TEXPERANTO

AN ARTIFICIAL LANGUAGE

(c) 2006 Klikaw ilube por kontakti melui

For a little story about the Universe where Texperanto is spoken, click here.

Texperanto is an artificial language invented in 1886 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Texican Revolution by Dr. Lazarus ("Lou") Zamenhof of the Douglass University Medical School at Port-au-President, Haiti. It's based mainly on the Romance languages, with a large input from English, and, to a lesser degree, from the Slavic languages, Cherokee, and Haitian Creole. Texperanto remained a small-scale hobbyist language in most of Texas, but became a vogue in Japan, where there were an estimated two million speakers of the language in 1986, a century after the initial publication of the language.

It became an official language of Texas, along with Spanish, English, French, Haitian Creole, and Cherokee in 2004. By 2025, virtually all Texans could speak the language, and by 2100, it was the most widely spoken language on Earth, Luna, Mars, and the Asteroid Belt. It went on to become the lingua franca of the Galaxy.

Texperanto esas artefarita lingo kel kreitas por ke memorigi la 50a datreveno de la texa revolto di Doktoro Lazarus ("Lou") Zamenhof de la Douglass Universitio Hilisto-Lernubo ce Port-au-President, Haiti. T esas bazita cefe ye la romansa lingoy, kun grana danpono eks Englalingo, kay, plinargagrade, eks la Slava lingoy, Cerokilingo, kay Haitia kreyolo. Texperanto restis nargagrada luduma lingo en la maxparto de Texlando, sed ijis vogo dan Japanlando, ce kel esis taksata du milionoy da parolantoy de la lingo do1986, yarcento post la una publixago de la lingo.

T ijis oficiala lingo de Texlando, kune kun Hispanlingo, Englalingo, Franslingo, Haitia Kreyollingo, kay Cerokilingo ye 2004. Bay 2025, proksimume yeda texlandano povis paroli la lingo, e bay 2100, t esis la max vaste parolata lingo ce Tero, Luno, Marso, kay la Asteroyda Zono. T plifue ijis la lingofranko de la Galaxio.

1. THE ALPHABET

Texperanto utilizes the basic 26 letters of the Roman alphabet, thus:

A as in fAther
B as in Boy
C as in CHew
D as in Dog
E as in tExan
F as in For
G as in Goat
H as in Hat
I as in machIne
J as in Jaw
K as in Keep
L as in Love
M as in Many
N as in New
O as in bOAt
P as in Pig
Q as in pleaSure
R as in Spanish peRo
S as in See
T as in Tree
U as in bOOt
V as in Victory
W as in Way
X as in SHoe
Y as in You
Z as in Zoom

The names of the letters are: af, bet, ce, del, ep, foy, gam, hac, ic, jey, kap, lam, mim, nan, om, pi, qa, ro, sig, taw, up, vay, waw, xin, yot, zed
They are used as names of letters, of course, and (since a trend began in the late 20th century) they are also used as anaphora, i. e. as pronouns that refer back to the last word that begins with that particular letter. Example: Me donis karno al la leono. Lam manjis kap. (usually just written as "L manjis k.")

The stress of a Texperanto word always falls on the next-to-last syllable. Hence, the word "Texperanto" is pronounced tesh-peh-RAN-to.

2. NOUNS

The parts of speech in Texperanto are indicated by the endings of the words — all nouns end in -o.

Pistolo - pistol
Dogo - dog
Domo - house
Kapo - head
Cero - chair
Pomo – apple
The –o may be dropped when no ambiguity will result. In such cases, the stress is applied to the last syllable, as though the –o were present.

To make the plural, -y is added

Pistoloy - pistols, etc.

The plural form is not necessary if the noun is preceded by a number or other quantifier.

3. ADJECTIVES

All adjectives end in -a.

Bona pistolo - a good pistol
Grana dogo - a big dog
Bela domo - a beautiful house
Komforta cero - a comfortable chair
Reda pomoy - red apples

4. ADVERBS

Adverbs that modify verbs, or adjectives, or other adverbs end in -e
Tre bona pistolo. A very good pistol
La dogo felice manjas. The dog happily eats.

