10240010@unknown@formal@none@1@S@<article>English language</article>@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10240020@unknown@formal@none@1@S@'''English''' is an [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]], [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic language]] originating in [[England]], and is the [[first language]] for most people in the [[United Kingdom]], the [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], and the [[Anglophone Caribbean]].@@@@1@39@@danf@17-8-2009
10240030@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It is used extensively as a [[second language]] and as an [[official language]] throughout the world, especially in [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries and in many [[international organization]]s.@@@@1@27@@danf@17-8-2009
10240040@unknown@formal@none@1@S@==Significance==@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10240050@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Modern English, sometimes described as the first global [[lingua franca]], is the [[Linguistic imperialism|dominant]] [[international auxiliary language|international language]] in [[communication]]s, [[science]], [[business]], [[aviation]], [[entertainment]], [[radio]] and [[diplomacy]].@@@@1@27@@danf@17-8-2009
10240060@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The initial reason for its enormous spread beyond the bounds of the [[British Isles]] where it was originally a native tongue was the [[British Empire]], and by the late nineteenth century its influence had won a truly global reach.@@@@1@39@@danf@17-8-2009
10240070@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It is the dominant language in the [[United States]] and the growing economic and cultural influence of that [[federal union]] as a global [[superpower]] since [[World War II]] has significantly accelerated adoption of English as a language across the planet.@@@@1@40@@danf@17-8-2009
10240080@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A working knowledge of English has become a requirement in a number of fields, occupations and professions such as medicine and as a consequence over a billion people speak English to at least a basic level (see [[English language learning and teaching]]).@@@@1@42@@danf@17-8-2009
10240090@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Linguists such as [[David Crystal]] recognize that one impact of this massive growth of English, in common with other global languages, has been to reduce native [[Natural language#Linguistic diversity|linguistic diversity]] in many parts of the world historically, most particularly in [[Australasia]] and [[North America]], and its huge influence continues to play an important role in [[language attrition]].@@@@1@57@@danf@17-8-2009
10240100@unknown@formal@none@1@S@By a similar token, [[historical linguistics|historical linguists]], aware of the complex and fluid dynamics of [[language change]], are always alive to the potential English contains through the vast size and spread of the communities that use it and its natural internal variety, such as in its [[English-based creole languages|creoles]] and [[pidgin]]s, to produce a new [[language family|family]] of distinct languages over time.@@@@1@62@@danf@17-8-2009
10240110@unknown@formal@none@1@S@English is one of six official languages of the [[United Nations]].@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10240120@unknown@formal@none@1@S@==History==@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10240130@unknown@formal@none@1@S@English is a [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]] language that originated from the [[Anglo-Frisian languages|Anglo-Frisian]] dialects brought to [[Great Britain|Britain]] by Germanic settlers and Roman auxiliary troops from various parts of what is now northwest Germany and the Northern [[Netherlands]].@@@@1@39@@danf@17-8-2009
10240140@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Initially, [[Old English language|Old English]] was a diverse group of dialects, reflecting the varied origins of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of [[England]].@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10240150@unknown@formal@none@1@S@One of these dialects, Late West Saxon, eventually came to dominate.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10240160@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The original Old English language was then influenced by two waves of invasion.@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10240170@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The first was by language speakers of the [[North Germanic languages|Scandinavian]] branch of the Germanic family; they conquered and colonized parts of Britain in the 8th and 9th centuries.@@@@1@29@@danf@17-8-2009
10240180@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The second was the [[Normans]] in the 11th century, who spoke Old Norman and ultimately developed an English variety of this called [[Anglo-Norman]].@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10240190@unknown@formal@none@1@S@These two invasions caused English to become "mixed" to some degree (though it was never a truly mixed language in the strict linguistic sense of the word; mixed languages arise from the cohabitation of speakers of different languages, who develop a hybrid tongue for basic communication).@@@@1@46@@danf@17-8-2009
10240200@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Cohabitation with the Scandinavians resulted in a significant grammatical simplification and lexical supplementation of the Anglo-Frisian core of English; the later [[Normans|Norman]] occupation led to the grafting onto that Germanic core of a more elaborate layer of words from the [[Italic languages|Italic]] branch of the European languages.@@@@1@47@@danf@17-8-2009
10240210@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This Norman influence entered English largely through the courts and government.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10240220@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Thus, English developed into a "borrowing" language of great flexibility and with a huge vocabulary.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10240230@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Classification and related languages ==@@@@1@6@@danf@17-8-2009
10240240@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The English language belongs to the western sub-branch of the [[Germanic languages|Germanic branch]] of the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] family of languages.@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10240250@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The closest living relative of English is [[Scots language|Scots]], spoken primarily in Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland, which is viewed by linguists as either a separate language or a group of dialects of English.@@@@1@35@@danf@17-8-2009
10240260@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The next closest relative to English after Scots is [[Frisian languages|Frisian]], spoken in the Northern Netherlands and Northwest Germany.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10240270@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Other less closely related living [[West Germanic languages]] include [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[Low German]], [[German language|German]] and [[Afrikaans]].@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10240280@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The [[North Germanic languages]] of Scandinavia are less closely related to English than the West Germanic languages.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10240290@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Many [[French language|French]] words are also intelligible to an English speaker (though pronunciations are often quite different) because English absorbed a large vocabulary from [[Norman language|Norman]] and French, via [[Anglo-Norman]] after the Norman Conquest and directly from French in subsequent centuries.@@@@1@41@@danf@17-8-2009
10240300@unknown@formal@none@1@S@As a result, a large portion of English vocabulary is derived from French, with some minor spelling differences (word endings, use of old French spellings, etc.), as well as occasional divergences in meaning, in so-called "faux amis", or [[false friend]]s.@@@@1@40@@danf@17-8-2009
10240310@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The pronunciation of French loanwords in English has become completely anglicized and follows a typically Germanic pattern of stress.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10240320@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Geographical distribution ==@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10240330@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Approximately 375 million people speak English as their first language.@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10240340@unknown@formal@none@1@S@English today is probably the third largest language by number of native speakers, after [[Mandarin (linguistics)|Mandarin Chinese]] and [[Spanish language|Spanish]].@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10240350@unknown@formal@none@1@S@However, when combining native and non-native speakers it is probably the most commonly spoken language in the world, though possibly second to a combination of the [[Chinese language]]s, depending on whether or not distinctions in the latter are classified as "languages" or "dialects."@@@@1@43@@danf@17-8-2009
10240360@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Estimates that include [[second language]] speakers vary greatly from 470 million to over a billion depending on how [[literacy]] or mastery is defined.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10240370@unknown@formal@none@1@S@There are some who claim that non-native speakers now outnumber native speakers by a ratio of 3 to 1.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10240380@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The countries with the highest populations of native English speakers are, in descending order: United States (215 million), United Kingdom (58 million), Canada (18.2 million), Australia (15.5 million), [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] (3.8 million), South Africa (3.7 million), and New Zealand (3.0-3.7 million).@@@@1@42@@danf@17-8-2009
10240390@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Countries such as [[Jamaica]] and [[Nigeria]] also have millions of native speakers of [[dialect continuum|dialect continua]] ranging from an [[English-based creole languages|English-based creole]] to a more standard version of English.@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10240400@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Of those nations where English is spoken as a second language, India has the most such speakers ('[[Indian English]]') and linguistics professor [[David Crystal]] claims that, combining native and non-native speakers, India now has more people who speak or understand English than any other country in the world.@@@@1@48@@danf@17-8-2009
10240410@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Following India is the [[People's Republic of China]].@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10240420@unknown@formal@none@1@S@===Countries in order of total speakers===@@@@1@6@@danf@17-8-2009
10240430@unknown@formal@none@1@S@English is the primary language in [[Anguilla]], [[Antigua and Barbuda]], Australia ([[Australian English]]), the [[The Bahamas|Bahamas]], [[Barbados]], [[Bermuda]], [[Belize]] ([[Belizean Kriol language|Belizean Kriol]]), the [[British Indian Ocean Territory]], the [[British Virgin Islands]], Canada ([[Canadian English]]), the [[Cayman Islands]], the [[Falkland Islands]], [[Gibraltar]], [[Grenada]], [[Guam]], [[Guernsey]] ([[Channel Island English]]), [[Guyana]], Ireland ([[Hiberno-English]]), [[Isle of Man]] ([[Manx English]]), Jamaica ([[Jamaican English]]), [[Jersey]], [[Montserrat]], [[Nauru]], New Zealand ([[New Zealand English]]), [[Pitcairn Islands]], [[Saint Helena]], [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]], [[Saint Vincent and the Grenadines]], [[Singapore]], [[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], the [[Turks and Caicos Islands]], the United Kingdom, the [[United States Virgin Islands|U.S. Virgin Islands]], and the United States.@@@@1@110@@danf@17-8-2009
10240440@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In many other countries, where English is not the most spoken language, it is an official language; these countries include [[Botswana]], [[Cameroon]], [[Dominica]], [[Fiji]], the [[Federated States of Micronesia]], [[Ghana]], [[The Gambia|Gambia]], [[India]], [[Kenya]], [[Kiribati]], [[Lesotho]], [[Liberia]], [[Madagascar]], [[Malta]], the [[Marshall Islands]], [[Mauritius]], [[Namibia]], [[Nigeria]], [[Pakistan]], [[Palau]], [[Papua New Guinea]], the [[Philippines]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[Rwanda]], the [[Solomon Islands]], [[Saint Lucia]], [[Samoa]], [[Seychelles]], [[Sierra Leone]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Swaziland]], [[Tanzania]], [[Uganda]], [[Zambia]], and [[Zimbabwe]].@@@@1@72@@danf@17-8-2009
10240450@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It is also one of the 11 official languages that are given equal status in South Africa ([[South African English]]).@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10240460@unknown@formal@none@1@S@English is also the official language in current [[dependent territory|dependent territories]] of Australia ([[Norfolk Island]], [[Christmas Island]] and [[Cocos Island]]) and of the United States ([[Northern Mariana Islands]], [[American Samoa]] and [[Puerto Rico]]), and in the former British colony of [[Hong Kong]].@@@@1@42@@danf@17-8-2009
10240470@unknown@formal@none@1@S@English is an important language in several former [[colony|colonies]] and [[protectorate]]s of the United Kingdom but falls short of official status, such as in [[Malaysia]], [[Brunei]], [[United Arab Emirates]] and [[Bahrain]].@@@@1@31@@danf@17-8-2009
10240480@unknown@formal@none@1@S@English is also not an official language in either the United States or the United Kingdom.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10240490@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Although the United States federal government has no official languages, English has been given official status by 30 of the 50 state governments.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10240500@unknown@formal@none@1@S@===English as a global language===@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10240510@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Because English is so widely spoken, it has often been referred to as a "[[world language]]", the ''[[lingua franca]]'' of the modern era.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10240520@unknown@formal@none@1@S@While English is not an official language in most countries, it is currently the language most often taught as a [[second language]] around the world.@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10240530@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Some linguists believe that it is no longer the exclusive cultural sign of "native English speakers", but is rather a language that is absorbing aspects of cultures worldwide as it continues to grow.@@@@1@33@@danf@17-8-2009
10240540@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It is, by international treaty, the official language for aerial and maritime communications.@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10240550@unknown@formal@none@1@S@English is an official language of the [[United Nations]] and many other international organizations, including the [[International Olympic Committee]].@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10240560@unknown@formal@none@1@S@English is the language most often studied as a foreign language in the European Union (by 89% of schoolchildren), followed by French (32%), German (18%), and Spanish (8%).@@@@1@28@@danf@17-8-2009
10240570@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In the EU, a large fraction of the population reports being able to converse to some extent in English.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10240580@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Among non-English speaking countries, a large percentage of the population claimed to be able to converse in English in the [[Netherlands]] (87%), [[Sweden]] (85%), [[Denmark]] (83%), [[Luxembourg]] (66%), [[Finland]] (60%), [[Slovenia]] (56%), [[Austria]] (53%), [[Belgium]] (52%), and [[Germany]] (51%).@@@@1@39@@danf@17-8-2009
10240590@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Norway]] and [[Iceland]] also have a large majority of competent English-speakers.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10240600@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Book]]s, [[magazine]]s, and [[newspaper]]s written in English are available in many countries around the world.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10240610@unknown@formal@none@1@S@English is also the most commonly used language in the [[science]]s.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10240620@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In 1997, the [[Science Citation Index]] reported that 95% of its articles were written in English, even though only half of them came from authors in English-speaking countries.@@@@1@28@@danf@17-8-2009
10240630@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Dialects and regional varieties ===@@@@1@6@@danf@17-8-2009
10240640@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The expansion of the British Empire and—since WWII—the primacy of the United States have spread English throughout the globe.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10240650@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Because of that global spread, English has developed a host of [[List of dialects of the English language|English dialects]] and English-based [[creole language]]s and [[pidgin]]s.@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10240660@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The major [[Variety (linguistics)|varieties]] of English include, in most cases, several subvarieties, such as [[Cockney]] within [[British English]]; [[Newfoundland English]] within [[Canadian English]]; and [[African American Vernacular English]] ("Ebonics") and [[Southern American English]] within [[American English]].@@@@1@36@@danf@17-8-2009
10240670@unknown@formal@none@1@S@English is a [[pluricentric language]], without a central language authority like France's [[Académie française]]; and, although no variety is clearly considered the only standard, there are a number of accents considered to be more prestigious, such as [[Received Pronunciation]] in Britain.@@@@1@41@@danf@17-8-2009
10240680@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Scots language|Scots]] developed—largely independently—from the same origins, but following the [[Acts of Union 1707]] a process of [[language attrition]] began, whereby successive generations adopted more and more features from English causing dialectalisation.@@@@1@32@@danf@17-8-2009
10240690@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Whether it is now a separate language or a [[dialect]] of English better described as [[Scottish English]] is in dispute.@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10240700@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The pronunciation, grammar and lexis of the traditional forms differ, sometimes substantially, from other varieties of English.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10240710@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Because of the wide use of English as a second language, English speakers have many different [[Accent (linguistics)|accents]], which often signal the speaker's native dialect or language.@@@@1@27@@danf@17-8-2009
10240720@unknown@formal@none@1@S@For the more distinctive characteristics of regional accents, see [[Regional accents of English]], and for the more distinctive characteristics of regional dialects, see [[List of dialects of the English language]].@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10240730@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Just as English itself has borrowed words from many different languages over its history, English [[loanword]]s now appear in a great many languages around the world, indicative of the technological and cultural influence of its speakers.@@@@1@36@@danf@17-8-2009
10240740@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Several [[pidgin]]s and [[creole language]]s have formed using an English base, such as [[Jamaican (language)|Jamaican Patois]], [[Nigerian Pidgin]], and [[Tok Pisin]].@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10240750@unknown@formal@none@1@S@There are many words in English coined to describe forms of particular non-English languages that contain a very high proportion of English words.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10240760@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Franglais]], for example, is used to describe French with a very high English word content; it is found on the [[Channel Islands]].@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10240770@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Another variant, spoken in the border bilingual regions of Québec in Canada, is called [[Franglais#Frenglish|Frenglish]].@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10240780@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In [[Wales]], which is part of the United Kingdom, the languages of [[Welsh language|Welsh]] and English are sometimes mixed together by fluent or comfortable Welsh speakers, the result of which is called [[Welsh English|Wenglish]].@@@@1@34@@danf@17-8-2009
10240790@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Constructed varieties of English ===@@@@1@6@@danf@17-8-2009
10240800@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[Basic English]] is simplified for easy international use.@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10240810@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It is used by manufacturers and other international businesses to write manuals and communicate.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10240820@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Some English schools in Asia teach it as a practical subset of English for use by beginners.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10240830@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[Special English]] is a simplified version of English used by the [[Voice of America]].@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10240840@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It uses a vocabulary of only 1500 words.@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10240850@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[English spelling reform|English reform]] is an attempt to improve collectively upon the English language.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10240860@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[Seaspeak]] and the related [[NATO phonetic alphabet|Airspeak]] and Policespeak, all based on restricted vocabularies, were designed by [[Edward Johnson]] in the 1980s to aid international cooperation and communication in specific areas.@@@@1@32@@danf@17-8-2009
10240870@unknown@formal@none@1@S@There is also a [[tunnelspeak]] for use in the [[Channel Tunnel]].@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10240880@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[Euro-English]] is a concept of standardising English for use as a second language in continental Europe.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10240890@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[Manually Coded English]] — a variety of systems have been developed to represent the English language with hand signals, designed primarily for use in deaf education.@@@@1@27@@danf@17-8-2009
10240900@unknown@formal@none@1@S@These should not be confused with true sign languages such as [[British Sign Language]] and [[American Sign Language]] used in Anglophone countries, which are independent and not based on English.@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10240910@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[E-Prime]] excludes forms of the verb ''to be''.@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10240920@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Euro-English (also ''EuroEnglish'' or ''Euro-English'') terms are English translations of European concepts that are not native to English-speaking countries.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10240930@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Because of the United Kingdom's (and even the Republic of Ireland's) involvement in the European Union, the usage focuses on non-British concepts.@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10240940@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This kind of Euro-English was parodied when English was "made" one of the constituent languages of [[Europanto]].@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10240950@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Phonology ==@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10240960@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Vowels ===@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10240970@unknown@formal@none@1@S@'''Notes:'''@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10240980@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It is the [[vowel]]s that differ most from region to region.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10240990@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Where symbols appear in pairs, the first corresponds to American English, [[General American]] accent; the second corresponds to British English, [[Received Pronunciation]].@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10241000@unknown@formal@none@1@S@# American English lacks this sound; words with this sound are pronounced with {{IPA | /ɑ/}} or {{IPA | /ɔ/}}.@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10241010@unknown@formal@none@1@S@See [[Phonological history of English low back vowels#Lot-cloth split|''Lot-cloth split'']].@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10241020@unknown@formal@none@1@S@# Some dialects of North American English do not have this vowel.@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10241030@unknown@formal@none@1@S@See [[phonological history of English low_back vowels#Cot-caught merger|''Cot-caught merger'']].@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10241040@unknown@formal@none@1@S@# The North American variation of this sound is a [[r-colored vowel|rhotic vowel]].@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10241050@unknown@formal@none@1@S@# Many speakers of North American English do not distinguish between these two unstressed vowels.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10241060@unknown@formal@none@1@S@For them, ''roses'' and ''Rosa's'' are pronounced the same, and the symbol usually used is [[schwa]] {{IPA | /ə/}}.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10241070@unknown@formal@none@1@S@# This sound is often transcribed with {{IPA | /i/}} or with {{IPA | /ɪ/}}.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10241080@unknown@formal@none@1@S@# The diphthongs {{IPA | /eɪ/}} and {{IPA | /oʊ/}} are monophthongal for many General American speakers, as {{IPA | /eː/}} and {{IPA | /oː/}}.@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10241090@unknown@formal@none@1@S@# The letter <''U''> can represent either {{IPA|/u/}} or the [[iotation|iotated]] vowel {{IPA|/ju/}}.@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10241100@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In BRP, if this iotated vowel {{IPA|/ju/}} occurs after {{IPA|/t/}}, {{IPA|/d/}}, {{IPA|/s/}} or {{IPA|/z/}}, it often triggers palatalization of the preceding consonant, turning it to {{IPA|/ʨ/}}, {{IPA|/ʥ/}}, {{IPA|/ɕ/}} and {{IPA|/ʑ/}} respectively, as in ''tune'', ''during'', ''sugar'', and ''azure''.@@@@1@38@@danf@17-8-2009
