|Unua Libro}}, published by Zamenhof in 1887. This book listed 917 roots; these could be expanded into tens of thousands of words using prefixes, suffixes, and compounding. In 1894, Zamenhof published the first Esperanto [[dictionary]], {{ill|Universala Vortaro|eo}}, which had a larger set of roots. The rules of the language allowed speakers to borrow new roots as needed; it was recommended, however, that speakers use most international forms and then derive related meanings from these.

Since then, many words have been borrowed, primarily (but not solely) from the European languages. Not all proposed borrowings become widespread, but many do, especially [[technical terminology|technical]] and [[science|scientific]] terms. Terms for everyday use, on the other hand, are more likely to be derived from existing roots; {{lang|eo|komputilo}} "computer", for instance, is formed from the verb {{lang|eo|komputi}} "compute" and the suffix {{lang|eo|-ilo}} "tool". Words are also [[calque]]d; that is, words acquire new meanings based on usage in other languages. For example, the word {{lang|eo|muso}} "mouse" has acquired the meaning of a [[mouse (computing)|computer mouse]] from its usage in many languages (English ''mouse'', French ''souris'', Dutch ''muis'', Spanish ''ratón'', etc.). Esperanto speakers often debate about whether a particular borrowing is justified or whether meaning can be expressed by deriving from or extending the meaning of existing words.

Some compounds and formed words in Esperanto are not entirely straightforward; for example, {{lang|eo|eldoni}}, literally "give out", means "publish", paralleling the usage of certain European languages (such as German {{lang|de|herausgeben}}, Dutch {{lang|nl|uitgeven}}, Russian {{lang|ru|издать izdat'}}). In addition, [[Esperanto words with the ad hoc suffix -um|the suffix ''-um-'']] has no defined meaning; words using the suffix must be learned separately (such as {{lang|eo|dekstren}} "to the right" and {{lang|eo|dekstrumen}} "clockwise").

There are not many idiomatic or slang words in Esperanto, as these forms of speech tend to make international communication difficult—working against Esperanto's main goal.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}}

Instead of derivations of Esperanto roots, new roots are taken from European languages in the endeavor to create an international language.<ref name="piron1989">{{lang|eo|La Bona Lingvo}}, [[Claude Piron]]. Vienna: {{lang|eo|Pro Esperanto}}, 1989. {{lang|eo|La lingvo volas eleganti, ne elefanti.}} "The language wants to be elegant, not elephantine."</ref>

=== Grammar ===
{{Main|Esperanto grammar}}
Esperanto words are mostly [[Morphological derivation|derived]] by stringing together [[Root (linguistics)|roots]], grammatical endings, and at times [[prefix]]es and [[suffix]]es. This process is regular so that people can create new words as they speak and be understood. [[Compound (linguistics)|Compound]] words are formed with a modifier-first, [[head (linguistics)|head-final]] order, as in English (compare "birdsong" and "songbird", and likewise, {{lang|eo|birdokanto}} and {{lang|eo|kantobirdo}}). Speakers may optionally insert an ''o'' between the words in a compound noun if placing them together directly without the ''o'' would make the resulting word hard to say or understand.

The different [[Part of speech|parts of speech]] are marked by their own suffixes: all [[common noun]]s are marked with the suffix {{lang|eo|-o}}, all [[adjective]]s with {{lang|eo|-a}}, all derived adverbs with {{lang|eo|-e}}, and all [[verb]]s except the [[jussive mood|jussive]] (or [[Imperative mood|imperative]]) and [[infinitive]] end in {{lang|eo|-s}}, specifically in one of six [[Grammatical tense|tense]] and [[Grammatical mood|mood]] suffixes, such as the [[present tense]] {{lang|eo|-as}}; the jussive mood, which is tenseless, ends in {{lang|eo|-u}}. Nouns and adjectives have two cases: [[Nominative case|nominative]] for grammatical subjects and in general, and [[Accusative case|accusative]] for direct objects and (after a preposition) to indicate direction of movement.