5. PRONOUNS

The basic pronouns are:

Me - I or me
Ti – you
Lu - he, she
In – she (this is also a feminizing suffix)
Er – he (this is also a masculinizing suffix)
Lo - it
Noy – we
[or, you can use the compounds, meti (you and I) and melu or melui (others and I not including you) to be more specific]
Li- they (things)
Luy – they (people)
Inoy – they (all female)
Eroy – they (all female)
Loy – they (things)
Self - self

6. POSSESSIVES

The possessives of pronouns are formed by the inclusion of the prepostion “ka.”

Me ka - my
Ti ka - your
Lu ka - his/her
Etc.

"Ka" can be used with nouns as well:

La dogo ka domo — the dog's house

And with letter-anaphora

La dogo danvenis. el ka osto swingijantis.
Me vidis Yohano. Me frapis yot ka nazo.

Indeed, it can be thought of as the opposite of “de”, meaning “of.”
La domo de la artisto = La artisto ka domo

7. VERBS Verbs are of course more complicated. The infinitive form ends in -i

Vidi - to see
The present form is -as
Dogo vidas - a dog sees.

Past, -is, future -os, conditional, -us, imperative -aw

Dogo vidis - a dog saw
Dogo vidos - a dog will see
Dogo vidus - a dog would see
Dogo vidaw - Dog! See!

The word for "to be" is "esi".
Me esas, esis, esos, etc.
However, it is allowed to abbreviate this particular verb to its endings, thus:

Me as - I am
Ti is - you were
Er os - he will be
etc.

8. PARTICIPLES

There are progressive, so to speak, forms thus:

Me as manjanta - I am eating
Ti is manjanta - you were eating
Noy os ludanta = we will be playing

But by changing the vowel, we get other meanings:

Me as vidinta - I am having-seen ( I have seen)
Ti as vidonta- I am about-to-see.

This latter form means much the same as "Ti vidos," except that it includes the idea of action in the near future. It is actually used very sparingly, -os being the common usage.

There are still shorter forms possible, thus:

Me as vidinta = Me vidintas
Ti as vidonta = Ti vidontas

Or, of course:

Me as vidanta = Me vidantas

There are also passive forms:
Me as vidata - I am (being) seen
Me as vidita - I have been seen
Me as vidota - I will be seen

And the short forms:
Me vidatas
Me viditas
Me vidotas

Note that the -a forms above are adjectives, and can be used as such without the “to be” forms.

La manjanta dogo - the eating dog
La vidata omino - the seen woman (the woman being seen)
La verfota pilko - the ball to be thrown.

And the adjectival forms can have -a replaced by -o to make nouns meaning, roughly, “the one which”

La kantanto - the singer (the one singing now)
La pafito - the shot one, the one who has been shot
La helponto - the one who will help

9. LA KORELATIVOY

There’s a set of words that are a regularized method for expressing such grammar-words as who, there, when, etc., all of which are based on the following adjective-like words:

Kia – which, what (used adjectivally)
La – the
Ila – this
Ala – that
Ola – yonder
Yeda – each, all
Nena – no (as in “no bananas”)
Alga – some
Ayna – any

From that you can generate the “thing” series, by replacing –a with –o

Kio – what (thing)
Lo – the thing (it)
Ilo – this thing
Alo – that thing
Olo – yonder thing
Yedo – everything
Neno – nothing
Algo – something
Ayno – anything

And the “people” series, by replacing with –u

Kiu – who
Lu – he or she
Ilu – this person
Alu – that person
Olu – yonder person
Yedu – everybody
Nenu – nobody
Algu – somebody
Aynu – anybody

Then the “place” series, which is made from the word ubo, place:

Kiube – where (note the adverb ending)
Lube – (at) the place
Ilube – here
Alube – there
Olube – yonder
Yedube – everywhere
Nenube – nowhere
Algube – somewhere
Aynube – anywhere

(to show motion towards, the preposition al is used: al kiube, where to, etc.)

The time series is based on a unique preposition, "do" meaning "at the time of". Most natural languages use the same at-like preposition for space and time, but in Texperanto the distinction is made.

Do kio – when
Do lo – the time
Do ilo – this time
Do alo – that time (usually referring to past)
Do olo – yonder time (usually referring to future)
Do yedo – always
Do neno - never
Do algo – sometime
Do ayno – anytime

The manner series is based on modo, method or way.