10241110@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In American English, palatalization does not generally happen unless the {{IPA|/ju/}} is followed by ''r'', with the result that {{IPA|/(t, d,s, z)jur/}} turn to {{IPA|/tʃɚ/}}, {{IPA|/dʒɚ/}}, {{IPA|/ʃɚ/}} and {{IPA|/ʒɚ/}} respectively, as in ''nature'', ''verdure'', ''sure'', and ''treasure''.@@@@1@37@@danf@17-8-2009
10241120@unknown@formal@none@1@S@# [[Vowel length]] plays a phonetic role in the majority of English dialects, and is said to be phonemic in a few dialects, such as [[Australian English]] and [[New Zealand English]].@@@@1@31@@danf@17-8-2009
10241130@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In certain dialects of the modern English language, for instance [[General American]], there is allophonic vowel length: vowel phonemes are realized as long vowel allophones before voiced consonant phonemes in the coda of a syllable.@@@@1@35@@danf@17-8-2009
10241140@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Before the [[Great Vowel Shift]], vowel length was phonemically contrastive.@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10241150@unknown@formal@none@1@S@# This sound only occurs in non-rhotic accents.@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10241160@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In some accents, this sound may be, instead of {{IPA|/ʊə/}}, {{IPA|/ɔ:/}}.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10241170@unknown@formal@none@1@S@See [[English-language vowel changes before historic r]].@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10241180@unknown@formal@none@1@S@# This sound only occurs in non-rhotic accents.@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10241190@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In some accents, the schwa offglide of {{IPA|/ɛə/}} may be dropped, monophthising and lengthening the sound to {{IPA|/ɛ:/}}.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10241200@unknown@formal@none@1@S@See also [[IPA chart for English dialects]] for more vowel charts.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10241210@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Consonants ===@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10241220@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This is the English consonantal system using symbols from the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] (IPA).@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10241230@unknown@formal@none@1@S@# The [[velar nasal]] {{IPA | [ŋ]}} is a non-phonemic allophone of /n/ in some northerly British accents, appearing only before /k/ and /g/.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10241240@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In all other dialects it is a separate phoneme, although it only occurs in [[syllable coda]]s.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10241250@unknown@formal@none@1@S@# The [[alveolar tap]] {{IPA | [ɾ]}} is an allophone of /t/ and /d/ in unstressed syllables in [[North American English]] and [[Australian English]].@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10241260@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This is the sound of ''tt'' or ''dd'' in the words ''latter'' and ''ladder'', which are homophones for many speakers of North American English.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10241270@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In some accents such as [[Scottish English]] and [[Indian English]] it replaces {{IPA|/ɹ/}}.@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10241280@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This is the same sound represented by single ''r'' in most varieties of [[Spanish language|Spanish]].@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10241290@unknown@formal@none@1@S@# In some dialects, such as [[Cockney]], the interdentals /θ/ and /ð/ are usually merged with /f/ and /v/, and in others, like [[African American Vernacular English]], /ð/ is merged with dental /d/.@@@@1@33@@danf@17-8-2009
10241300@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In some Irish varieties, /θ/ and /ð/ become the corresponding dental plosives, which then contrast with the usual alveolar plosives.@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10241310@unknown@formal@none@1@S@# The sounds {{IPA | /ʃ/, /ʒ/, and /ɹ/}} are labialised in some dialects.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10241320@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Labialisation is never contrastive in initial position and therefore is sometimes not transcribed.@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10241330@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Most speakers of [[General American]] realize <r> (always rhoticized) as the [[retroflex approximant]] {{IPA|/ɻ/}}, whereas the same is realized in [[Scottish English]], etc. as the [[alveolar trill]].@@@@1@27@@danf@17-8-2009
10241340@unknown@formal@none@1@S@# The [[voiceless palatal fricative]] /ç/ is in most accents just an [[allophone]] of /h/ before /j/; for instance ''human'' /çjuːmən/.@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10241350@unknown@formal@none@1@S@However, in some accents (see [[Phonological history of English consonant clusters|this]]), the /j/ is dropped, but the initial consonant is the same.@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10241360@unknown@formal@none@1@S@# The [[voiceless velar fricative]] /x/ is used by Scottish or Welsh speakers of English for Scots/Gaelic words such as ''loch'' {{IPA | /lɒx/}} or by some speakers for loanwords from German and Hebrew like ''Bach'' {{IPA|/bax/}} or ''Chanukah'' /xanuka/. /x/ is also used in South African English.@@@@1@48@@danf@17-8-2009
10241370@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In some dialects such as [[Scouse]] ([[Liverpool]]) either {{IPA|[x]}} or the [[affricate consonant|affricate]] {{IPA|[kx]}} may be used as an [[allophone]] of /k/ in words such as ''docker'' {{IPA | [dɒkxə]}}.@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10241380@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Most native speakers have a great deal of trouble pronouncing it correctly when learning a foreign language.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10241390@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Most speakers use the sounds [k] and [h] instead.@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10241400@unknown@formal@none@1@S@# Voiceless w {{IPA | [ʍ]}} is found in Scottish and Irish English, as well as in some varieties of American, New Zealand, and English English.@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10241410@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In most other dialects it is merged with /w/, in some dialects of Scots it is merged with /f/.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10241420@unknown@formal@none@1@S@==== Voicing and aspiration ====@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10241430@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Voice (phonetics)|Voicing]] and [[aspiration (phonetics)|aspiration]] of [[stop consonant]]s in English depend on dialect and context, but a few general rules can be given:@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10241440@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Voiceless [[stop consonant|plosives]] and [[affricate consonant|affricates]] (/{{IPA | p}}/, /{{IPA | t}}/, /{{IPA | k}}/, and /{{IPA | tʃ}}/) are aspirated when they are word-initial or begin a stressed syllable — compare ''pin'' {{IPA | [pʰɪn]}} and ''spin'' {{IPA | [spɪn]}}, ''crap'' {{IPA | [kʰɹ̥æp]}} and ''scrap'' {{IPA | [skɹæp]}}.@@@@1@51@@danf@17-8-2009
10241450@unknown@formal@none@1@S@** In some dialects, aspiration extends to unstressed syllables as well.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10241460@unknown@formal@none@1@S@** In other dialects, such as [[Indian English]], all voiceless stops remain unaspirated.@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10241470@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Word-initial voiced plosives may be devoiced in some dialects.@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10241480@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Word-terminal voiceless plosives may be unreleased or accompanied by a glottal stop in some dialects (e.g. many varieties of [[American English]]) — examples: ''tap'' [{{IPA |tʰæp̚}}], ''sack'' [{{IPA |sæk̚}}].@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10241490@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Word-terminal voiced plosives may be devoiced in some dialects (e.g. some varieties of [[American English]]) — examples: ''sad'' [{{IPA |sæd̥}}], ''bag'' [{{IPA |bæɡ̊}}].@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10241500@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In other dialects they are fully voiced in final position, but only partially voiced in initial position.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10241510@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Supra-segmental features ===@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10241520@unknown@formal@none@1@S@==== Tone groups ====@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10241530@unknown@formal@none@1@S@English is an [[Intonation (linguistics)|intonation language]]. This means that the [[pitch (music)|pitch]] of the [[human voice|voice]] is used [[Syntax|syntactically]], for example, to convey [[surprise (emotion)|surprise]] and [[irony]], or to change a [[sentence (linguistics)|statement]] into a [[question]].@@@@1@36@@danf@17-8-2009
10241540@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In English, intonation patterns are on groups of words, which are called tone groups, tone units, intonation groups or sense groups.@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10241550@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Tone groups are said on a single breath and, as a consequence, are of limited length, more often being on average five words long or lasting roughly two seconds.@@@@1@29@@danf@17-8-2009
10241560@unknown@formal@none@1@S@For example:@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10241570@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: -{{IPA | /duː juː niːd ˈɛnɪˌθɪŋ/}} ''Do you need anything?''@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10241580@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: -{{IPA | <nowiki>/aɪ dəʊnt | nəʊ/</nowiki>}} ''I don't, no''@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10241590@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: -{{IPA | /aɪ dəʊnt nəʊ/}} ''I don't know'' (contracted to, for example, -{{IPA | /aɪ dəʊnəʊ/}} or {{IPA | /aɪ dənəʊ/}} ''I dunno'' in fast or colloquial speech that de-emphasises the pause between don't and know even further)@@@@1@39@@danf@17-8-2009
10241600@unknown@formal@none@1@S@==== Characteristics of intonation ====@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10241610@unknown@formal@none@1@S@English is a strongly stressed language, in that certain syllables, both within words and within phrases, get a relative prominence/loudness during pronunciation while the others do not.@@@@1@27@@danf@17-8-2009
10241620@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The former kind of syllables are said to be ''accentuated/stressed'' and the latter are ''unaccentuated/unstressed''.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10241630@unknown@formal@none@1@S@All good dictionaries of English mark the accentuated syllable(s) by either placing an apostrophe-like ( {{IPA | ˈ}} ) sign either before (as in [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]], [[Oxford English Dictionary]], or [[Merriam-Webster]] dictionaries) or after (as in many other dictionaries) the syllable where the stress accent falls.@@@@1@47@@danf@17-8-2009
10241640@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Hence in a sentence, each tone group can be subdivided into syllables, which can either be stressed (strong) or unstressed (weak).@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10241650@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The stressed syllable is called the nuclear syllable.@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10241660@unknown@formal@none@1@S@For example:@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10241670@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: ''That | was | the | <u>'''best'''</u> | thing | you | could | have | '''done'''!''@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10241680@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Here, all syllables are unstressed, except the syllables/words ''best'' and ''done'', which are stressed.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10241690@unknown@formal@none@1@S@''Best'' is stressed harder and, therefore, is the nuclear syllable.@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10241700@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The nuclear syllable carries the main point the speaker wishes to make.@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10241710@unknown@formal@none@1@S@For example:@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10241720@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: ''John'' had not stolen that money. (...@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10241730@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Someone else had.)@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10241740@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: John ''had not'' stolen that money. (...@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10241750@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Someone said he had. or ...@@@@1@6@@danf@17-8-2009
10241760@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Not at that time, but later he did.)@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10241770@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: John had not ''stolen'' that money. (...@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10241780@unknown@formal@none@1@S@He acquired the money by some other means.)@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10241790@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: John had not stolen ''that'' money. (...@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10241800@unknown@formal@none@1@S@He had stolen some other money.)@@@@1@6@@danf@17-8-2009
10241810@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: John had not stolen that ''money''. (...@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10241820@unknown@formal@none@1@S@He had stolen something else.)@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10241830@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Also@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10241840@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: ''I'' did not tell her that. (...@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10241850@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Someone else told her)@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10241860@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: I ''did not'' tell her that. (...@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10241870@unknown@formal@none@1@S@You said I did. or ... but now I will)@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10241880@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: I did not ''tell'' her that. (...@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10241890@unknown@formal@none@1@S@I did not say it; she could have inferred it, etc)@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10241900@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: I did not tell ''her'' that. (...@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10241910@unknown@formal@none@1@S@I told someone else)@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10241920@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: I did not tell her ''that''. (...@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10241930@unknown@formal@none@1@S@I told her something else)@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10241940@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This can also be used to express emotion:@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10241950@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: ''Oh'' really? (...I did not know that)@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10241960@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: Oh ''really''? (...I disbelieve you. or ...@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10241970@unknown@formal@none@1@S@That's blatantly obvious)@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10241980@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The nuclear syllable is spoken more loudly than the others and has a characteristic '''change of pitch'''.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10241990@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The changes of pitch most commonly encountered in English are the '''rising pitch''' and the '''falling pitch''', although the '''fall-rising pitch''' and/or the '''rise-falling pitch''' are sometimes used.@@@@1@28@@danf@17-8-2009
10242000@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In this opposition between falling and rising pitch, which plays a larger role in English than in most other languages, falling pitch conveys certainty and rising pitch uncertainty.@@@@1@28@@danf@17-8-2009
10242010@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This can have a crucial impact on meaning, specifically in relation to polarity, the positive–negative opposition; thus, falling pitch means "polarity known", while rising pitch means "polarity unknown".@@@@1@28@@danf@17-8-2009
10242020@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This underlies the rising pitch of yes/no questions.@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10242030@unknown@formal@none@1@S@For example:@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10242040@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: ''When do you want to be paid?''@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10242050@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: ''Now?''@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10242060@unknown@formal@none@1@S@(Rising pitch.@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10242070@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In this case, it denotes a question: "Can I be paid now?" or "Do you desire to pay now?")@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10242080@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: ''Now.''@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10242090@unknown@formal@none@1@S@(Falling pitch.@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10242100@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In this case, it denotes a statement: "I choose to be paid now.")@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10242110@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Grammar ==@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10242120@unknown@formal@none@1@S@English grammar has minimal [[inflection]] compared with most other [[Indo-European languages]].@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10242130@unknown@formal@none@1@S@For example, Modern English, unlike Modern German or Dutch and the [[Romance languages]], lacks [[grammatical gender]] and [[Agreement (linguistics)|adjectival agreement]].@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10242140@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Grammatical case|Case]] marking has almost disappeared from the language and mainly survives in [[pronoun]]s.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10242150@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The patterning of [[Strong inflection|strong]] (e.g. ''speak/spoke/spoken'') versus [[Germanic weak verb|weak verbs]] inherited from its Germanic origins has declined in importance in modern English, and the remnants of inflection (such as [[plural]] marking) have become more regular.@@@@1@37@@danf@17-8-2009
10242160@unknown@formal@none@1@S@At the same time, the language has become more [[Isolating language|analytic]], and has developed features such as [[modal verb]]s and [[word order]] as resources for conveying meaning.@@@@1@27@@danf@17-8-2009
10242170@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Auxiliary verb]]s mark constructions such as questions, negative polarity, the [[Grammatical voice|passive voice]] and progressive [[grammatical aspect|aspect]].@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10242180@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Vocabulary ==@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10242190@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The English vocabulary has changed considerably over the centuries.@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10242200@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Like many languages deriving from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] (PIE), many of the most common words in English can trace back their origin (through the Germanic branch) to PIE.@@@@1@27@@danf@17-8-2009
10242210@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Such words include the basic pronouns ''I'', from [[Old English language|Old English]] ''ic'', (cf. Latin ''ego'', Greek ''ego'', Sanskrit ''aham''), ''me'' (cf. Latin ''me'', Greek ''eme'', Sanskrit ''mam''), numbers (e.g. ''one'', ''two'', ''three'', cf. Latin ''unus, duo, tres'', Greek ''oinos'' "ace (on dice)", ''duo, treis''), common family relationships such as mother, father, brother, sister etc (cf. Greek "meter", Latin "mater", Sanskrit "matṛ"; ''mother''), names of many animals (cf. Sankrit ''mus'', Greek ''mys'', Latin ''mus''; ''mouse''), and many common verbs (cf. Greek ''gignōmi'', Latin ''gnoscere'', Hittite ''kanes'';'' to know'').@@@@1@88@@danf@17-8-2009
10242220@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Germanic words (generally words of Old English or to a lesser extent Norse origin) tend to be shorter than the Latinate words of English, and more common in ordinary speech.@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10242230@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This includes nearly all the basic pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, modal verbs etc. that form the basis of English syntax and grammar.@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10242240@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The longer Latinate words are often regarded as more elegant or educated.@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10242250@unknown@formal@none@1@S@However, the excessive use of Latinate words is considered at times to be either pretentious or an attempt to [[obfuscation|obfuscate]] an issue.@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10242260@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[George Orwell]]'s [[essay]] "[[Politics and the English Language]]" is critical of this, as well as other perceived misuse of the language.@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10242270@unknown@formal@none@1@S@An English speaker is in many cases able to choose between Germanic and Latinate [[synonym]]s: ''come'' or ''arrive''; ''sight'' or ''vision''; ''freedom'' or ''liberty''.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10242280@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In some cases there is a choice between a Germanic derived word (''oversee''), a Latin derived word (''supervise''), and a French word derived from the same Latin word (''survey'').@@@@1@29@@danf@17-8-2009
10242290@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Such synonyms harbor a variety of different meanings and nuances, enabling the speaker to express fine variations or shades of thought.@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10242300@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Familiarity with the [[etymology]] of groups of synonyms can give English speakers greater control over their [[Register (sociolinguistics)|linguistic register]].@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10242310@unknown@formal@none@1@S@See: [[List of Germanic and Latinate equivalents in English]].@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10242320@unknown@formal@none@1@S@An exception to this and a peculiarity perhaps unique to English is that the nouns for meats are commonly different from, and unrelated to, those for the animals from which they are produced, the animal commonly having a Germanic name and the meat having a French-derived one.@@@@1@47@@danf@17-8-2009
10242330@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Examples include: ''[[deer]]'' and ''[[venison]]''; ''[[cattle|cow]]'' and ''[[beef]]''; ''swine''/''[[pig]]'' and ''[[pork]]'', or ''[[domestic sheep|sheep]]'' and ''[[lamb and mutton|mutton]]''.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10242340@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This is assumed to be a result of the aftermath of the Norman invasion, where a French-speaking elite were the consumers of the meat, produced by Anglo-Saxon lower classes.@@@@1@29@@danf@17-8-2009
10242350@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Since the majority of words used in informal settings will normally be Germanic, such words are often the preferred choices when a speaker wishes to make a point in an argument in a very direct way.@@@@1@36@@danf@17-8-2009
10242360@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A majority of Latinate words (or at least a majority of content words) will normally be used in more formal speech and writing, such as a [[court]]room or an [[encyclopedia]] article.@@@@1@31@@danf@17-8-2009