[[Grammatical number|Singular]] nouns used as [[grammatical subject]]s end in {{lang|eo|-o}}, [[Grammatical number|plural]] subject nouns in {{lang|eo|-oj}} (pronounced [oi̯] like English "oy"). Singular [[direct object]] forms end in {{lang|eo|-on}}, and plural direct objects with the combination {{lang|eo|-ojn}} ([oi̯n]; rhymes with "coin"): {{lang|eo|-o}} indicates that the word is a noun, {{lang|eo|-j}} indicates the plural, and {{lang|eo|-n}} indicates the [[accusative case|accusative]] (direct object) case. Adjectives [[Grammatical number#Adjectives and determiners|agree]] with their nouns; their endings are singular subject {{lang|eo|-a}} ([a]; rhymes with "ha!"), plural subject {{lang|eo|-aj}} ([ai̯], pronounced "eye"), singular object {{lang|eo|-an}}, and plural object {{lang|eo|-ajn}} ([ai̯n]; rhymes with "fine"). In the past some people found the [[Ancient Greek language|Classical Greek]] forms of the plural (nouns in ''-oj,'' adjectives in ''-aj)'' to be awkward, proposing instead that Italian ''-i'' be used for nouns, and that no plural be used for adjectives. These suggestions were adopted by the [[Ido (language)|Ido]] reform.<ref name="JBR">{{Cite web|url=http://jbr.me.uk/ranto/|title=Ranto (JBR Anti-Zamenhofism)|website=jbr.me.uk|access-date=2020-02-22|archive-date=February 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222074330/http://jbr.me.uk/ranto/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="MIR">{{Cite web|url=http://miresperanto.com/konkurentoj/not_my_favourite.htm|title=Why Esperanto is not my favourite Artificial Language|website=miresperanto.com|access-date=2020-02-22|archive-date=December 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211053403/http://miresperanto.com/konkurentoj/not_my_favourite.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

{| style="margin: 0 auto;"
|-
|
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 0 auto;"
|-
! [[Noun]]
! Subject
! Object
|-
! Singular
| -'''{{lang|eo|o}}'''
| -'''{{lang|eo|on}}'''
|-
! Plural
| -'''{{lang|eo|oj}}'''
| -'''{{lang|eo|ojn}}'''
|}
|
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 0 auto;"
|-
! [[Adjective]]
! Subject
! Object
|-
! Singular
| -'''{{lang|eo|a}}'''
| -'''{{lang|eo|an}}'''
|-
! Plural
| -'''{{lang|eo|aj}}'''
| -'''{{lang|eo|ajn}}'''
|}
|}

The suffix {{lang|eo|-n}}, besides indicating the direct object, is used to indicate movement and a few other things as well.

The six verb [[inflection]]s consist of three tenses and three moods. They are [[present tense]] {{lang|eo|-as}}, [[future tense]] {{lang|eo|-os}}, [[past tense]] {{lang|eo|-is}}, [[infinitive]] mood {{lang|eo|-i}}, [[conditional mood]] {{lang|eo|-us}} and [[jussive mood]] {{lang|eo|-u}} (used for wishes and commands). Verbs are not marked for person or number. Thus, {{lang|eo|kanti}} means "to sing", {{lang|eo|mi kantas}} means "I sing", {{lang|eo|vi kantas}} means "you sing", and {{lang|eo|ili kantas}} means "they sing".