Kiamode – how
Lamode – the way
Ilamode – thus, this way
Alamode – that way
Olamode – yonder way
Yedamode – in every way
Nenamode – in no way
Algamode – in some way
Aynamode – in any way

The kind or sort is based on the word tipo, type

Kiatipa - what kind of
Latipa - the type of
Ilatipa - this type of
Alatipa - that type of
Olatipa - yonder type of
Yedatipa - every type of, all types of
Nenatipa - no type of
Algatipa - some type of
Aynatipa - any type of

The amount series is based on the word num, number

Kianum – how much or how many
Lanum – the number of
Ilanum – this many
Alanum – that many
Olanum – yonder many
Yedanum – every amount
Nenanum – no amount
Alganum – some amount
Aynanum – any amount

The reason series is just kaw (because of) in front of the thing series

Kaw kio – why
Kaw lo – for the reason
Kaw ilo – for this reason
Etc.

Those are the basic forms. You can coin new ones as you like, as long as they make sense. For example:

Ti esas kiagranesa? You are of what size? (what largeness)

Metu esas kiahore? We are (at) what hour. What time is it?

Kialogike tu pensas alo? By what logic do you think that?

The word "otra" (another) is sometimes used as a correlative prefix.

Otro - some other thing, something else.
Otru - some other person, somebody else.
Do otro - another time
Otrube - somewhere else

A correlative-seeming word that isn’t really a correlative is “co.” It means “what was just said”

Me esis manjema. Kaw co, me manjis.
I was hungry. Because of what was just said, I ate.

So in effect, kaw co means “Therefore.”

10. WORD-BUILDING

Texperanto utilizes compounding more than most languages, and there's a set of standard prefixes and suffixes that can be used to create new words in a systematic fashion.