10242370@unknown@formal@none@1@S@However, there are other Latinate words that are used normally in everyday speech and do not sound formal; these are mainly words for concepts that no longer have Germanic words, and are generally assimilated better and in many cases do not appear Latinate.@@@@1@43@@danf@17-8-2009
10242380@unknown@formal@none@1@S@For instance, the words ''mountain'', ''valley'', ''river'', ''aunt'', ''uncle'', ''move'', ''use'', ''push'' and ''stay'' are all Latinate.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10242390@unknown@formal@none@1@S@English easily accepts technical terms into common usage and often imports new words and phrases.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10242400@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Examples of this phenomenon include: ''[[HTTP cookie|cookie]]'', ''[[Internet]]'' and ''[[Uniform Resource Locator|URL]]'' (technical terms), as well as ''[[genre]]'', ''[[über]]'', ''[[lingua franca]]'' and ''amigo'' (imported words/phrases from French, German, modern Latin, and Spanish, respectively).@@@@1@33@@danf@17-8-2009
10242410@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In addition, [[slang]] often provides new meanings for old words and phrases.@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10242420@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In fact, this fluidity is so pronounced that a distinction often needs to be made between formal forms of English and contemporary usage.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10242430@unknown@formal@none@1@S@See also: [[sociolinguistics]].@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10242440@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Number of words in English ===@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10242450@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The ''General Explanations'' at the beginning of the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states:@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10242460@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The vocabulary of English is undoubtedly vast, but assigning a specific number to its size is more a matter of definition than of calculation.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10242470@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Unlike other languages, such as [[Académie française|French]], [[List of language regulators|German]], [[Real Academia Española|Spanish]] and [[Accademia della Crusca|Italian]] there is no [[List of language regulators|Academy]] to define officially accepted words and spellings.@@@@1@32@@danf@17-8-2009
10242480@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Neologism]]s are coined regularly in medicine, science and technology and other fields, and new [[slang]] is constantly developed.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10242490@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Some of these new words enter wide usage; others remain restricted to small circles.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10242500@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Foreign words used in immigrant communities often make their way into wider English usage.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10242510@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Archaic, dialectal, and regional words might or might not be widely considered as "English".@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10242520@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]],'' 2nd edition ''(OED2)'' includes over 600,000 definitions, following a rather inclusive policy:@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10242530@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The editors of ''[[Webster's Dictionary|Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged]]'' (475,000 main headwords) in their preface, estimate the number to be much higher.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10242540@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It is estimated that about 25,000 words are added to the language each year.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10242550@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Word origins ===@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10242560@unknown@formal@none@1@S@One of the consequences of the French influence is that the vocabulary of English is, to a certain extent, divided between those words which are [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] (mostly West Germanic, with a smaller influence from the North Germanic branch) and those which are "Latinate" (Latin-derived, either directly or from Norman French or other Romance languages).@@@@1@55@@danf@17-8-2009
10242570@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Numerous sets of statistics have been proposed to demonstrate the origins of English vocabulary.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10242580@unknown@formal@none@1@S@None, as yet, is considered definitive by most linguists.@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10242590@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A computerised survey of about 80,000 words in the old ''Shorter Oxford Dictionary'' (3rd ed.) was published in ''Ordered Profusion'' by Thomas Finkenstaedt and Dieter Wolff (1973) that estimated the origin of English words as follows:@@@@1@36@@danf@17-8-2009
10242600@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*''[[Langues d'oïl|Langue d'oïl]]'', including French and [[Old Norman]]: [[List of English words of French origin|28.3%]]@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10242610@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*Latin, including modern scientific and technical Latin: 28.24%@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10242620@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*Other [[Germanic languages]] (including words directly inherited from [[Old English language|Old English]]): 25%@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10242630@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*Greek: 5.32%@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10242640@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*No etymology given: 4.03%@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10242650@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*Derived from proper names: 3.28%@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10242660@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*All other languages contributed less than 1%@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10242670@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A survey by [[Joseph M. Williams]] in ''Origins of the English Language'' of 10,000 words taken from several thousand business letters gave this set of statistics:@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10242680@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*French (langue d'oïl): 41%@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10242690@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*"Native" English: 33%@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10242700@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*Latin: 15%@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10242710@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*Danish: 2%@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10242720@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*Dutch: 1%@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10242730@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*Other: 10%@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10242740@unknown@formal@none@1@S@However, 83% of the 1,000 most-common, and all of the 100 most-common English words are Germanic.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10242750@unknown@formal@none@1@S@==== Dutch origins ====@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10242760@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Words describing the navy, types of ships, and other objects or activities on the water are often from Dutch origin.@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10242770@unknown@formal@none@1@S@''Yacht'' (''jacht'') and ''cruiser'' (''kruiser'') are examples.@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10242780@unknown@formal@none@1@S@==== French origins ====@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10242790@unknown@formal@none@1@S@There are many [[List of English words of French origin|words of French origin in English]], such as ''competition'', ''art'', ''table'', ''publicity'', ''police'', ''role'', ''routine'', ''machine'', ''force'', and many others that have been and are being [[anglicisation|anglicised]]; they are now pronounced according to English rules of [[phonology]], rather than French.@@@@1@49@@danf@17-8-2009
10242800@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A large portion of English vocabulary is of French or [[Langues d'oïl]] origin, most derived from, or transmitted via, the [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]] spoken by the [[upper class]]es in [[England]] for several hundred years after the [[Norman conquest of England]].@@@@1@39@@danf@17-8-2009
10242810@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Writing system ==@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10242820@unknown@formal@none@1@S@English has been written using the [[Latin alphabet]] since around the ninth century.@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10242830@unknown@formal@none@1@S@(Before that, Old English had been written using [[Anglo-Saxon runes]].)@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10242840@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The spelling system, or [[orthography]], is multilayered, with elements of French, Latin and Greek spelling on top of the native Germanic system; it has grown to vary significantly from the [[phonology]] of the language.@@@@1@34@@danf@17-8-2009
10242850@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The spelling of words often diverges considerably from how they are spoken.@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10242860@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Though letters and sounds may not correspond in isolation, spelling rules that take into account syllable structure, phonetics, and accents are 75% or more reliable.@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10242870@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Some phonics spelling advocates claim that English is more than 80% phonetic.@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10242880@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In general, [[history of the English language|the English language]], being the product of many other languages and having only been codified orthographically in the 16th century, has fewer consistent relationships between sounds and letters than many other languages.@@@@1@38@@danf@17-8-2009
10242890@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The consequence of this orthographic history is that reading can be challenging.@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10242900@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It takes longer for students to become completely fluent readers of English than of many other languages, including French, Greek, and Spanish.@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10242910@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Basic sound-letter correspondence ===@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10242920@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Only the consonant letters are pronounced in a relatively regular way:@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10242930@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Written accents ===@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10242940@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Unlike most other Germanic languages, English has almost no [[diacritic]]s except in foreign [[loanword]]s (like the [[acute accent]] in ''café''), and in the uncommon use of a [[diaeresis]] mark (often in formal writing) to indicate that two vowels are pronounced separately, rather than as one sound (e.g. ''naïve, Zoë'').@@@@1@49@@danf@17-8-2009
10242950@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It is almost always acceptable to leave out the marks, especially in digital communications where the [[QWERTY]] keyboard lacks any marked letters, but it depends on the context where the word is used.@@@@1@33@@danf@17-8-2009
10242960@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Some English words retain the diacritic to distinguish them from others, such as ''[[Animé (oleo-resin)|animé]], [[Investigative journalism|exposé]], [[Lamé (fencing)|lamé]], [[öre]], [[øre]], [[pâté]], [[piqué]],'' and ''[[rosé]]'', though these are sometimes also dropped (''[[résumé]]/resumé'' is usually spelled ''resume'' in the United States).@@@@1@40@@danf@17-8-2009
10242970@unknown@formal@none@1@S@There are loan words which occasionally use a diacritic to represent their pronunciation that is not in the original word, such as ''maté'', from Spanish ''[[yerba mate]]'', following the French usage, but they are extremely rare.@@@@1@36@@danf@17-8-2009
10242980@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Formal written English ==@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10242990@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A version of the language almost universally agreed upon by educated English speakers around the world is called [[formal written English]].@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10243000@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It takes virtually the same form no matter where in the English-speaking world it is written.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10243010@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In spoken English, by contrast, there are a vast number of differences between [[dialect]]s, [[Accent (linguistics)|accents]], and varieties of [[slang]], colloquial and regional expressions.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10243020@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In spite of this, local variations in the formal written version of the language are quite limited, being restricted largely to the [[American and British English spelling differences|spelling differences between British and American English]].@@@@1@34@@danf@17-8-2009
10243030@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Basic and simplified versions ==@@@@1@6@@danf@17-8-2009
10243040@unknown@formal@none@1@S@To make English easier to read, there are some simplified versions of the language.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10243050@unknown@formal@none@1@S@One basic version is named ''[[Basic English]]'', a [[constructed language]] with a small number of words created by [[Charles Kay Ogden]] and described in his book ''Basic English: A General Introduction with Rules and Grammar'' (1930).@@@@1@36@@danf@17-8-2009
10243060@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The language is based on a simplified version of English.@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10243070@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Ogden said that it would take seven years to learn English, seven months for [[Esperanto]], and seven weeks for Basic English, comparable with [[Ido]].@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10243080@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Thus Basic English is used by companies who need to make complex books for international use, and by language schools that need to give people some knowledge of English in a short time.@@@@1@33@@danf@17-8-2009
10243090@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Ogden did not put any words into Basic English that could be said with a few other words and he worked to make the words work for speakers of any other language.@@@@1@32@@danf@17-8-2009
10243100@unknown@formal@none@1@S@He put his set of words through a large number of tests and adjustments.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10243110@unknown@formal@none@1@S@He also made the grammar simpler, but tried to keep the grammar normal for English users.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10243120@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The concept gained its greatest publicity just after the [[World War II|Second World War]] as a tool for world peace.@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10243130@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Although it was not built into a program, similar simplifications were devised for various international uses.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10243140@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Another version, [[Simplified English]], exists, which is a [[Controlled natural language|controlled language]] originally developed for [[aerospace]] industry maintenance manuals.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10243150@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It offers a carefully limited and standardised subset of English.@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10243160@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Simplified English has a lexicon of approved words and those words can only be used in certain ways.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10243170@unknown@formal@none@1@S@For example, the word ''close'' can be used in the phrase "Close the door" but not "do not go close to the landing gear".@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10250010@unknown@formal@none@1@S@<article>Esperanto</article>@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10250020@unknown@formal@none@1@S@is by far the most widely spoken [[constructed language|constructed]] [[international auxiliary language]] in the world.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10250030@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Its name derives from ''Doktoro Esperanto,'' the [[pseudonym]] under which [[L. L. Zamenhof]] published the first book detailing Esperanto, the ''[[Unua Libro]],'' in 1887.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10250040@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The word ''esperanto'' means 'one who hopes' in the language itself.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10250050@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Zamenhof's goal was to create an easy and flexible language that would serve as a universal [[second language]] to foster peace and international understanding.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10250060@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto has had continuous usage by a community estimated at between 100,000 and 2 million speakers for over a century.@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10250070@unknown@formal@none@1@S@By most estimates, there are approximately one thousand [[Native Esperanto speakers|native speakers]].@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10250080@unknown@formal@none@1@S@However, no country has adopted the language [[official language|officially]].@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10250090@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Today, Esperanto is employed in world travel, correspondence, cultural exchange, conventions, literature, language instruction, television, and radio broadcasting.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10250100@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Also, there is an [[Esperanto Wikipedia]] that contains over 100,000 articles as of June 2008.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10250110@unknown@formal@none@1@S@There is evidence that [[Propaedeutic value of Esperanto|learning Esperanto may provide a good foundation for learning languages in general]].@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10250120@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Some state education systems offer basic instruction and elective courses in Esperanto.@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10250130@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto is also the language of instruction in one university, the [[Akademio Internacia de la Sciencoj San Marino|Akademio Internacia de la Sciencoj]] in [[San Marino]].@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10250140@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== History ==@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10250150@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto was developed in the late 1870s and early 1880s by [[ophthalmology|ophthalmologist]] [[L. L. Zamenhof|Dr. Ludovic Lazarus Zamenhof]], an [[Ashkenazi Jew]] from [[Bialystok]], now in [[Poland]] and previously in the [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]], but at the time part of the [[Russian Empire]].@@@@1@41@@danf@17-8-2009
10250160@unknown@formal@none@1@S@After some ten years of development, which Zamenhof spent translating literature into the language as well as writing original [[prose]] and [[Poetry|verse]], the [[Unua Libro|first book of Esperanto grammar]] was published in [[Warsaw]] in July 1887.@@@@1@36@@danf@17-8-2009
10250170@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The number of speakers grew rapidly over the next few decades, at first primarily in the [[Russian empire]] and [[Eastern Europe]], then in [[Western Europe]], the [[Americas]], [[China]], and [[Japan]].@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10250180@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In the early years, speakers of Esperanto kept in contact primarily through correspondence and [[magazine|periodicals]], but in 1905 the first [[World Congress of Esperanto|world congress of Esperanto speakers]] was held in [[Boulogne-sur-Mer]], [[France]].@@@@1@33@@danf@17-8-2009
10250190@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Since then world congresses have been held in different countries every year, except during the two [[world war|World Wars]].@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10250200@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Since the Second World War, they have been attended by an average of over 2000 and up to 6000 people.@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10250210@unknown@formal@none@1@S@===Relation to 20th-century totalitarianism===@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10250220@unknown@formal@none@1@S@As a potential vehicle for international understanding, Esperanto attracted the suspicion of many [[totalitarian]] states.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10250230@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The situation was especially pronounced in [[Nazi Germany]] and in the [[Soviet Union]] under [[Joseph Stalin]].@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10250240@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In Germany, there was additional motivation to persecute Esperanto because Zamenhof was a Jew.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10250250@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In his work ''[[Mein Kampf]],'' [[Hitler]] mentioned Esperanto as an example of a language that would be used by an [[International Jewry|International]] [[Jewish conspiracy|Jewish Conspiracy]] once they achieved [[world domination]].@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10250260@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Esperantist]]s were executed during [[the Holocaust]], with Zamenhof's family in particular singled out for execution.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10250270@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In the early years of the Soviet Union, Esperanto was given a measure of government support, and an officially recognized Soviet Esperanto Association came into being.@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10250280@unknown@formal@none@1@S@However, in 1937, Stalin reversed this policy.@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10250290@unknown@formal@none@1@S@He denounced Esperanto as "the language of spies" and had Esperantists executed.@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10250300@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The use of Esperanto remained illegal until 1956.@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10250310@unknown@formal@none@1@S@==Official use==@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10250320@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto has never been an official language of any recognized country.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10250330@unknown@formal@none@1@S@However, there were plans at the beginning of the 20th century to establish [[Moresnet|Neutral Moresnet]] as the world's first Esperanto state.@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10250340@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In China, there was talk in some circles after the 1911 [[Xinhai Revolution]] about officially replacing [[Chinese language|Chinese]] with Esperanto as a means to dramatically bring the country into the twentieth century, though this policy proved untenable.@@@@1@37@@danf@17-8-2009
10250350@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In the summer of 1924, the [[American Radio Relay League]] adopted Esperanto as its official [[international auxiliary language]], and hoped that the language would be used by [[Amateur radio|radio amateurs]] in international communications, but its actual use for radio communications was negligible.@@@@1@42@@danf@17-8-2009
10250360@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In addition, the self-proclaimed [[artificial island]] [[micronation]] of [[Republic of Rose Island|Rose Island]] used Esperanto as its official language in 1968.@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10250370@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto is the working language of several [[non-profit organization|non-profit]] international organizations such as the ''[[Sennacieca Asocio Tutmonda]]'', but most others are specifically Esperanto organizations.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10250380@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The largest of these, the [[World Esperanto Association]], has an official consultative relationship with the [[United Nations]] and [[UNESCO]].@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10250390@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The U.S. Army has published military phrasebooks in Esperanto, to be used in [[Military simulation|wargames]] by mock enemy forces.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10250400@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto is also the first language of teaching and administration of the [[Akademio Internacia de la Sciencoj San Marino|International Academy of Sciences San Marino]], which is sometimes called an "Esperanto University".@@@@1@31@@danf@17-8-2009
