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From: antony@cix.compulink.co.uk ("Antony Rawlinson")
Subject: Re: One point against Esperanto
Message-ID: <D5Cqq8.CC7@cix.compulink.co.uk>
Organization: ABC                           
References: <3jtu6d$h9l@panix2.panix.com>
Date: Mon, 13 Mar 1995 00:01:20 GMT
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> Halldor Arnason  <harnason@u.washington.edu> wrote:
> >
> >I was just thinking of sentences like "Esperanto is spoken"
> 
> Esperanto estas parolata
> Oni parolas Esperanton/
> Esperanton oni parolas
> 
> *Esperanto paroli^gas         (the medial voice; it would not be 
>                               use with this subject and verb for 
>                               semantic reason, since there must be
>                               someone to speak, even if it is an
>                               unknown person.)
>
> Pierre Jelenc (rcpj@panix.com)

The suffix "-i^g" (to become) is widely used in this sort of context, for 
example the English sentences:

        "he was injured"        is "li vundi^gis",
        "I am interested"       is "mi interesi^gas",

where a statement is treated as passive in English but as active in 
Esperanto.  English also uses the passive in less logical situations such 
as:

        "Are you prepared ... ?" (to do something)
        "^Cu vi pretas ... ?"

"Esperanto is spoken" translates as "Esperanto estas parolata" since an 
active agent (the speaker) is much more clearly implied than in the other 
examples.

Antony.