{| style="margin: 0 auto;"
|-
|
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 0 auto;"
|-
! Verbal tense
! Suffix
|-
! [[Present tense|Present]]
| {{lang|eo|'''-as''' (kantas)}}
|-
! [[Past tense|Past]]
| {{lang|eo|'''-is''' (kantis)}}
|-
! [[Future tense|Future]]
| {{lang|eo|'''-os''' (kantos)}}
|}
|
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 0 auto;"
|-
! Verbal mood
! Suffix
|-
! [[Infinitive]]
| {{lang|eo|'''-i''' (kanti)}}
|-
! [[Jussive mood|Jussive]]
| {{lang|eo|'''-u''' (kantu)}}
|-
! [[Conditional mood|Conditional]]
| {{lang|eo|'''-us''' (kantus)}}
|}
|}

===Gender-neutrality===
{{See also|Gender reform in Esperanto}}
Esperanto is sometimes accused of being inherently [[sexism|sexist]], because the default form of some nouns is used for descriptions of men while a derived form is used for the women. This is said to retain traces of the male-dominated society of late 19th-century Europe of which Esperanto is a product.<ref name="Bertilo">[http://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/o-vortoj/seksa_signifo.html Bertilo] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019160056/http://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/o-vortoj/seksa_signifo.html |date=October 19, 2013 }} (in Esperanto)</ref><ref name="critiche">{{cite web|title=Critiche all'esperanto ed alle altre lingue internazionali|url=http://parracomumangi.altervista.org/domande.htm|url-status=live|access-date=December 5, 2010|website=Parra Comu Mangi|publisher=|language=it|archive-date=July 16, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716064219/http://parracomumangi.altervista.org/Domande.htm}}</ref> These nouns are primarily titles, such as ''baron/baroness'', and kinship terms, such as ''sinjoro'' "Mr, sir" vs. ''sinjorino'' "Ms, lady" and ''patro'' "father" vs. ''patrino'' "mother". Before the movement toward equal rights for women, this also applied to professional roles assumed to be predominantly male, such as ''doktoro,'' a holder of a doctorate (male or unspecified), versus ''doktorino,'' a female doctorate-holder. This paralleled the contemporary situation with the English suffix ''-ess,'' as in the words ''waiter/waitress'', ''actor/actress'', etc.

On the other hand, the pronoun ''ĝi'' ("it") may be used generically to mean he/she/they; the pronoun ''li'' ("he") is always masculine and ''ŝi'' ("she") is always female, despite some authors' arguments.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kalocsay |first1= Kálmán|last2= Waringhien|first2= Gaston|title = Plena analiza gramatiko de Esperanto|date=1985|page=73|publisher = Universala Esperanto-Asocio|isbn = 9789290170327}}</ref> A gender-neutral singular pronoun ''ri'' has gradually become more widely used in recent years, although it is minority usage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lingvakritiko.com/2020/05/12/la-efektiva-uzado-de-seksneutralaj-pronomoj-lau-empiria-esplorstudo/|title=La efektiva uzado de seksneŭtralaj pronomoj laŭ empiria esplorstudo|last=Kramer|first=Markos|date=12 May 2020|website=Lingva Kritiko|access-date=30 November 2020|trans-title=The actual use of gender-neutral pronouns according to an empirical research study|language=eo|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130170049/https://lingvakritiko.com/2020/05/12/la-efektiva-uzado-de-seksneutralaj-pronomoj-lau-empiria-esplorstudo/|archive-date=30 November 2020}}</ref> The plural pronoun ''ili'' ("they") is always neutral, while nouns with the prefix ''ge–'' specifically includes both sexes, for example ''gesinjoroj'' (equivalent, depending on context, to either ''sinjoro kaj sinjorino'' "Mr. and Ms." or ''sinjoroj kaj sinjorinoj'' "Ladies and Gentlemen"), ''gepatroj'' "parents" (equivalent to ''patro kaj patrino'' "mother and father").