10250410@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Linguistic properties ==@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10250420@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Classification ===@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10250430@unknown@formal@none@1@S@As a [[constructed language]], Esperanto is not [[Genealogy|genealogically]] related to any [[ethnic group|ethnic]] language.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10250440@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It 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".@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10250450@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The [[phonology]], [[grammar]], [[vocabulary]], and [[semantics]] are based on the western [[Indo-European languages]].@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10250460@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The [[phoneme|phonemic inventory]] is essentially [[Slavic languages|Slavic]], as is much of the semantics, while the [[vocabulary]] derives primarily from the [[Romance languages]], with a lesser contribution from the [[Germanic languages]].@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10250470@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Pragmatics]] and other aspects of the language not specified by Zamenhof's original documents were influenced by the native languages of early speakers, primarily [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Polish language|Polish]], [[German language|German]], and [[French language|French]].@@@@1@32@@danf@17-8-2009
10250480@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Linguistic typology|Typologically]], Esperanto has [[preposition]]s and a [[information flow|pragmatic word order]] that by default is ''[[Subject Verb Object]]'' and ''[[Word order|Adjective Noun]]''.@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10250490@unknown@formal@none@1@S@New words are formed through extensive [[prefix (linguistics)|prefix]]ing and [[suffix]]ing.@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10250500@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Writing system ===@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10250510@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto is written with a modified version of the [[Latin alphabet]], including six [[Letter (alphabet)|letters]] with [[diacritic]]s: [[c-circumflex|ĉ]], [[g-circumflex|ĝ]], [[h-circumflex|ĥ]], [[j-circumflex|ĵ]], [[s-circumflex|ŝ]] and [[u-breve|ŭ]] (that is, ''c, g, h, j, s'' [[circumflex]], and ''u'' [[breve]]).@@@@1@35@@danf@17-8-2009
10250520@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The alphabet does not include the letters ''q, w, x,'' or ''y'' except in unassimilated foreign names.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10250530@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The 28-letter alphabet is: <big><center>'''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'''</center></big>@@@@1@32@@danf@17-8-2009
10250540@unknown@formal@none@1@S@All letters are pronounced approximately as in the [[IPA]], with the exception of ''c'' and the accented letters:@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10250550@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Two [[ASCII]]-compatible writing conventions are in use.@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10250560@unknown@formal@none@1@S@These substitute [[Digraph (orthography)|digraph]]s for the accented letters.@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10250570@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The original "h-convention" (''ch, gh, hh, jh, sh, u'') is based on English 'ch' and 'sh', while a more recent "[[x-convention]]" (''cx, gx, hx, jx, sx, ux'') is useful for alphabetic word sorting on a [[computer]] (''cx'' comes correctly after ''cu'', ''sx'' after ''sv'', etc.) as well as for simple conversion back into the standard [[orthography]].@@@@1@56@@danf@17-8-2009
10250580@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Another scheme represents the superscripted letters by a [[caret]] (^), as for example: c^ or ^c.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10250590@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Phonology ===@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10250600@unknown@formal@none@1@S@:''(For help with the phonetic symbols, see [[Help:IPA]])''@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10250610@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto has 22 [[consonant]]s, 5 [[vowel]]s, and two [[semivowel]]s, which combine with the vowels to form 6 [[diphthong]]s.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10250620@unknown@formal@none@1@S@(The consonant {{IPA|/j/}} and semivowel {{IPA|/i̯/}} are both written <j>.)@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10250625@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[tone (linguistics)|Tone]] is not used to distinguish meanings of words.@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10250630@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Stress (linguistics)|Stress]] is always on the penultimate vowel, unless a final vowel ''o'' is [[Elision|elided]], a practice which occurs mostly in [[poetry]].@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10250640@unknown@formal@none@1@S@For example, ''familio'' "family" is stressed {{IPA2|fa.mi.ˈli.o}}, but when found without the final o, ''famili’,'' the stress does not shift: {{IPA|[fa.mi.ˈli]}}.@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10250650@unknown@formal@none@1@S@==== Consonants ====@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10250660@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The 22 consonants are:@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10250670@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The sound {{IPA|/r/}} is usually [[alveolar trill|rolled]], but may be [[alveolar flap|tapped]] {{IPA|[ɾ]}}.@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10250680@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The {{IPA|/v/}} has a normative pronunciation like an [[English language|English]] ''v,'' but is sometimes somewhere between a ''v'' and a ''w,'' {{IPA|[ʋ]}}, depending on the language background of the speaker.@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10250690@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A semivowel {{IPA|/u̯/}} normally occurs only in [[diphthong]]s after the vowels {{IPA|/a/}} and {{IPA|/e/}}, not as a consonant {{IPA|*/w/}}.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10250700@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Common, if debated, [[assimilation (linguistics)|assimilation]] includes the pronunciation of {{IPA|/nk/}} as {{IPA|[ŋk]}}, as in English ''sink,'' and {{IPA|/kz/}} as {{IPA|[gz]}}, like the ''x'' in English ''example''.@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10250710@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A large number of consonant clusters can occur, up to three in initial position and four in medial position, as in ''instrui'' "to teach".@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10250720@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Final clusters are uncommon except in foreign names, poetic elision of final ''o,'' and a very few basic words such as ''cent'' "hundred" and ''post'' "after".@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10250730@unknown@formal@none@1@S@====Vowels====@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10250740@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto has the five [[cardinal vowels]] of [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Swahili language|Swahili]], and [[Modern Greek]].@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10250750@unknown@formal@none@1@S@There are six falling diphthongs: ''uj, oj, ej, aj, aŭ, eŭ'' ({{IPA|/ui̯, oi̯, ei̯, ai̯, au̯, eu̯/}}).@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10250760@unknown@formal@none@1@S@With only five vowels, a good deal of variation is tolerated.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10250770@unknown@formal@none@1@S@For instance, {{IPA|/e/}} commonly ranges from {{IPA|[e]}} (French ''é'') to {{IPA|[ɛ]}} (French ''è'').@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10250780@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The details often depend on the speaker's native language.@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10250790@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A [[glottal stop]] may occur between adjacent vowels in some people's speech, especially when the two vowels are the same, as in ''heroo'' "hero" ({{IPA|[he.ˈro.o]}} or {{IPA|[he.ˈro.ʔo]}}) and ''praavo'' "great-grandfather" ({{IPA|[pra.ˈa.vo]}} or {{IPA|[pra.ˈʔa.vo]}}).@@@@1@33@@danf@17-8-2009
10250800@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Grammar ===@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10250810@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto words are [[Derivation (linguistics)|derived]] by stringing together [[prefix (linguistics)|prefix]]es, [[Root (linguistics)|roots]], and [[suffix]]es.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10250820@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This process is regular, so that people can create new words as they speak and be understood.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10250830@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Compound (linguistics)|Compound]] words are formed with a modifier-first, [[head (linguistics)|head-final]] order, the same order as English "birdsong" ''vs.'' "songbird".@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10250840@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The different [[Part of speech|parts of speech]] are marked by their own suffixes: all [[common noun]]s end in ''-o,'' all [[adjective]]s in ''-a,'' all derived adverbs in ''-e,'' and all [[verb]]s in one of six [[Grammatical tense|tense]] and [[Grammatical mood|mood]] suffixes, such as [[present tense]] ''-as.''@@@@1@46@@danf@17-8-2009
10250850@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Grammatical number|Plural]] nouns end in ''-oj'' (pronounced "oy"), whereas [[direct object]]s end in ''-on.''@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10250860@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Plural direct objects end with the combination ''-ojn'' (pronounced to rhyme with "coin"): That is, ''-o'' for a noun, plus ''-j'' for plural, plus ''-n'' for direct object.@@@@1@28@@danf@17-8-2009
10250870@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Adjectives [[Grammatical number#Effect of number on verbs and other parts of speech|agree]] with their nouns; their endings are plural ''-aj'' (pronounced "eye"), direct-object ''-an,'' and plural direct-object ''-ajn'' (pronounced to rhyme with "fine").@@@@1@33@@danf@17-8-2009
10250880@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The suffix ''-n'' is used to indicate the goal of movement and a few other things, in addition to the direct object.@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10250890@unknown@formal@none@1@S@See [[Esperanto grammar]] for details.@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10250900@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The six verb [[inflection]]s consist of three tenses and three moods.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10250910@unknown@formal@none@1@S@They are [[present tense]] ''-as,'' [[future tense]] ''-os,'' [[past tense]] ''-is,'' [[infinitive|infinitive mood]] ''-i,'' [[conditional mood]] ''-us,'' and [[jussive mood]] ''-u'' (used for wishes and commands).@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10250920@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Verbs are not marked for person or number.@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10250930@unknown@formal@none@1@S@For instance: ''kanti'' "to sing"; ''mi kantas'' "I sing"; ''mi kantis'' "I sang"; ''mi kantos'' "I will sing"; ''li kantas'' "he sings"; ''vi kantas'' "you sing".@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10250940@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Word order is comparatively free: Adjectives may precede or follow nouns, and subjects, verbs and objects (marked by the suffix ''-n)'' may occur in any order.@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10250950@unknown@formal@none@1@S@However, the [[article (grammar)|article]] ''la'' "the" and [[demonstrative]]s such as ''tiu'' "this, that" almost always come before the noun, and a [[preposition]] such as ''ĉe'' "at" ''must'' come before it.@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10250960@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Similarly, the negative ''ne'' "not" and [[conjunction]]s such as ''kaj'' "both, and" and ''ke'' "that" must precede the [[phrase]] or [[clause]] they introduce.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10250970@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In [[copula]]r (A = B) clauses, word order is just as important as it is in English clauses like "people are dogs" ''vs.'' "dogs are people".@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10250980@unknown@formal@none@1@S@====Correlatives====@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10250990@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A [[correlative]] is a word used to ask or answer a question of who, where, what, when, or how.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10251000@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Correlatives in Esperanto are set out in a systematic manner that correlates a basic [[idea]] (quantity, manner, time, ''etc.'') to a function (questioning, indicating, negating, ''etc.'')@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10251010@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Examples:@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10251020@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*''Kio estas tio?''@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10251030@unknown@formal@none@1@S@"What is this?"@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10251040@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*''Kioma estas la horo?''@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10251050@unknown@formal@none@1@S@"What time is it?"@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10251060@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Note ''kioma'' rather than ''Kiu estas la horo?'' "which is the hour?", when asking for the ranking order of the hour on the clock.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10251070@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*''Io falis el la ŝranko'' "Something fell out of the cupboard."@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10251080@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*''Homoj tiaj kiel mi ne konadas timon.''@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10251090@unknown@formal@none@1@S@"Men such as me know no fear."@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10251100@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Correlatives are declined if the case demands it:@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10251110@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*''Vi devas elekti ian vorton pli simpla'' "You should choose a (some kind of) simpler word."@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10251120@unknown@formal@none@1@S@''Ia'' receives ''-n'' because it's part of the [[direct object]].@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10251130@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*''Kian libron vi volas?''@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10251140@unknown@formal@none@1@S@"What sort of book do you want?"@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10251150@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Contrast this with, ''Kiun libron vi volas?''@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10251160@unknown@formal@none@1@S@"Which book do you want?"@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10251170@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Vocabulary ===@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10251180@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The core vocabulary of Esperanto was defined by ''Lingvo internacia'', published by Zamenhof in 1887.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10251190@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It comprised 900 roots, which could be expanded into tens of thousands of words with prefixes, suffixes, and compounding.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10251200@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In 1894, Zamenhof published the first Esperanto [[dictionary]], ''Universala Vortaro'', with a larger set of roots.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10251210@unknown@formal@none@1@S@However, the rules of the language allowed speakers to borrow new roots as needed, recommending only that they look for the most international forms, and then derive related meanings from these.@@@@1@31@@danf@17-8-2009
10251220@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Since then, many words have been borrowed, primarily but not solely from the Western European languages.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10251230@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Not all proposed borrowings catch on, but many do, especially [[technical terminology|technical]] and [[science|scientific]] terms.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10251240@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Terms for everyday use, on the other hand, are more likely to be derived from existing roots—for example ''komputilo'' (a computer) from ''komputi'' (to compute) plus the suffix ''-ilo'' (tool)—or to be covered by extending the meanings of existing words (for example ''muso'' (a mouse), as in English, now also means a computer input device).@@@@1@55@@danf@17-8-2009
10251250@unknown@formal@none@1@S@There are frequent debates among Esperanto speakers about whether a particular borrowing is justified or whether the need can be met by deriving from or extending the meaning of existing words.@@@@1@31@@danf@17-8-2009
10251260@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In addition to the root words and the rules for combining them, a learner of Esperanto must memorize some idiomatic compounds that are not entirely straightforward.@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10251270@unknown@formal@none@1@S@For example, ''eldoni'', literally "to give out", is used for "to publish" (a [[calque]] of words in several European languages with the same derivation), and ''vortaro'', literally "a collection of words", means "a glossary" or "a dictionary".@@@@1@37@@danf@17-8-2009
10251280@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Such forms are modeled after usage in some European languages, and speakers of other languages may find them illogical.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10251290@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Fossilized derivations inherited from Esperanto's source languages may be similarly obscure, such as the opaque connection the root word ''centralo'' "power station" has with ''centro'' "center".@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10251300@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Compounds with ''-um-'' are overtly arbitrary, and must be learned individually, as ''-um-'' has no defined meaning.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10251310@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It turns ''dekstren'' "to the right" into ''dekstrumen'' "clockwise", and ''komuna'' "common/shared" into ''komunumo'' "community", for example.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10251320@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Nevertheless, there are not nearly as many idiomatic or [[slang]] words in Esperanto as in ethnic languages, as these tend to make international communication difficult, working against Esperanto's main goal.@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10251330@unknown@formal@none@1@S@===Useful phrases===@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10251340@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Here are some useful Esperanto phrases, with [[help:IPA|IPA]] transcriptions:@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10251350@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Hello: ''Saluton'' {{IPA|/sa.ˈlu.ton/}}@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10251360@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* What is your name?: ''Kiel vi nomiĝas?''@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10251370@unknown@formal@none@1@S@{{IPA|/ˈki.el vi no.ˈmi.ʤas/}}@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10251380@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* My name is...: ''Mi nomiĝas...''@@@@1@6@@danf@17-8-2009
10251390@unknown@formal@none@1@S@{{IPA|/mi no.ˈmi.ʤas/}}@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10251400@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* How much (is it/are they)?: ''Kiom (estas)?''@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10251410@unknown@formal@none@1@S@{{IPA|/ˈki.om ˈes.tas/}}@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10251420@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Here you are: ''Jen'' {{IPA|/jen/}}@@@@1@6@@danf@17-8-2009
10251430@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Do you speak Esperanto?: ''Ĉu vi parolas Esperanton?''@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10251440@unknown@formal@none@1@S@{{IPA|/ˈʧu vi pa.ˈro.las es.pe.ˈran.ton/}}@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10251450@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* I do not understand you: ''Mi ne komprenas vin'' {{IPA|/mi ˈne kom.ˈpre.nas vin/}}@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10251460@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* I like ''this'' one: ''Ĉi tiu plaĉas al mi'' {{IPA|/ʧi ˈti.u ˈpla.ʧas al ˈmi/}} or ''Mi ŝatas tiun ĉi'' {{IPA|/mi ˈʃa.tas ˈti.un ˈʧi/}}@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10251470@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Thank you: ''Dankon'' {{IPA|/ˈdan.kon/}}@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10251480@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* You're welcome: ''Ne dankinde'' {{IPA|/ˈne dan.ˈkin.de/}}@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10251490@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Please: ''Bonvolu'' {{IPA|/bon.ˈvo.lu/}} or ''mi petas'' {{IPA|/mi ˈpe.tas/}}@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10251500@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Here's to your health: ''Je via sano'' {{IPA|/je ˈvi.a ˈsa.no/}}@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10251510@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Bless you!/Gesundheit!: ''Sanon!''@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10251520@unknown@formal@none@1@S@{{IPA|/ˈsa.non/}}@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10251530@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Congratulations!: ''Gratulon!''@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10251540@unknown@formal@none@1@S@{{IPA|/ɡra.ˈtu.lon/}}@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10251550@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Okay: ''Bone'' {{IPA|/ˈbo.ne/}} or ''Ĝuste'' {{IPA|/ˈʤus.te/}}@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10251560@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Yes: ''Jes'' {{IPA|/ˈjes/}}@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10251570@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* No: ''Ne'' {{IPA|/ˈne/}}@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10251580@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* It is a nice day: ''Estas bela tago'' {{IPA|/ˈes.tas ˈbe.la ˈta.ɡo/}}@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10251590@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* I love you: ''Mi amas vin'' {{IPA|/mi ˈa.mas vin/}}@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10251600@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Goodbye: ''Ĝis (la) (revido)'' {{IPA|/ʤis la re.ˈvi.do/}}@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10251610@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* One beer, please: ''Unu bieron, mi petas.''@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10251620@unknown@formal@none@1@S@{{IPA|/ˈu.nu bi.ˈe.ron, mi ˈpe.tas/}}@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10251630@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* What is that?: ''Kio estas tio?''@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10251640@unknown@formal@none@1@S@{{IPA|/ˈki.o ˈes.tas ˈti.o/}}@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10251650@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* That is...: ''Tio estas...''@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10251660@unknown@formal@none@1@S@{{IPA|/ˈti.o ˈes.tas/}}@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10251670@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* How are you?: ''Kiel vi (fartas)?''@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10251680@unknown@formal@none@1@S@{{IPA|/ˈki.el vi ˈfar.tas/}}@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10251690@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Good morning!: ''Bonan matenon!''@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10251700@unknown@formal@none@1@S@{{IPA|/ˈbo.nan ma.ˈte.non/}}@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10251710@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Good evening!: ''Bonan vesperon!''@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10251720@unknown@formal@none@1@S@{{IPA|/ˈbo.nan ves.ˈpe.ron/}}@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10251730@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Good night!: ''Bonan nokton!''@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10251740@unknown@formal@none@1@S@{{IPA|/ˈbo.nan ˈnok.ton/}}@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10251750@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Peace!: ''Pacon!''@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10251760@unknown@formal@none@1@S@{{IPA|/ˈpa.tson/}}@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10251770@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Sample text ===@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10251780@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The following short extract gives an idea of the character of Esperanto.@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10251790@unknown@formal@none@1@S@(Pronunciation is covered above.@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10251800@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The main point for English speakers to remember is that the letter 'J' has the sound of the letter 'Y' in English)@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10251810@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Esperanto text@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10251820@unknown@formal@none@1@S@:''En multaj lokoj de Ĉinio estis temploj de drako-reĝo. Dum trosekeco oni preĝis en la temploj, ke la drako-reĝo donu pluvon al la homa mondo.@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10251830@unknown@formal@none@1@S@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 feŭda imperiestro.@@@@1@27@@danf@17-8-2009