Ac - comtemptible, low quality. Cevalaco - nag, domaco, hovel, grafacar- to scribble
Ad - continual or repetitive. Martelago - hammering. Martelagado - repetitive hammering.
Ag - act or condition of. Martelago - hammering, legago - reading, dormago - sleep.
An - a member of. Franslandano - a French citizen, kristano - a Christian, klubano - club member
Ant - performing the root action. La dormanta dogo - the sleeping dog. With a -o ending, it means the one performing the root action. La dormanto - the sleeper. All the participle endings can be used in this way. See #8, PARTICIPLES above for more information.
Aq - a manifestation of the meaning of the root word. Manjaqo - food, ricaqi - riches, pakaqo - package
/b>Ar - coherent group of. Arbaro - forest, bukaro - library (meaning a collections of books. Biblioteko means library in the sense of the building), bovaro - herd of cattle
Ayt - offspring of. Dogayto - pup, Izraelayto - Israelite, arbayto - sapling
Ayz - to prepare with or for. Vintrayzar- to winterize, orayzi - to gild, vodayzi - to water
Cef - chief, most important. Cefministro - prime minister, cefvolfo - wolfpack leader, cefurbo - capital
Cis - this side of. Cisluna - cislunar, cisalpina - cisalpine
Dis - separation. Disigar- to separate (something), dishakar- to chop up, dissendar - to disseminate
Ebl - capable of having the root done to it. Legebla - readable or legible, manjebla - edible.
Eg - large or intense. Domego - mansion, omego - giant, granega - enormous
Ek - beginning action or momentary action. Ekbrilar- to flash, ekirar- to set out, eksabar - to find out
Eks - from out of, from. eksirar - to come out (of), eksijar - to withdraw. Also means “made of”. Eksora - made of gold, golden.
Em - tending toward. Spikema - talkative, ripozema - lazy, laborema - industrious
End - must be, mandatory. Farenda - must be done, obeenda - must be obeyed, pagenda - must be paid
Enj - machine, mecanism for. Grafenjo - typewriter, flugenjo - flying machine, pensenjo - computer, veturenjo - motor vehicle
Eo - early, primitive. Eoomo - primitive man, eoarbaro - forest primeval, eotempo - primitive times
Er - male. Pamero - father, kelnero -waiter, fratero - brother, bovero - bull, kokero - rooster. Also serves as a pronoun meaning ‘he.’
Es - state of, condition of. Abstract quality or characteristic of the root. Redeso - redness, libereso - liberty, rejeso - monarchy
Esk - similar, in the manner of. Xeykspireska - Shakespearesque, romaneska - Romanesque, Napoleoneska - Napoleonesque
Estr - boss of the root word. Imperiestro - emperor, urbestro - mayor, xafarestro - shepherd
Et - small, of low intensity. Ometo - midget, graneta - large-ish, manjetar- to nibble
Ex - former. Exuxero - ex-husband, exprezidanto - ex-president, exyugoslavlando - former Yugoslavia. See also Ex.
For - away. Forirar- to go away, forsendar - to send away, forlasar - to foresake
Ig - cause to be. Redigar - to redden (something), veturigar - to drive (a car), dormiga - sleep-inducing
Ij - to become. Dormijar- to go to sleep, anijar - to join (become a member), pligranijar - to grow in size
In - female. Pamino - mother, kelnino -waitress, fratino - sister, bovino - cow, kokino - hen. Also serves as a pronoun meaning “she.”
Ind - worthy of having done to it. Aminda - loveable or worthy of love (amebla simply means capable of being loved), manjinda - worth eating
Ing - holder or sheath for. Kandelingo - candlestick, cigaringo - cigar holder, glavingo - scabbard
Isk - smallest part of a collective noun. Vodisko - drop of water, nejisko - snowflake, fayrisko - spark
Ism - doctrine or belief. Komunismo - communism, budhismo - Buddhism, ateismo - atheism
Ist - person concerned or occupied with the notion of the root. Lingisto - linguist, violinisto - violinist, Texperantisto - Texperantist.
Land - country. Franslando - France, omeglando - land of the giants,
Ling - language of. Franslingo - French language, Cinlingo - Chinese language
Mis - wrongly. Miskomprenar - to misunderstand, misspikar - to misspeak, mispaxo - misstep
Mal - makes opposites. Malbona - bad, malfermar - open, malamiko - enemy
Non - not (doesn’t make opposites, just negates the root). Nonusonano - non-American, nonano - non-member, nonmamali - non-mammals
Olog - science of. Stelologo - astronomy, Lingologo - linguistics, poemologo - poetics
Om - a person characterized by the root. Ricomo - a rich person, ripozemomo - a lazybones, bonomo - a good guy.
Oz - full of. Poroza - pourous, vodoza - saturated with water
Pov - capable of. Legpova - literate, pagpova - solvent, vivpova - viable
Pseud - pseudo, fake. Pseudnomo - pseudonym, pseudamiko - false friend, pseudomo - a phony
Re - back to the beginning, over again. Relegar- to reread, revenar - to return, repensar - rethink
Retro - in reverse. Retropaxar - step back, retroema - reactionary
Ub - place of. Awtubo - garage, prejubo - church, dogubo - kennel
Ul - a person or thing characterized by the root. Ricomo - a rich person, ripozemomo - a lazybones, bonomo - a good guy. Dumastulo - a two-master.
Um - indefinite suffix. Makes related words. Xtonumar- to stone, okulumar - to ogle, cerbumear - to brainstorm, kolumo - collar, jambumo - legging
Ut - tool. Kudruto - needle, grafuto - writing instrument, trancuto - knife, fluguto - wing.
Ux - in-law. Actually less complicated than it sounds. Uxo means spouse (uxino - wife, uxero - husband), and therefore it can be used as both a prefix and a suffix. Uxfrato - Spouse’s brother (one sense of brother-in-law), Fratuxero - Sibling’s husband (the other sense of brother-in-law).
uy - container for a group of things. Cigaruyo - cigar box, banuyo - bathtub, moniskuyo - change purse

11. NUMBERS

Un - 1
Du - 2
Tri - 3
Kwar - 4
Kwin - 5
Siks - 6
Sep - 7
Ok - 8
Naw - 9
Dek - 10
Cent - 100
Mil -1000

Higher numbers are made thus:

Dudek du - 22
Dumil siks -2006
Mil okcent okdek sep - 1887

Ordinal numbers are made by adding the adjectival ending -a:

Una - first
Siksa - sixth
Cent una - 101st
Sepmil kwincent tridek nawa - 7539th.
etc.

Some people from an alternate universe are discussing Texperanto here.