=== Simple phrases ===
Listed below are some useful Esperanto words and phrases along with [[help:IPA|IPA]] transcriptions:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!English || Esperanto || [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
|-
|Hello || {{Audio|Eo-saluton.ogg|Saluton|help=no}} || {{IPA|[sa.ˈlu.ton]}}
|-
|Yes || {{Audio|Eo-jes.ogg|Jes|help=no}} || {{IPA|[ˈjes]}}
|-
|No || {{Audio|Eo-ne.ogg|Ne|help=no}} || {{IPA|[ˈne]}}
|-
|Good morning || {{Audio|Eo-bonan matenon.ogg|Bonan matenon|help=no}} || {{IPA|[ˈbo.nan ma.ˈte.non]}}
|-
|Good day || Bonan tagon || {{IPA|[ˈbo.nan ˈta.gon]}}
|-
|Good evening || {{Audio|Eo-bonan vesperon.ogg|Bonan vesperon|help=no}} || {{IPA|[ˈbo.nan ves.ˈpe.ron]}}
|-
|Good night || {{Audio|Eo-bonan nokton.ogg|Bonan nokton|help=no}} || {{IPA|[ˈbo.nan ˈnok.ton]}}
|-
|Goodbye || {{Audio|Eo-ĝis la revido.ogg|Ĝis (la revido)|help=no}}||{{IPA|[ˈd͡ʒis (la re.ˈvi.do)]}}
|-
|What is your name? || {{Audio|Eo-kio estas via nomo.ogg|Kio estas via nomo?|help=no}} /<br />Kiel vi nomiĝas? || {{IPA|[ˈki.o ˌes.tas ˌvi.a ˈno.mo]}} /<br />{{IPA|[ˈki.el ˌvi no.ˈmi.d͡ʒas]}}
|-
|My name is Marco. || {{Audio|Eo-mia nomo estas marko.ogg|Mia nomo estas Marko|help=no}} /<br />Mi nomiĝas Marko || {{IPA|[ˌmi.a ˈno.mo ˌes.tas ˈmar.ko]}} /<br />{{IPA|[mi no.ˌmi.d͡ʒas ˈmar.ko]}}
|-
|How are you? || {{Audio|Eo-kiel vi fartas.ogg|Kiel vi fartas?|help=no}} || {{IPA|[ˈki.el vi ˈfar.tas]}}
|-
|I am well.|| {{Audio|Eo-mi fartas bone.ogg|Mi fartas bone|help=no}} || {{IPA|[mi ˈfar.tas ˈbo.ne]}}
|-
|Do you speak Esperanto? || {{Audio|Eo-ĉu vi parolas Esperanton.oga|Ĉu vi parolas Esperanton?|help=no}} || {{IPA|[ˈt͡ʃu vi pa.ˈro.las ˌes.pe.ˈran.ton]}}
|-
|I don't understand you || {{Audio|Eo-mi ne komprenas vin.ogg|Mi ne komprenas vin|help=no}} || {{IPA|[mi ˌne kom.ˈpre.nas vin]}}
|-
|All right || rowspan="2" | {{Audio|Eo-bone.ogg|Bone|help=no}} / En ordo || rowspan="2" | {{IPA|[ˈbo.ne]}} / {{IPA|[en ˈor.do]}}
|-
|Okay 
|-
|Thank you || {{Audio|Eo-dankon.ogg|Dankon|help=no}} || {{IPA|[ˈdan.kon]}}
|-
|You're welcome || {{Audio|Eo-ne dankinde.ogg|Ne dankinde|help=no}} / Nedankinde || {{IPA|[ˌne.dan.ˈkin.de]}}
|-
|Please || {{Audio|Eo-bonvolu.ogg|Bonvolu|help=no}} / Mi petas || {{IPA|[bon.ˈvo.lu]}} / {{IPA|[mi ˈpe.tas]}}
|-
|Forgive me/Excuse me || {{Audio|Eo-pardonu min.ogg|Pardonu min|help=no}} || {{IPA|[par.ˈdo.nu min]}}
|-
|Bless you! || {{Audio|Eo-sanon.ogg|Sanon!|help=no}} || {{IPA|[ˈsa.non]}}
|-
|Congratulations! ||{{Audio|Eo-gratulon.ogg|Gratulon!|help=no}} ||{{IPA|[ɡra.ˈtu.lon]}}
|-
|I love you || {{Audio|Eo-mi amas vin.ogg|Mi amas vin|help=no}} || {{IPA|[mi ˈa.mas vin]}}
|-
|One beer, please || {{Audio|Eo-unu bieron mi petas.ogg|Unu bieron, mi petas|help=no}} || {{IPA|[ˈu.nu bi.ˈe.ron, mi ˈpe.tas]}}
|-
|Where is the toilet? || {{Audio|Eo-kie estas la necesejo.ogg|Kie estas la necesejo?|help=no}} || {{IPA|[ˈki.e ˌes.tas la ˌne.t͡se.ˈse.jo]}}
|-
|What is that? || {{Audio|Eo-kio estas tio.ogg|Kio estas tio?|help=no}} || {{IPA|[ˈki.o ˌes.tas ˈti.o]}}
|-
|That is a dog || {{Audio|Eo-tio estas hundo.ogg|Tio estas hundo|help=no}} || {{IPA|[ˈti.o ˌes.tas ˈhun.do]}}
|-
|We will love! || {{Audio|Eo-ni amos.ogg|Ni amos!|help=no}} || {{IPA|[ni ˈa.mos]}}
|-
|Peace! || {{Audio|Eo-pacon.ogg|Pacon!|help=no}} || {{IPA|[ˈpa.t͡son]}}
|-
|I am a beginner in Esperanto. || {{Audio|Eo-mi estas komencanto de esperanto.ogg|Mi estas komencanto de Esperanto|help=no}} || {{IPA|[mi ˌes.tas ˌko.men.ˈt͡san.to de ˌes.pe.ˈran.to]}}
|}