10251840@unknown@formal@none@1@S@La imperiestro pretendis, ke li estas filo de la drako. Ĉiuj liaj vivbezonaĵoj portis la nomon drako kaj estis ornamitaj per diversaj drakofiguroj.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10251850@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Nun ĉie en Ĉinio videblas drako-ornamentaĵoj kaj cirkulas legendoj pri drakoj.''@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10251860@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*English Translation:@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10251870@unknown@formal@none@1@S@:In many places in China there were temples of the dragon king.@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10251880@unknown@formal@none@1@S@During times of drought, people prayed in the temples, that the dragon king would give rain to the human world.@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10251890@unknown@formal@none@1@S@At that time the dragon was a symbol of the supernatural.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10251900@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Later on, it became the ancestor of the highest rulers and symbolised the absolute authority of the feudal emperor.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10251910@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The emperor claimed to be the son of the dragon.@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10251920@unknown@formal@none@1@S@All of his personal possessions carried the name ''dragon'' and were decorated with various dragon figures.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10251930@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Now everywhere in China dragon decorations can be seen and there circulate legends about dragons.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10251940@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Education ==@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10251950@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The majority of Esperanto speakers learn the language through self-directed study, online tutorials, and correspondence courses taught by volunteers.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10251960@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In more recent years, teaching websites like ''[[lernu!]]'' have become popular.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10251970@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto instruction is occasionally available at schools, such as a [[Esperanto#Esperanto and language acquisition|pilot project involving four primary schools]] under the supervision of the [[University of Manchester]], and by one count at 69 universities.@@@@1@34@@danf@17-8-2009
10251980@unknown@formal@none@1@S@However, outside of [[China]] and [[Hungary]], these mostly involve informal arrangements rather than dedicated departments or state sponsorship.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10251990@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Eötvös Loránd University]] in Budapest had a department of Interlinguistics and Esperanto from 1966 to 2004, after which time instruction moved to vocational colleges; there are state examinations for Esperanto instructors.@@@@1@31@@danf@17-8-2009
10252000@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Various educators have estimated that Esperanto can be learned in anywhere from one quarter to one twentieth the amount of time required for other languages.@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10252010@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Some argue, however, that this is only true for native speakers of Western European languages.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10252020@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Claude Piron]], a psychologist formerly at the [[University of Geneva]] and Chinese-English-Russian-Spanish translator for the United Nations, argued that Esperanto is far more "brain friendly" than many ethnic languages.@@@@1@29@@danf@17-8-2009
10252030@unknown@formal@none@1@S@"Esperanto relies entirely on innate reflexes [and] differs from all other languages in that you can always trust your natural tendency to generalize patterns. [...]@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10252040@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The same [[neuropsychology|neuropsychological]] law [— called by] [[Jean Piaget]] ''generalizing assimilation'' — applies to word formation as well as to grammar."@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10252050@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Language acquisition ===@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10252060@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Four primary schools in Britain, with some 230 pupils, are currently following a course in "propedeutic Esperanto", under the supervision of the University of Manchester.@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10252070@unknown@formal@none@1@S@That is, instruction in Esperanto to raise language awareness and accelerate subsequent learning of foreign languages.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10252080@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Several studies demonstrate that studying Esperanto before another foreign language speeds and improves learning the second language to a greater extent than other languages which have been investigated.@@@@1@28@@danf@17-8-2009
10252090@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This appears to be because learning subsequent foreign languages is easier than learning one's first, while the use of a grammatically simple and culturally flexible auxiliary language like Esperanto lessens the first-language learning hurdle.@@@@1@34@@danf@17-8-2009
10252100@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In one study, a group of European [[secondary school]] students studied Esperanto for one year, then French for three years, and ended up with a significantly better command of French than a control group, who studied French for all four years.@@@@1@41@@danf@17-8-2009
10252110@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Similar results were found when the course of study was reduced to two years, of which six months was spent learning Esperanto.@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10252120@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Results are not yet available from a study in Australia to see if similar benefits would occur for learning East Asian languages, but the pupils taking Esperanto did better and enjoyed the subject more than those taking other languages.@@@@1@39@@danf@17-8-2009
10252130@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Community ==@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10252140@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Geography and demography ===@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10252150@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto speakers are more numerous in Europe and East [[Asia]] than in the Americas, [[Africa]], and [[Oceania]], and more numerous in [[urban area|urban]] than in [[rural]] areas.@@@@1@27@@danf@17-8-2009
10252160@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto is particularly prevalent in the northern and eastern countries of Europe; in China, [[Korea]], Japan, and [[Iran]] within Asia; in [[Brazil]], [[Argentina]], and [[Mexico]] in the Americas; and in [[Togo]] in Africa.@@@@1@33@@danf@17-8-2009
10252170@unknown@formal@none@1@S@====Number of speakers====@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10252180@unknown@formal@none@1@S@An estimate of the number of Esperanto speakers was made by the late [[Sidney S. Culbert]], a [[retirement|retired]] [[psychology]] [[professor]] at the [[University of Washington]] and a longtime Esperantist, who tracked down and tested Esperanto speakers in sample areas in dozens of countries over a period of twenty years.@@@@1@49@@danf@17-8-2009
10252190@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Culbert concluded that between one and two million people speak Esperanto at [[ILR or Foreign Service Level language ability measures|Foreign Service Level 3]], "professionally proficient" (able to communicate moderately complex ideas without hesitation, and to follow speeches, radio broadcasts, etc.).@@@@1@40@@danf@17-8-2009
10252200@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Culbert's estimate was not made for Esperanto alone, but formed part of his listing of estimates for all languages of over 1 million speakers, published annually in the [[World Almanac|World Almanac and Book of Facts]].@@@@1@35@@danf@17-8-2009
10252210@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Culbert's most detailed account of his methodology is found in a 1989 letter to David Wolff .@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10252220@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Since Culbert never published detailed intermediate results for particular countries and regions, it is difficult to independently gauge the accuracy of his results.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10252230@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In the Almanac, his estimates for numbers of language speakers were rounded to the nearest million, thus the number for Esperanto speakers is shown as 2 million.@@@@1@27@@danf@17-8-2009
10252240@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This latter figure appears in ''[[Ethnologue]]''.@@@@1@6@@danf@17-8-2009
10252250@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Assuming that this figure is accurate, that means that about 0.03% of the world's population speaks the language.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10252260@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This falls short of Zamenhof's goal of a [[international auxiliary language|universal language]], but it represents a level of popularity unmatched by any other constructed language.@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10252270@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Marcus Sikosek (now [[Ziko van Dijk]]) has challenged this figure of 1.6 million as exaggerated.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10252280@unknown@formal@none@1@S@He estimated that even if Esperanto speakers were evenly distributed, assuming one million Esperanto speakers worldwide would lead one to expect about 180 in the city of [[Cologne, Germany|Cologne]].@@@@1@29@@danf@17-8-2009
10252290@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Van Dijk finds only 30 [[fluency|fluent]] speakers in that city, and similarly smaller than expected figures in several other places thought to have a larger-than-average concentration of Esperanto speakers.@@@@1@29@@danf@17-8-2009
10252300@unknown@formal@none@1@S@He also notes that there are a total of about 20,000 members of the various Esperanto organizations (other estimates are higher).@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10252310@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Though there are undoubtedly many Esperanto speakers who are not members of any Esperanto organization, he thinks it unlikely that there are fifty times more speakers than organization members.@@@@1@29@@danf@17-8-2009
10252320@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Finnish people|Finnish]] [[linguistics|linguist]] Jouko Lindstedt, an expert on native-born Esperanto speakers, presented the following scheme to show the overall proportions of language capabilities within the Esperanto community:@@@@1@27@@danf@17-8-2009
10252330@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* ''1,000 have Esperanto as their native language@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10252340@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* ''10,000 speak it fluently@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10252350@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* ''100,000 can use it actively@@@@1@6@@danf@17-8-2009
10252360@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* ''1,000,000 understand a large amount passively@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10252370@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* ''10,000,000 have studied it to some extent at some time.''@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10252380@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In the absence of Dr. Culbert's detailed sampling data, or any other census data, it is impossible to state the number of speakers with certainty.@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10252390@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Few observers, probably, would challenge the following statement from the [[website]] of the [[World Esperanto Association]]:@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10252400@unknown@formal@none@1@S@:Numbers of [[textbook]]s sold and membership of local societies put the number of people with some knowledge of the language in the hundreds of thousands and possibly millions.@@@@1@28@@danf@17-8-2009
10252410@unknown@formal@none@1@S@====Native speakers====@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10252420@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Ethnologue reports estimates that there are 200 to 2000 native Esperanto speakers ''(denaskuloj),'' who have learned the language from birth from their Esperanto-speaking parents.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10252430@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This usually happens when Esperanto is the chief or only common language in an international family, but sometimes in a family of devoted Esperantists.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10252440@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The most famous native speaker of Esperanto is businessman [[George Soros]].@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10252450@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Also notable is young Holocaust victim [[Petr Ginz]], whose drawing of the planet Earth as viewed from the moon was carried aboard the Space Shuttle ''[[Space Shuttle Columbia|Columbia]]'' in 2003 ([[STS-107]]).@@@@1@31@@danf@17-8-2009
10252460@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Culture ===@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10252470@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto speakers can access an international [[culture]], including a large body of original as well as translated [[Esperanto literature|literature]].@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10252480@unknown@formal@none@1@S@There are over 25,000 Esperanto books, both originals and translations, as well as several regularly distributed [[List of Esperanto magazines|Esperanto magazines]].@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10252490@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto speakers use the language for free accommodations with [[Esperantist]]s in 92 countries using the [[Pasporta Servo]] or to develop [[pen pal]] friendships abroad through the Esperanto Pen Pal Service.@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10252500@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Every year, 1,500-3,000 Esperanto speakers meet for the [[World Congress of Esperanto]] ''(Universala Kongreso de Esperanto)''.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10252510@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The [[European Esperanto Union]] ''(Eǔropa Esperanto-Unio)'' regroups the national Esperanto associations of the EU member states and holds congresses every two years.@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10252520@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The most recent was in [[Maribor, Slovenia]], in July-August 2007.@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10252530@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It attracted 256 delegates from 28 countries, including 2 members of the [[European Parliament]], Ms. [[Małgorzata Handzlik]] of [[Poland]] and Ms. [[Ljudmila Novak]] of [[Slovenia]].@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10252540@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Historically, much [[Esperanto music]] has been in various folk traditions, such as ''Kaj Tiel Plu'', for example.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10252550@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In recent decades, more rock and other modern genres have appeared, an example being the Swedish band ''Persone''.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10252560@unknown@formal@none@1@S@There are also shared [[tradition]]s, such as [[Zamenhof Day]], and shared [[behaviour]] patterns.@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10252570@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Esperantist]]s speak primarily in Esperanto at [[World Esperanto Congress|international Esperanto meetings]].@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10252580@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Detractors of Esperanto occasionally criticize it as "having no culture".@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10252590@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Proponents, such as Prof. [[Humphrey Tonkin]] of the [[University of Hartford]], observe that Esperanto is "culturally neutral by design, as it was intended to be a facilitator between cultures, not to be the carrier of any one national culture."@@@@1@39@@danf@17-8-2009
10252610@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The late [[Scotland|Scottish]] Esperanto author [[William Auld]] has written extensively on the subject, arguing that Esperanto is "the expression of a [[Esperanto as an international language|common human culture]], unencumbered by national frontiers.@@@@1@32@@danf@17-8-2009
10252620@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Thus it is considered a culture on its own."@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10252630@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Others point to Esperanto's potential for strengthening a common European identity, as it combines features of several [[Esperanto etymology|European languages]].@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10252640@unknown@formal@none@1@S@====In popular culture====@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10252650@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto has been used in a number of films and novels.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10252660@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Typically, this is done either to add the exotic flavour of a foreign language without representing any particular ethnicity, or to avoid going to the trouble of inventing a new language.@@@@1@31@@danf@17-8-2009
10252670@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The [[Charlie Chaplin]] film ''[[The Great Dictator]]'' (1940) showed [[Warsaw ghetto|Jewish ghetto]] shops designated in Esperanto, each with the general Esperanto suffix ''-ejo'' (meaning "place for..."), in order to convey the atmosphere of some 'foreign' [[Eastern Europe|East European]] country without referencing any particular East European language.@@@@1@46@@danf@17-8-2009
10252680@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Two full-length [[feature film]]s have been produced with [[dialogue]] entirely in Esperanto: ''[[Angoroj]],'' in 1964, and ''[[Incubus (1965 film)|Incubus]],'' a 1965 [[B-movie]] horror film.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10252690@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Canada|Canadian]] actor [[William Shatner]] learned Esperanto to a limited level so that he could star in ''Incubus''.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10252700@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Other amateur productions have been made, such as a dramatisation of the novel ''Gerda Malaperis'' (Gerda Has Disappeared).@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10252710@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A number of "mainstream" films in national languages have used Esperanto in some way, such as ''[[Gattaca]]'' (1997), in which Esperanto can be overheard on the public address system.@@@@1@29@@danf@17-8-2009
10252720@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In the 1994 film ''[[Street Fighter]]'', Esperanto is the native language of the fictional country of [[Shadaloo]], and in a barracks scene the soldiers of villain [[M. Bison]] sing a rousing Russian Army-style chorus, the "Bison Troopers Marching Song", in the language.@@@@1@42@@danf@17-8-2009
10252730@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto is also spoken and appears on signs in the film ''[[Blade: Trinity]]''.@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10252740@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In the British comedy ''[[Red Dwarf]]'', [[Arnold Rimmer]] is seen attempting to learn Esperanto in a number of early episodes, including ''[[Kryten (Red Dwarf episode)|Kryten]]''.@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10252750@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In the first season, signs on the titular spacecraft are in both English and Esperanto.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10252760@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto is used as the universal language in the far future of [[Harry Harrison]]'s ''[[Stainless Steel Rat]]'' and ''[[Deathworld]]'' stories.@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10252770@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In a 1969 guest appearance on ''[[The Tonight Show]]'', [[Jay Silverheels]] of ''[[The Lone Ranger]]'' fame appeared in character as [[Tonto]] for a comedy sketch with [[Johnny Carson]], and claimed Esperanto skills as he sought new employment.@@@@1@37@@danf@17-8-2009
10252780@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The sketch ended with a statement of his ideal situation: "Tonto, to [[Toronto, Canada|Toronto]], for Esperanto, and pronto!"@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10252790@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Also, in the [[Danny Phantom]] Episode, "Public Enemies", Danny, Tucker, and Sam come across a ghost wolf who speaks Esperanto, but only Tucker can understand at first.@@@@1@27@@danf@17-8-2009
10252800@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== In Science ===@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10252810@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In 1921 the [[French Academy of Sciences]] recommended using Esperanto for international scientific communication.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10252820@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A few scientists and mathematicians, such as [[Maurice René Fréchet|Maurice Fréchet]] (mathematics), [[John C. Wells]] (linguistics), [[Helmar Frank]] (pedagogy and cybernetics), and [[Nobel Prize in Economics|Nobel laureate]] [[Reinhard Selten]] (economics) have published part of their work in Esperanto.@@@@1@38@@danf@17-8-2009
10252830@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Frank and Selten were among the founders of the [[Akademio Internacia de la Sciencoj San Marino|International Academy of Sciences]] in [[San Marino]], sometimes called the "Esperanto University", where Esperanto is the primary language of teaching and administration.@@@@1@37@@danf@17-8-2009
10252840@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Goals of the movement ===@@@@1@6@@danf@17-8-2009
10252850@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Zamenhof's intention was to create an easy-to-learn language to foster international understanding.@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10252860@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It was to serve as an international auxiliary language, that is, as a universal second language, not to replace ethnic languages.@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10252870@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This goal was widely shared among Esperanto speakers in the early decades of the movement.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10252880@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Later, Esperanto speakers began to see the language and the culture that had grown up around it as ends in themselves, even if Esperanto is never adopted by the United Nations or other international organizations.@@@@1@35@@danf@17-8-2009
10252890@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Those Esperanto speakers who want to see Esperanto adopted officially or on a large scale worldwide are commonly called ''[[Finvenkismo|finvenkistoj]]'', from ''fina venko'', meaning "final victory", or ''pracelistoj'', from ''pracelo'', meaning "original goal".@@@@1@33@@danf@17-8-2009
10252900@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Those who focus on the intrinsic value of the language are commonly called ''[[Raumism|raŭmistoj]]'', from [[Rauma, Finland|Rauma]], [[Finland]], where a declaration on the near-term unlikelihood of the "fina venko" and the value of Esperanto culture was made at the International Youth Congress in 1980.@@@@1@44@@danf@17-8-2009
10252910@unknown@formal@none@1@S@These categories are, however, not mutually exclusive.@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10252920@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The [[Prague Manifesto (Esperanto)|Prague Manifesto]] (1996) presents the views of the mainstream of the Esperanto movement and of its main organisation, the World Esperanto Association ([[World Esperanto Association|UEA]]).@@@@1@28@@danf@17-8-2009
10252930@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Symbols and flags ===@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10252940@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In 1893, C. Rjabinis and P. Deullin designed and manufactured a lapel pin for Esperantists to identify each other.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10252950@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The design was a circular pin with a white background and a five pointed green star.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10252960@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The theme of the design was the hope of the [[Continent#Number of continents|five continents]] being united by a common language.@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10252970@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The earliest flag, and the one most commonly used today, features a green five-pointed star against a white canton, upon a field of green.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10252980@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It was proposed to Zamenhof by [[Ireland|Irishman]] Richard Geoghegan, author of the first Esperanto textbook for English speakers, in 1887.@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10252990@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In 1905, delegates to the first conference of Esperantists at Boulogne-sur-Mer unanimously approved a version that differed from the modern flag only by the superimposition of an "E" over the green star.@@@@1@32@@danf@17-8-2009
10253000@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Other variants include that for Christian Esperantists, with a white [[Christian cross]] superimposed upon the green star, and that for Leftists, with [[Red flag|the color of the field changed from green to red]].@@@@1@33@@danf@17-8-2009
10253010@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In 1987, a second flag design was chosen in a contest organized by the UEA celebrating the first centennial of the language.@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10253020@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It featured a white background with two stylised curved "E"s facing each other.@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10253030@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Dubbed the "jubilea simbolo" ([[Esperanto jubilee symbol|jubilee symbol]]) , it attracted criticism from some Esperantists, who dubbed it the "melono" (melon) because of the design's elliptical shape.@@@@1@27@@danf@17-8-2009
10253040@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It is still in use, though to a lesser degree than the traditional symbol, known as the "verda stelo" (green star).@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10253050@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Religion ===@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10253060@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto has served an important role in several religions, such as [[Oomoto]] from Japan and [[Baha'i]] from Iran, and has been encouraged by others.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10253070@unknown@formal@none@1@S@==== Oomoto ====@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10253080@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The [[Oomoto]] religion encourages the use of Esperanto among their followers and includes Zamenhof as one of its deified spirits.@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10253090@unknown@formal@none@1@S@==== Bahá'í Faith====@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10253100@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The [[Bahá'í Faith]] encourages the [[Bahá'í Faith and auxiliary language|use of an auxiliary international language]].@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10253110@unknown@formal@none@1@S@While endorsing no specific language, some Bahá'ís see Esperanto as having great potential in this role.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10253120@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Lidja Zamenhof]], the daughter of Esperanto founder [[L. L. Zamenhof]], became a Bahá'í.@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10253130@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Various volumes of the [[Bahá'í literature]]s and other Baha'i books have been translated into Esperanto.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10253140@unknown@formal@none@1@S@==== Spiritism ====@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10253150@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto is also actively promoted, at least in [[Brazil]], by followers of [[Spiritism]].@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10253160@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The Brazilian Spiritist Federation publishes Esperanto coursebooks, translations of [[Spiritist Codification|Spiritism's basic books]], and encourages Spiritists to become Esperantists.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10253170@unknown@formal@none@1@S@==== Bible translations ====@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10253180@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The first translation of the [[Bible]] into Esperanto was a translation of the [[Tanach]] or Old Testament done by [[L. L. Zamenhof]].@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10253190@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The translation was reviewed and compared with other languages' translations by a group of British clergy and scholars before publishing it at the [[British and Foreign Bible Society]] in 1910.@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10253200@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In 1926 this was published along with a New Testament translation, in an edition commonly called the "Londona Biblio".@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10253210@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In the 1960s, the ''Internacia Asocio de Bibliistoj kaj Orientalistoj'' tried to organize a new, ecumenical Esperanto Bible version.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10253220@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Since then, the Dutch Lutheran pastor Gerrit Berveling has translated the [[Deuterocanonical]] or apocryphal books in addition to new translations of the Gospels, some of the New Testament epistles, and some books of the Tanakh or Old Testament.@@@@1@38@@danf@17-8-2009
10253230@unknown@formal@none@1@S@These have been published in various separate booklets, or serialized in ''Dia Regno'', but the [[Deuterocanonical]] books have appeared in recent editions of the Londona Biblio.@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10253240@unknown@formal@none@1@S@==== Christianity ====@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10253250@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Two Roman Catholic popes, [[Pope John Paul II|John Paul II]] and [[Pope Benedict XVI|Benedict XVI]], have regularly used Esperanto in their multilingual ''[[urbi et orbi]]'' blessings at Easter and Christmas each year since Easter 1994.@@@@1@35@@danf@17-8-2009
10253260@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Christian Esperanto organizations include two that were formed early in the history of Esperanto, the [[International Union of Catholic Esperantists]] and the [[List of Esperanto organizations#Religion|International Christian Esperantists League]].@@@@1@29@@danf@17-8-2009
10253270@unknown@formal@none@1@S@An issue of "The Friend" describes the activities of the [[Quaker]] Esperanto Society.@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10253280@unknown@formal@none@1@S@There are instances of Christian apologists and teachers who use Esperanto as a medium.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10253290@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Nigeria]]n [[Pastor]] Bayo Afolaranmi's "[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritanutrajxo/ Spirita nutraĵo]" (spiritual food) Yahoo mailing list, for example, has hosted weekly messages since 2003.@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10253300@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Chick Publications]], publisher of [[Fundamentalist Christianity|Protestant fundamentalist]] themed evangelistic tracts, has published a number of comic book style tracts by [[Jack T. Chick]] translated into Esperanto, including "This Was Your Life!"@@@@1@31@@danf@17-8-2009
10253310@unknown@formal@none@1@S@("Jen Via Tuto Vivo!")@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10253320@unknown@formal@none@1@S@==== Islam ====@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10253330@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Ayatollah Khomeini]] of [[Iran]] called on Muslims to learn Esperanto and praised its use as a medium for better understanding among peoples of different religious backgrounds.@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10253340@unknown@formal@none@1@S@After he suggested that Esperanto replace English as an international [[lingua franca]], it began to be used in the seminaries of [[Qom]].@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10253350@unknown@formal@none@1@S@An Esperanto translation of the [[Qur'an]] was published by the state shortly thereafter.@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10253360@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In 1981, Khomeini and the Iranian government began to oppose Esperanto after realising that followers of the [[Bahá'í Faith]] were interested in it.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10253370@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Criticism ==@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10253380@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Esperanto was conceived as a language of international communication, more precisely as a universal [[second language]].@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10253390@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Since publication, there has been debate over whether it is possible for Esperanto to attain this position, and whether it would be an improvement for international communication if it did.@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10253400@unknown@formal@none@1@S@There have been a number of attempts to reform the language, the most well-known of which is the language [[Ido]] which resulted in a schism in the community at the time, beginning in 1907.@@@@1@34@@danf@17-8-2009
10253410@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Since Esperanto is a planned language, there have been many, often passionate, criticisms of minor points which are too numerous to cover here, such as Zamenhof's choice of the word ''edzo'' over something like ''spozo'' for "husband, spouse", or his choice of the Classic Greek and Old Latin singular and plural endings ''-o, -oj, -a, -aj'' over their Medieval contractions ''-o, -i, -a, -e.''@@@@1@64@@danf@17-8-2009
10253420@unknown@formal@none@1@S@(Both these changes were adopted by the Ido reform, though Ido dispensed with adjectival agreement altogether.)@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10253430@unknown@formal@none@1@S@See the links [[Esperanto#Criticism|below]] for examples of more general criticism.@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10253440@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The more common points include:@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10253450@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Esperanto has failed the expectations of its founder to become a universal second language.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10253460@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Although many promoters of Esperanto stress the few successes it has had, the fact remains that well over a century since its publication, the portion of the world that speaks Esperanto, and the number of primary and secondary schools which teach it, remain minuscule.@@@@1@44@@danf@17-8-2009
10253470@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It simply cannot compete with English in this regard.@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10253480@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* The vocabulary and grammar are based on major European languages, and are not universal.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10253490@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Often this criticism is specific to a few points such as adjectival agreement and the accusative case (generally such obvious details are all that reform projects suggest changing), but sometimes it is more general: Both the grammar and the 'international' vocabulary are difficult for many Asians, among others, and give an unfair advantage to speakers of European languages.@@@@1@58@@danf@17-8-2009
10253500@unknown@formal@none@1@S@One attempt to address this issue is [[Lojban]], which draws from the six populous languages [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[English language|English]], [[Hindi]], [[Russian language|Russian]], and [[Spanish language|Spanish]], and whose grammar is designed for computer parsing.@@@@1@35@@danf@17-8-2009
10253510@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* The vocabulary, diacritic letters, and grammar are too dissimilar from the major Western European languages, and therefore Esperanto is not as easy as it could be for speakers of those languages to learn.@@@@1@34@@danf@17-8-2009
10253520@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Attempts to address this issue include the younger planned languages [[Ido]] and [[Interlingua]].@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10253530@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Esperanto phonology is unimaginatively provincial, being essentially [[Belorussian language|Belorussian]] with regularized stress, leaving out only the [[nasal vowel]]s, [[palatalization|palatalized consonants]], and /dz/.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10253540@unknown@formal@none@1@S@For example, Esperanto has phonemes such as {{IPA|/x/, /ʒ/, /ts/, /eu̯/}} ''(ĥ, ĵ, c, eŭ)'' which are rare as distinct phonemes outside Europe.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10253550@unknown@formal@none@1@S@(Note that none of these are found in initial position in English.)@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10253560@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Esperanto has no culture.@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10253570@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Although it has a large international literature, Esperanto does not encapsulate a specific culture.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10253580@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Esperanto is culturally European.@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10253590@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This is due to the European derivation of its vocabulary, and more insidiously, its [[semantics]]; both infuse the language with a European world view.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10253600@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* The vocabulary is too large.@@@@1@6@@danf@17-8-2009
10253610@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Rather than deriving new words from existing roots, large numbers of new roots are adopted into the language by people who think they're international, when in fact they're only European.@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10253620@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This makes the language much more difficult for non-Europeans than it needs to be.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10253630@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Esperanto is [[sexism|sexist]].@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10253640@unknown@formal@none@1@S@As in English, there is no neutral pronoun for ''s/he,'' and most kin terms and titles are masculine by default and only feminine when so specified.@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10253650@unknown@formal@none@1@S@There have been many attempts to address this issue, of which one of the better known is [[Riism]].@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10253660@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Esperanto is, looks, or sounds artificial.@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10253670@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This criticism is primarily due to the letters with circumflex diacritics, which some find odd or cumbersome, and to the lack of fluent speakers: Few Esperantists have spent much time with fluent, let alone native, speakers, and many learn Esperanto relatively late in life, and so speak haltingly, which can create a negative impression among non-speakers.@@@@1@56@@danf@17-8-2009
10253680@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Among fluent speakers, Esperanto sounds no more artificial than any other language.@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10253690@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Others claim that an artificial language will necessarily be deficient, due to its very nature, but the [[Hungarian Academy of Sciences]] has found that Esperanto fulfills all the requirements of a living language.@@@@1@33@@danf@17-8-2009
10253700@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Modifications ==@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10253710@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Though Esperanto itself has changed little since the publication of the ''[[Fundamento de Esperanto]]'' (Foundation of Esperanto), a number of reform projects have been proposed over the years, starting with [[Reformed Esperanto|Zamenhof's proposals in 1894]] and [[Ido]] in 1907.@@@@1@39@@danf@17-8-2009
10253720@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Several later constructed languages, such as Fasile, were based on Esperanto.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10253730@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In modern times, attempts have been made to eliminate perceived sexism in the language.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10253740@unknown@formal@none@1@S@One example of this is [[Riism]].@@@@1@6@@danf@17-8-2009
10253750@unknown@formal@none@1@S@However, as Esperanto has become a living language, changes are as difficult to implement as in ethnic languages.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10260010@unknown@formal@none@1@S@<article>Formal grammar</article>@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10260020@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In [[formal semantics]], [[computer science]] and [[linguistics]], a '''formal grammar''' (also called '''formation rules''') is a precise description of a [[formal language]] &ndash; that is, of a [[set]] of [[String (computer science)|strings]] over some [[Alphabet (computer science)|alphabet]].@@@@1@37@@danf@17-8-2009
10260030@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In other words, a grammar describes which of the possible sequences of symbols (strings) in a language constitute valid words or statements in that language, but it does not describe their [[semantics]] (i.e. what they mean).@@@@1@36@@danf@17-8-2009
10260040@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The branch of mathematics that is concerned with the properties of formal grammars and languages is called [[formal language theory]].@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10260050@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A grammar is usually regarded as a means to [[generate]] all the valid strings of a language; it can also be used as the basis for a [[recognizer]] that determines for any given string whether it is [[grammatical]] (i.e. belongs to the language).@@@@1@43@@danf@17-8-2009
10260060@unknown@formal@none@1@S@To describe such recognizers, formal language theory uses separate formalisms, known as [[automata theory|automata]].@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10260070@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A grammar can also be used to [[analyze]] the strings of a language &ndash; i.e. to describe their internal structure.@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10260080@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In computer science, this process is known as [[parsing]].@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10260090@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Most languages have very [[compositional semantics]], i.e. the meaning of their utterances is structured according to their [[syntax]]; therefore, the first step to describing the meaning of an utterance in language is to analyze it and look at its analyzed form (known as its [[parse tree]] in computer science, and as its [[deep structure]] in [[generative grammar]]).@@@@1@57@@danf@17-8-2009
10260100@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Background ==@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10260110@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Formal language ===@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10260120@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A ''formal language'' is an organized [[set]] of [[symbol]]s the essential feature of which is that it can be precisely defined in terms of just the shapes and locations of those symbols.@@@@1@32@@danf@17-8-2009
10260130@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Such a language can be defined, then, without any [[reference]] to any [[meaning (linguistics)|meaning]]s of any of its expressions; it can exist before any [[formal interpretation]] is assigned to it -- that is, before it has any meaning.@@@@1@38@@danf@17-8-2009
10260140@unknown@formal@none@1@S@First order logic is expressed in some formal language.@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10260150@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A formal grammar determines which symbols and sets of symbols are [[Formula (mathematical logic)|formula]]s in a formal language.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10260160@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Formal systems ===@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10260170@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A ''formal system'' (also called a ''logical calculus'', or a ''logical system'') consists of a formal language together with a [[deductive apparatus]] (also called a ''deductive system'').@@@@1@27@@danf@17-8-2009
10260180@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The deductive apparatus may consist of a set of [[transformation rule]]s (also called ''inference rules'') or a set of [[axiom]]s, or have both.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10260190@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A formal system is used to [[Proof theory|derive]] one expression from one or more other expressions.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10260200@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Formal proofs ===@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10260210@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A ''formal proof'' is a sequence of well-formed formulas of a formal language, the last one of which is a [[theorem]] of a formal system.@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10260220@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The theorem is a [[syntactic consequence]] of all the wffs preceding it in the proof.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10260230@unknown@formal@none@1@S@For a wff to qualify as part of a proof, it must be the result of applying a rule of the deductive apparatus of some formal system to the previous wffs in the proof sequence.@@@@1@35@@danf@17-8-2009
10260240@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Formal interpretations ===@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10260250@unknown@formal@none@1@S@An ''interpretation'' of a formal system is the assignment of meanings to the symbols, and truth-values to the sentences of a formal system.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10260260@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The study of formal interpretations is called [[formal semantics]].@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10260270@unknown@formal@none@1@S@''Giving an interpretation'' is synonymous with ''constructing a [[Structure (mathematical logic)|model]].@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10260280@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Formal grammars ==@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10260290@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A grammar mainly consists of a set of rules for transforming strings.@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10260300@unknown@formal@none@1@S@(If it ''only'' consisted of these rules, it would be a [[semi-Thue system]].)@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10260310@unknown@formal@none@1@S@To generate a string in the language, one begins with a string consisting of only a single ''start symbol'', and then successively applies the rules (any number of times, in any order) to rewrite this string.@@@@1@36@@danf@17-8-2009