=== Sample texts ===
{{Quote box
|border  = 2px
|align   = center
|halign  = center
|quoted = 1
|quote   = Ĉiuj homoj estas denaske liberaj kaj egalaj laŭ digno kaj rajtoj. Ili posedas racion kaj konsciencon, kaj devus konduti unu al alia en spirito de frateco.<br/>
''All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.''
|salign  = right
|source  = The ''[[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]]'', Article I<ref>{{cite web |title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Esperanto|url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/udhr/pages/Language.aspx?LangID=1115 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107200830/https://www.ohchr.org/en/udhr/pages/Language.aspx?LangID=1115 |archive-date=January 7, 2022 |access-date=January 7, 2022 |website= |publisher=United Nations (which owns "OHCHR.org")}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights|title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights|newspaper=United Nations|access-date=January 7, 2022|archive-date=March 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316050452/https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

{{Listen
| type         = speech
| filename     = Eo-drako-reĝo.ogg
| title        = Listen to this excerpt
}}
The following short extract gives an idea of the character of Esperanto:<ref>Maire Mullarney ''Everyone's Own Language'', p147, Nitobe Press, Channel Islands, 1999</ref>

* Esperanto:
:«{{lang|eo|En multaj lokoj de Ĉinio estis temploj de la drako-reĝo. Dum trosekeco oni preĝis en la temploj, ke la drako-reĝo donu pluvon al la homa mondo. Tiam drako estis simbolo de la supernatura estaĵo. Kaj pli poste, ĝi fariĝis prapatro de la plej altaj regantoj kaj simbolis la absolutan aŭtoritaton de la feŭda imperiestro. La imperiestro pretendis, ke li estas la filo de la drako. Ĉiuj liaj vivbezonaĵoj portis la nomon drako kaj estis ornamitaj per diversaj drakofiguroj. Nun ĉie en Ĉinio videblas drako-ornamentaĵoj, kaj cirkulas legendoj pri drakoj.}}»
* English translation:
:''In many places in China, there were temples of the dragon-king. During times of drought, people would pray in the temples that the dragon-king would give rain to the human world. At that time the dragon was a symbol of the supernatural creature. Later on, it became the ancestor of the highest rulers and symbolized the absolute authority of a feudal emperor. The emperor claimed to be the son of the dragon. All of his personal possessions carried the name "dragon" and were decorated with various dragon figures. Now dragon decorations can be seen everywhere in China, and legends about dragons circulate.''