10260320@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The language consists of all the strings that can be generated in this manner.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10260330@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Any particular sequence of legal choices taken during this rewriting process yields one particular string in the language.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10260340@unknown@formal@none@1@S@If there are multiple ways of generating the same single string, then the grammar is said to be [[ambiguous grammar|ambiguous]].@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10260350@unknown@formal@none@1@S@For example, assume the alphabet consists of <math>a</math> and <math>b</math>, the start symbol is <math>S</math> and we have the following rules:@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10260360@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: 1. <math>S \\rightarrow aSb</math>@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10260370@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: 2. <math>S \\rightarrow ba</math>@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10260380@unknown@formal@none@1@S@then we start with <math>S</math>, and can choose a rule to apply to it.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10260390@unknown@formal@none@1@S@If we choose rule 1, we obtain the string <math>aSb</math>.@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10260400@unknown@formal@none@1@S@If we choose rule 1 again, we replace <math>S</math> with <math>aSb</math> and obtain the string <math>aaSbb</math>.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10260410@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This process can be repeated at will until all occurrences of ''S'' are removed, and only symbols from the alphabet remain (i.e., <math>a</math> and <math>b</math>).@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10260420@unknown@formal@none@1@S@For example, if we now choose rule 2, we replace <math>S</math> with <math>ba</math> and obtain the string <math>aababb</math>, and are done.@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10260430@unknown@formal@none@1@S@We can write this series of choices more briefly, using symbols: <math>S \\Rightarrow aSb \\Rightarrow aaSbb \\Rightarrow aababb</math>.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10260440@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The language of the grammar is the set of all the strings that can be generated using this process: <math>\\left \\{ba, abab, aababb, aaababbb, ...\\right \\}</math>.@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10260450@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Formal definition ===@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10260460@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In the classic formalization of generative grammars first proposed by [[Noam Chomsky]] in the 1950s, a grammar ''G'' consists of the following components:@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10260470@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* A finite set <math>N</math> of ''[[nonterminal symbol]]s''.@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10260480@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* A finite set <math>\\Sigma</math> of ''[[terminal symbol]]s'' that is [[Disjoint sets|disjoint]] from <math>N</math>.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10260490@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* A finite set <math>P</math> of ''production rules'', each of the form@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10260500@unknown@formal@none@1@S@:: <math>(\\Sigma \\cup N)^{*} N (\\Sigma \\cup N)^{*} \\rightarrow (\\Sigma \\cup N)^{*} </math>@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10260510@unknown@formal@none@1@S@:where <math>{}^{*}</math> is the [[Kleene star]] operator and <math>\\cup</math> denotes [[union (set theory)|set union]].@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10260520@unknown@formal@none@1@S@That is, each production rule maps from one string of symbols to another, where the first string contains at least one nonterminal symbol.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10260530@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In the case that the second string is the [[empty string]] &ndash; that is, that it contains no symbols at all &ndash; in order to avoid confusion, the empty string is often denoted with a special notation, often (<math>\\lambda</math>, <math>e</math> or <math>\\epsilon</math>.@@@@1@42@@danf@17-8-2009
10260540@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* A distinguished symbol <math>S \\in N</math> that is the ''start symbol''.@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10260550@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A grammar is formally defined as the ordered quad-tuple <math>(N, \\Sigma, P, S)</math>.@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10260560@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Such a formal grammar is often called a ''rewriting system'' or a ''phrase structure grammar'' in the literature.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10260570@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The operation of a grammar can be defined in terms of relations on strings:@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10260580@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Given a grammar <math>G = (N, \\Sigma, P, S)</math>, the binary relation <math>\\Rightarrow_G</math> (pronounced as "G derives in one step") on strings in <math>(\\Sigma \\cup N)^{*}</math> is defined by:@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10260590@unknown@formal@none@1@S@<math>x \\Rightarrow_G y \\mbox{ iff } \\exists u, v, w \\in \\Sigma^*, X \\in N: x = uXv \\wedge y = uwv \\wedge X \\rightarrow w \\in P</math>@@@@1@28@@danf@17-8-2009
10260600@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* the relation <math>{\\Rightarrow_G}^*</math> (pronounced as ''G derives in zero or more steps'') is defined as the [[transitive closure]] of <math>(\\Sigma \\cup N)^{*}</math>@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10260610@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* the ''language'' of <math>G</math>, denoted as <math>\\boldsymbol{L}(G)</math>, is defined as all those strings over <math>\\Sigma</math> that can be generated by starting with the start symbol <math>S</math> and then applying the production rules in <math>P</math> until no more nonterminal symbols are present; that is, the set <math>\\{ w \\in \\Sigma^* \\mid S {\\Rightarrow_G}^* w \\}</math>.@@@@1@55@@danf@17-8-2009
10260620@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Note that the grammar <math>G = (N, \\Sigma, P, S)</math> is effectively the [[semi-Thue system]] <math>(N \\cup \\Sigma, P)</math>, rewriting strings in exactly the same way; the only difference is in that we distinguish specific ''nonterminal'' symbols which must be rewritten in rewrite rules, and are only interested in rewritings from the designated start symbol <math>S</math> to strings without nonterminal symbols.@@@@1@61@@danf@17-8-2009
10260630@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Example ===@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10260640@unknown@formal@none@1@S@''For these examples, formal languages are specified using [[set-builder notation]].''@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10260650@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Consider the grammar <math>G</math> where <math>N = \\left \\{S, B\\right \\}</math>, <math>\\Sigma = \\left \\{a, b, c\\right \\}</math>, <math>S</math> is the start symbol, and <math>P</math> consists of the following production rules:@@@@1@31@@danf@17-8-2009
10260660@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: 1. <math>S \\rightarrow aBSc</math>@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10260670@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: 2. <math>S \\rightarrow abc</math>@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10260680@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: 3. <math>Ba \\rightarrow aB</math>@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10260690@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: 4. <math>Bb \\rightarrow bb </math>@@@@1@6@@danf@17-8-2009
10260700@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Some examples of the derivation of strings in <math>\\boldsymbol{L}(G)</math> are:@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10260710@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* <math>\\boldsymbol{S} \\Rightarrow_2 \\boldsymbol{abc}</math>@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10260720@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* <math>\\boldsymbol{S} \\Rightarrow_1 \\boldsymbol{aBSc} \\Rightarrow_2 aB\\boldsymbol{abc}c \\Rightarrow_3 a\\boldsymbol{aB}bcc \\Rightarrow_4 aa\\boldsymbol{bb}cc</math>@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10260730@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* <math>\\boldsymbol{S} \\Rightarrow_1 \\boldsymbol{aBSc} \\Rightarrow_1 aB\\boldsymbol{aBSc}c \\Rightarrow_2 aBaB\\boldsymbol{abc}cc \\Rightarrow_3 a\\boldsymbol{aB}Babccc \\Rightarrow_3 aaB\\boldsymbol{aB}bccc </math><math> \\Rightarrow_3 aa\\boldsymbol{aB}Bbccc \\Rightarrow_4 aaaB\\boldsymbol{bb}ccc \\Rightarrow_4 aaa\\boldsymbol{bb}bccc</math>@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10260740@unknown@formal@none@1@S@:(Note on notation: <math>L \\Rightarrow_i R</math> reads "''L'' generates ''R'' by means of production ''i''" and the generated part is each time indicated in bold.)@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10260750@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This grammar defines the language <math>L = \\left \\{ a^{n}b^{n}c^{n} | n \\ge 1 \\right \\}</math> where <math>a^{n}</math> denotes a string of ''n'' consecutive <math>a</math>'s.@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10260760@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Thus, the language is the set of strings that consist of 1 or more <math>a</math>'s, followed by the same number of <math>b</math>'s, followed by the same number of <math>c</math>'s.@@@@1@29@@danf@17-8-2009
10260770@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== The Chomsky hierarchy ===@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10260780@unknown@formal@none@1@S@When [[Noam Chomsky]] first formalized generative grammars in 1956, he classified them into types now known as the [[Chomsky hierarchy]].@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10260790@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The difference between these types is that they have increasingly strict production rules and can express fewer formal languages.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10260800@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Two important types are ''[[context-free grammar]]s'' (Type 2) and ''[[regular grammar]]s'' (Type 3).@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10260810@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The languages that can be described with such a grammar are called ''[[context-free language]]s'' and ''[[regular language]]s'', respectively.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10260820@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Although much less powerful than unrestricted grammars (Type 0), which can in fact express any language that can be accepted by a [[Turing machine]], these two restricted types of grammars are most often used because [[parsing|parser]]s for them can be efficiently implemented.@@@@1@42@@danf@17-8-2009
10260830@unknown@formal@none@1@S@For example, all regular languages can be recognized by a [[finite state machine]], and for useful subsets of context-free grammars there are well-known algorithms to generate efficient [[LL parser]]s and [[LR parser]]s to recognize the corresponding languages those grammars generate.@@@@1@40@@danf@17-8-2009
10260840@unknown@formal@none@1@S@==== Context-free grammars ====@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10260850@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A ''[[context-free grammar]]'' is a grammar in which the left-hand side of each production rule consists of only a single nonterminal symbol.@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10260860@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This restriction is non-trivial; not all languages can be generated by context-free grammars.@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10260870@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Those that can are called ''context-free languages''.@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10260880@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The language defined above is not a context-free language, and this can be strictly proven using the [[pumping lemma for context-free languages]], but for example the language <math>\\left \\{ a^{n}b^{n} | n \\ge 1 \\right \\}</math> (at least 1 <math>a</math> followed by the same number of <math>b</math>'s) is context-free, as it can be defined by the grammar <math>G_2</math> with <math>N=\\left \\{S\\right \\}</math>, <math>\\Sigma=\\left \\{a,b\\right \\}</math>, <math>S</math> the start symbol, and the following production rules:@@@@1@74@@danf@17-8-2009
10260890@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: 1. <math>S \\rightarrow aSb</math>@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10260900@unknown@formal@none@1@S@: 2. <math>S \\rightarrow ab</math>@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10260910@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A context-free language can be recognized in <math>O(n^3)</math> time (''see'' [[Big O notation]]) by an algorithm such as [[Earley's algorithm]].@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10260920@unknown@formal@none@1@S@That is, for every context-free language, a machine can be built that takes a string as input and determines in <math>O(n^3)</math> time whether the string is a member of the language, where <math>n</math> is the length of the string.@@@@1@39@@danf@17-8-2009
10260930@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Further, some important subsets of the context-free languages can be recognized in linear time using other algorithms.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10260940@unknown@formal@none@1@S@==== Regular grammars ====@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10260950@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In [[regular grammar]]s, the left hand side is again only a single nonterminal symbol, but now the right-hand side is also restricted: It may be the empty string, or a single terminal symbol, or a single terminal symbol followed by a nonterminal symbol, but nothing else.@@@@1@46@@danf@17-8-2009
10260960@unknown@formal@none@1@S@(Sometimes a broader definition is used: one can allow longer strings of terminals or single nonterminals without anything else, making languages [[syntactic sugar|easier to denote]] while still defining the same class of languages.)@@@@1@33@@danf@17-8-2009
10260970@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The language defined above is not regular, but the language <math>\\left \\{ a^{n}b^{m} \\,| \\, m,n \\ge 1 \\right \\}</math> (at least 1 <math>a</math> followed by at least 1 <math>b</math>, where the numbers may be different) is, as it can be defined by the grammar <math>G_3</math> with <math>N=\\left \\{S, A,B\\right \\}</math>, <math>\\Sigma=\\left \\{a,b\\right \\}</math>, <math>S</math> the start symbol, and the following production rules:@@@@1@63@@danf@17-8-2009
10260980@unknown@formal@none@1@S@:# <math>S \\rightarrow aA</math>@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10260990@unknown@formal@none@1@S@:# <math>A \\rightarrow aA</math>@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10261000@unknown@formal@none@1@S@:# <math>A \\rightarrow bB</math>@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10261010@unknown@formal@none@1@S@:# <math>B \\rightarrow bB</math>@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10261020@unknown@formal@none@1@S@:# <math>B \\rightarrow \\epsilon</math>@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10261030@unknown@formal@none@1@S@All languages generated by a regular grammar can be recognized in linear time by a [[finite state machine]].@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10261040@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Although, in practice, regular grammars are commonly expressed using [[regular expression]]s, some forms of regular expression used in practice do not strictly generate the regular languages and do not show linear recognitional performance due to those deviations.@@@@1@37@@danf@17-8-2009
10261050@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Other forms of generative grammars ===@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10261060@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Many extensions and variations on Chomsky's original hierarchy of formal grammars have been developed more recently, both by linguists and by computer scientists, usually either in order to increase their expressive power or in order to make them easier to analyze or [[parsing|parse]].@@@@1@43@@danf@17-8-2009
10261070@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Some forms of grammars developed include:@@@@1@6@@danf@17-8-2009
10261080@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[Tree-adjoining grammar]]s increase the expressiveness of conventional generative grammars by allowing rewrite rules to operate on [[parse tree]]s instead of just strings.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10261090@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[Affix grammar]]s and [[attribute grammar]]s allow rewrite rules to be augmented with semantic attributes and operations, useful both for increasing grammar expressiveness and for constructing practical language translation tools.@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10261100@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Analytic grammars ==@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10261110@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Though there is very little literature on [[parsing]] [[algorithms]], most of these algorithms assume that the language to be parsed is initially ''described'' by means of a ''generative'' formal grammar, and that the goal is to transform this generative grammar into a working parser.@@@@1@44@@danf@17-8-2009
10261120@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Strictly speaking, a generative grammar does not in any way correspond to the algorithm used to parse a language, and various algorithms have different restrictions on the form of production rules that are considered well-formed.@@@@1@35@@danf@17-8-2009
10261130@unknown@formal@none@1@S@An alternative approach is to formalize the language in terms of an analytic grammar in the first place, which more directly corresponds to the structure and semantics of a parser for the language.@@@@1@33@@danf@17-8-2009
10261140@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Examples of analytic grammar formalisms include the following:@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10261150@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[The Language Machine]] directly implements unrestricted analytic grammars.@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10261160@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Substitution rules are used to transform an input to produce outputs and behaviour.@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10261170@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The system can also produce [http://languagemachine.sourceforge.net/picturebook.html the lm-diagram] which shows what happens when the rules of an unrestricted analytic grammar are being applied.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10261180@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[Top-down parsing language]] (TDPL): a highly minimalist analytic grammar formalism developed in the early 1970s to study the behavior of [[Top-down parsing|top-down parsers]].@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10261190@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[Link grammar]]s: a form of analytic grammar designed for [[linguistics]], which derives syntactic structure by examining the positional relationships between pairs of words.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10261200@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[Parsing expression grammar]]s (PEGs): a more recent generalization of TDPL designed around the practical [[expressiveness]] needs of [[programming language]] and [[compiler]] writers.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10270010@unknown@formal@none@1@S@<article>Free software</article>@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10270020@unknown@formal@none@1@S@'''Free software''' or software libre is [[software]] that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with minimal restrictions only to ensure that further recipients can also do these things.@@@@1@46@@danf@17-8-2009
10270030@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In practice, for software to be distributed as free software, the human readable form of the program (the "[[source code]]") must be made available to the recipient along with a notice granting the above permissions.@@@@1@35@@danf@17-8-2009
10270040@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Such a notice is a "[[free software licence]]", or, in theory, could be a notice saying that the source code is released into the [[public domain]].@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10270050@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The [[free software movement]] was conceived in 1983 by [[Richard Stallman]] to make these freedoms available to every computer user.@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10270060@unknown@formal@none@1@S@From the late 1990s onward, [[alternative terms for free software]] came into use.@@@@1@13@@danf@17-8-2009
10270070@unknown@formal@none@1@S@"'''[[Open source software]]'''" is the most common such alternative term.@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10270080@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Others include "'''software [[Gratis versus Libre|libre]]'''", "free, libre and open-source software" ("'''[[FOSS]]'''", or, with "libre", "'''FLOSS'''").@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10270090@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The antonym of free software is "''[[proprietary software]]''" or ''non-free software''.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10270100@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Free software is distinct from "[[freeware]]" which is [[proprietary software]] made available free of charge.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10270110@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Users usually cannot study, modify, or redistribute freeware.@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10270120@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Since free software may be freely redistributed, it generally is available at little or no cost.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10270130@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Free software business models are usually based on adding value such as support, training, customization, integration, or certification.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10270140@unknown@formal@none@1@S@At the same time, some business models which work with [[proprietary software]] are not compatible with free software, such as those that depend on a user paying for a licence in order to lawfully use a software product.@@@@1@38@@danf@17-8-2009
10270150@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== History ==@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10270160@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, it was normal for computer users to have the freedoms that are provided by free software.@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10270170@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Software]] was commonly shared by individuals who used computers and by hardware manufacturers who were glad that people were making software that made their hardware useful.@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10270180@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In the 1970s and early 1980s, the [[software industry]] began using technical measures (such as only distributing [[Executable|binary copies]] of [[computer programs]]) to prevent [[computer users]] from being able to study and modify software..@@@@1@34@@danf@17-8-2009
10270190@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In 1980 [[copyright]] law was extended to computer programs.@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10270200@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In 1983, [[Richard Stallman]], longtime member of the [[hacker (free and open source software)|hacker]] community at the [[MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory]], announced the [[GNU project]], saying that he had become frustrated with the effects of the change in culture of the computer industry and its users.@@@@1@46@@danf@17-8-2009
10270210@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Software development for the [[GNU operating system]] began in January 1984, and the [[Free Software Foundation]] (FSF) was founded in October 1985.@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10270220@unknown@formal@none@1@S@He developed a free software definition and the concept of "[[copyleft]]", designed to ensure software freedom for all.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10270230@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Free software is a widespread international concept, producing software used by individuals, large organizations, and governmental administrations.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10270240@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Free software has a very high market penetration in server-side Internet applications such as the [[Apache web server]], [[MySQL]] database, and [[PHP]] scripting language.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10270250@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Completely free computing environments are available as large packages of basic system software, such as the many [[GNU/Linux distribution]]s and [[FreeBSD]].@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10270260@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Free software [[Software development|developers]] have also created free versions of almost all commonly used desktop applications, including Web browsers, office productivity suites, and multimedia players.@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10270270@unknown@formal@none@1@S@It is important to note, however, that in many categories, free software for individual [[workstation]]s or home users has only a fraction of the market share of its proprietary competitors.@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10270280@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Most free software is distributed [[online]] without charge, or [[off-line]] at the [[marginal cost]] of distribution, but this pricing model is not required, and people may sell copies of free software programs for any price.@@@@1@35@@danf@17-8-2009
10270290@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The economic viability of free software has been recognised by large corporations such as [[IBM]], [[Red Hat]], and [[Sun Microsystems]].@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10270300@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Many companies whose core business is not in the IT sector choose free software for their Internet information and sales sites, due to the lower initial capital investment and ability to freely customize the application packages.@@@@1@36@@danf@17-8-2009
10270310@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Also, some non-software industries are beginning to use techniques similar to those used in free software development for their research and development process; scientists, for example, are looking towards more open development processes, and hardware such as microchips are beginning to be developed with specifications released under [[copyleft]] licenses (see the [[OpenCores]] project, for instance).@@@@1@55@@danf@17-8-2009
10270320@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Creative Commons]] and the [[free culture movement]] have also been largely influenced by the free software movement.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10270330@unknown@formal@none@1@S@===Naming===@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10270340@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The FSF recommends using the term "free software" rather than "open source software" because that term and the associated marketing campaign focuses on the technical issues of software development, avoiding the issue of user freedoms.@@@@1@35@@danf@17-8-2009
10270350@unknown@formal@none@1@S@"[[Libre]]" is used to avoid the ambiguity of the word "free".@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10270360@unknown@formal@none@1@S@However, amongst English speakers, ''libre'' is primarily only used within the free software movement.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10270370@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Definition ==@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10270380@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The first formal definition of free software was published by FSF in February 1986.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10270390@unknown@formal@none@1@S@That definition, written by Richard Stallman, is still maintained today and states that software is free software if people who receive a copy of the software have the following four freedoms:@@@@1@31@@danf@17-8-2009
10270400@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Freedom 0: The freedom to run the program for any purpose.@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10270410@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Freedom 1: The freedom to study and modify the program.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10270420@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Freedom 2: The freedom to copy the program so you can help your neighbor.@@@@1@15@@danf@17-8-2009
10270430@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Freedom 3: The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits.@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10270440@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Freedoms 1 and 3 require [[source code]] to be available because studying and modifying software without its source code is highly impractical.@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10270450@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Thus, free software means that [[user (computing)|computer users]] have the freedom to cooperate with whom they choose, and to control the software they use.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10270460@unknown@formal@none@1@S@To summarize this into a remark distinguishing ''[[Gratis versus Libre|libre]]'' (freedom) software from ''[[Gratis versus Libre|gratis]]'' (zero price) software, [[Richard Stallman]] said: "''Free software is a matter of liberty, not price.@@@@1@31@@danf@17-8-2009
10270470@unknown@formal@none@1@S@To understand the concept, you should think of 'free' as in '[[free speech]]', not as in '[[free beer]]<nowiki>'</nowiki>''".@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10270480@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In the late 90s, other groups published their own definitions which describe an almost identical set of software.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10270490@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The most notable are [[Debian Free Software Guidelines]] published in 1997, and the [[Open Source Definition]], published in 1998.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10270500@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The BSD-based operating systems, such as [[FreeBSD]], [[OpenBSD]], and [[NetBSD]], do not have their own formal definitions of free software.@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10270510@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Users of these systems generally find the same set of software to be acceptable, but sometimes see copyleft as restrictive.@@@@1@20@@danf@17-8-2009
10270520@unknown@formal@none@1@S@They generally advocate [[permissive free software licenses]], which allow others to make software based on their source code, and then release the modified result as proprietary software.@@@@1@27@@danf@17-8-2009
10270530@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Their view is that this permissive approach is more free.@@@@1@10@@danf@17-8-2009
10270540@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The [[Kerberos (protocol)|Kerberos]], [[X.org]], and [[Apache License|Apache]] software licenses are substantially similar in intent and implementation.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10270550@unknown@formal@none@1@S@All of these software packages originated in academic institutions interested in wide technology transfer ([[University of California]], [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]], and [[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign|UIUC]]).@@@@1@27@@danf@17-8-2009
10270560@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Examples of free software ==@@@@1@6@@danf@17-8-2009
10270570@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The [[Free Software Directory]] is a free software project that maintains a large database of free software packages.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10270580@unknown@formal@none@1@S@===Notable free software===@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10270590@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[Graphical user interface|GUI]] related@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10270600@unknown@formal@none@1@S@**[[X Window System]]@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10270610@unknown@formal@none@1@S@**[[GNOME]]@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10270620@unknown@formal@none@1@S@**[[KDE]]@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10270630@unknown@formal@none@1@S@**[[Xfce]] desktop environments@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10270640@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[OpenOffice.org]] office suite@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10270650@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[Mozilla Application Suite|Mozilla]] and [[Mozilla Firefox|Firefox]] web browsers.@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10270660@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Typesetting and document preparation systems@@@@1@6@@danf@17-8-2009
10270670@unknown@formal@none@1@S@**[[TeX]]@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10270680@unknown@formal@none@1@S@**[[LaTeX]]@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10270690@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* Graphics tools like [[GIMP]] image graphics editor and [[Blender (software)|Blender]] 3D animation program.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10270700@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[Text editor]]s like [[vi]] or [[emacs]].@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10270710@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[ogg]] is a free software multimedia container, used to hold [[ogg vorbis]] sound and [[ogg theora]] video.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10270720@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[Relational database]] systems@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10270730@unknown@formal@none@1@S@**[[MySQL]]@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10270740@unknown@formal@none@1@S@**[[PostgreSQL]]@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10270750@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[GNU Compiler Collection|GCC]] compilers, [[GDB]] debugger and the [[GNU C Library]].@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10270760@unknown@formal@none@1@S@====Programming languages====@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10270770@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*[[Java (programming language)|Java]]@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10270780@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*[[Perl]]@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10270790@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*[[PHP]]@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10270800@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*[[Python (programming language)|Python]]@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10270810@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*[[Lua (programming language)|Lua]]@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10270820@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*[[Ruby programming language|Ruby]]@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10270830@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*[[Tcl]]@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10270840@unknown@formal@none@1@S@====Servers====@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10270850@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*[[Apache HTTP Server|Apache web server]]@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10270860@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*[[BIND]] name server@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10270870@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*[[Sendmail]] mail transport@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10270880@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*[[Samba software|Samba]] file server.@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10270890@unknown@formal@none@1@S@====Operating systems====@@@@1@2@@danf@17-8-2009
10270900@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*[[GNU/Linux]]@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10270910@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*[[Berkeley Software Distribution|BSD]]@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10270920@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*[[Darwin (operating system)|Darwin]]@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10270930@unknown@formal@none@1@S@*[[OpenSolaris]]@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10270940@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Free software licenses ==@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10270950@unknown@formal@none@1@S@All free software licenses must grant people all the freedoms discussed above.@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10270960@unknown@formal@none@1@S@However, unless the applications' licenses are compatible, combining programs by mixing source code or directly linking binaries is problematic, because of license technicalities.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10270970@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Programs indirectly connected together may avoid this problem.@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10270980@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The majority of free software uses a small set of licenses.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10270990@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The most popular of these licenses are:@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10271000@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* the [[GNU General Public License]]@@@@1@6@@danf@17-8-2009
10271010@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* the [[GNU Lesser General Public License]]@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10271020@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* the [[BSD License]]@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10271030@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* the [[Mozilla Public License]]@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10271040@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* the [[MIT License]]@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10271050@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* the [[Apache License]]@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10271060@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The Free Software Foundation and the Open Source Initiative both publish lists of licenses that they find to comply with their own definitions of free software and open-source software respectively.@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10271070@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[List of FSF approved software licenses]]@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10271080@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[List of OSI approved software licenses]]@@@@1@7@@danf@17-8-2009
10271090@unknown@formal@none@1@S@These lists are necessarily incomplete, because a license need not be known by either organization in order to provide these freedoms.@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10271100@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Apart from these two organizations, the [[Debian]] project is seen by some to provide useful advice on whether particular licenses comply with their [[Debian Free Software Guidelines]].@@@@1@27@@danf@17-8-2009
10271110@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Debian doesn't publish a list of ''approved'' licenses, so its judgments have to be tracked by checking what software they have allowed into their software archives.@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10271120@unknown@formal@none@1@S@That is summarized at the Debian web site.@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10271130@unknown@formal@none@1@S@However, it is rare that a license is announced as being in-compliance by either FSF or OSI guidelines and not [[Vice_versa##vice_versa|vice versa]] (the [[Netscape Public License]] used for early versions of Mozilla being an exception), so exact definitions of the terms have not become hot issues.@@@@1@46@@danf@17-8-2009
10271140@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Permissive and copyleft licenses ===@@@@1@6@@danf@17-8-2009
10271150@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The FSF categorizes licenses in the following ways:@@@@1@8@@danf@17-8-2009
10271160@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[Public domain]] software - the copyright has expired, the work was not copyrighted or the author has abandoned the copyright.@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10271170@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Since public-domain software lacks copyright protection, it may be freely incorporated into any work, whether proprietary or free.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10271180@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[permissive free software licences|Permissive licenses]], also called BSD-style because they are applied to much of the software distributed with the [[Berkeley Software Distribution|BSD]] operating systems.@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10271190@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The author retains copyright solely to disclaim warranty and require proper attribution of modified works, but permits redistribution and modification in ''any'' work, even proprietary ones.@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10271200@unknown@formal@none@1@S@* [[Copyleft]] licenses, the [[GNU General Public License]] being the most prominent.@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10271210@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The author retains copyright and permits redistribution and modification provided all such redistribution is licensed under the same license.@@@@1@19@@danf@17-8-2009
10271220@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Additions and modifications by others must also be licensed under the same 'copyleft' license whenever they are distributed with part of the original licensed product.@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10271230@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Security and reliability==@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10271240@unknown@formal@none@1@S@There is debate over the [[computer security|security]] of free software in comparison to proprietary software, with a major issue being [[security through obscurity]].@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10271250@unknown@formal@none@1@S@A popular quantitative test in computer security is using relative counting of known unpatched security flaws.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10271260@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Generally, users of this method advise avoiding products which lack fixes for known security flaws, at least until a fix is available.@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10271270@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Some claim that this method is biased by counting more vulnerabilities for the free software, since its source code is accessible and its community is more forthcoming about what problems exist.@@@@1@31@@danf@17-8-2009
10271280@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Free software advocates rebut that even if proprietary software does not have "published" flaws, flaws could still exist and possibly be known to malicious users.@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10271290@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The ability of users to view and modify the source code allows many more people to potentially analyse the code and possibly to have a higher rate of finding bugs and flaws than an average sized corporation could manage.@@@@1@39@@danf@17-8-2009
10271300@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Users having access to the source code also makes creating and deploying [[spyware]] far more difficult.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10271310@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[David A. Wheeler]] has published research concluding that free software is quantitatively more reliable than proprietary software.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10271320@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Adoption ==@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10271330@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Free software played a part in the development of the Internet, the World Wide Web and the infrastructure of [[dot-com companies]].@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10271340@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Free software allows users to cooperate in enhancing and refining the programs they use; free software is a [[pure public good]] rather than a [[private good]].@@@@1@26@@danf@17-8-2009
10271350@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Companies that contribute to free software can increase commercial [[innovation]] amidst the void of [[patent]] [[cross licensing]] lawsuits.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10271360@unknown@formal@none@1@S@(See [[Mpeg2#Patent holders|mpeg2 patent holders]])@@@@1@5@@danf@17-8-2009
10271370@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Under the free software business model, free software vendors may charge a fee for distribution and offer pay support and software customization services.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10271380@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Proprietary software uses a different business model, where a customer of the proprietary software pays a fee for a license to use the software.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10271390@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This license may grant the customer the ability to configure some or no parts of the software themselves.@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10271400@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Often some level of support is included in the purchase of proprietary software, but additional support services (especially for enterprise applications) are usually available for an additional fee.@@@@1@28@@danf@17-8-2009
10271410@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Some proprietary software vendors will also customize software for a fee.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10271420@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Free software is generally available at little to no cost and can result in permanently lower costs compared to [[proprietary software]].@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10271430@unknown@formal@none@1@S@With free software, businesses can fit software to their specific needs by changing the software themselves or by hiring programmers to modify it for them.@@@@1@25@@danf@17-8-2009
10271440@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Free software often has no warranty, and more importantly, generally does not assign legal liability to anyone.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10271450@unknown@formal@none@1@S@However, warranties are permitted between any two parties upon the condition of the software and its usage.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10271460@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Such an agreement is made separately from the free software license.@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10271470@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Controversies ==@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10271480@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Binary blobs ===@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10271490@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In 2006, [[OpenBSD]] started the first campaign against the use of [[binary blobs]], in [[kernel (computer science)|kernels]].@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10271500@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Blobs are usually freely distributable [[device driver]]s for hardware from vendors that do not reveal driver source code to users or developers.@@@@1@22@@danf@17-8-2009
10271510@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This restricts the users' freedom to effectively modify the software and distribute modified versions.@@@@1@14@@danf@17-8-2009
10271520@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Also, since the blobs are undocumented and may have [[computer bug|bugs]], they pose a security risk to any [[operating system]] whose kernel includes them.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10271530@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The proclaimed aim of the campaign against blobs is to collect hardware documentation that allows developers to write free software drivers for that hardware, ultimately enabling all free operating systems to become or remain blob-free.@@@@1@35@@danf@17-8-2009
10271540@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The issue of binary blobs in the [[Linux kernel]] and other device drivers motivated some developers in Ireland to launch [[gNewSense]], a GNU/Linux distribution with all the binary blobs removed.@@@@1@30@@danf@17-8-2009
10271550@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The project received support from the [[Free Software Foundation]]@@@@1@9@@danf@17-8-2009
10271560@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== BitKeeper ===@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10271570@unknown@formal@none@1@S@[[Larry McVoy]] invited high-profile free software projects to use his proprietary [[versioning system]], [[BitKeeper]], free of charge, in order to attract paying users.@@@@1@23@@danf@17-8-2009
10271580@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In 2002, Linux coordinator [[Linus Torvalds]] decided to use BitKeeper to develop the Linux kernel, a free software project, claiming no free software alternative met his needs.@@@@1@27@@danf@17-8-2009
10271590@unknown@formal@none@1@S@This controversial decision drew criticism from several sources, including the Free Software Foundation's founder Richard Stallman.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10271600@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Following the apparent [[reverse engineering]] of BitKeeper's protocols, McVoy withdrew permission for gratis use by free software projects, leading the Linux kernel community to develop a free software replacement in [[Git (software)|Git]].@@@@1@32@@danf@17-8-2009
10271610@unknown@formal@none@1@S@=== Patent deals ===@@@@1@4@@danf@17-8-2009
10271620@unknown@formal@none@1@S@In November 2006, the [[Microsoft]] and [[Novell]] software corporations announced a controversial partnership involving, among other things, patent protection for some customers of Novell under certain conditions.@@@@1@27@@danf@17-8-2009
10280010@unknown@formal@none@1@S@<article>Freeware</article>@@@@1@1@@danf@17-8-2009
10280020@unknown@formal@none@1@S@'''Freeware''' is computer [[software]] that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee.@@@@1@17@@danf@17-8-2009
10280030@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Freeware is often made available in a binary-only, [[proprietary software|proprietary]] form, thus making it distinct from [[free software]].@@@@1@18@@danf@17-8-2009
10280040@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Proprietary freeware allows authors to contribute something for the benefit of the community, while at the same time allowing them to retain control of the source code and preserve its business potential.@@@@1@32@@danf@17-8-2009
10280050@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Freeware is different from [[shareware]], where the user is obliged to pay (e.g. after some trial period or for additional functionality).@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009
10280060@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== History ==@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10280070@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The term ''freeware'' was coined by [[Andrew Fluegelman]] when he wanted to sell a communications program named [[PC-Talk]] that he had created but for which he did not wish to use traditional methods of distribution because of their cost.@@@@1@39@@danf@17-8-2009
10280080@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Fluegelman actually distributed PC-Talk via a process now referred to as [[shareware]].@@@@1@12@@danf@17-8-2009
10280090@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Current use of the term freeware does not necessarily match the original concept by Andrew Fluegelman.@@@@1@16@@danf@17-8-2009
10280100@unknown@formal@none@1@S@== Criteria ==@@@@1@3@@danf@17-8-2009
10280110@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The only criterion for being classified as freeware is that the software must be fully functional for an unlimited time with no monetary cost.@@@@1@24@@danf@17-8-2009
10280120@unknown@formal@none@1@S@The software license may impose one or more other restrictions on the type of use including personal use, individual use, non-profit use, non-commercial use, academic use, commercial use or any combination of these.@@@@1@33@@danf@17-8-2009
10280130@unknown@formal@none@1@S@For instance, the license may be "free for personal, non-commercial use."@@@@1@11@@danf@17-8-2009
10280140@unknown@formal@none@1@S@Everything created with the freeware programs can be distributed at no cost (for example graphic, documents, or sounds made by user).@@@@1@21@@danf@17-8-2009