Neniam kredas ĉio ke vi legas!
Much is made about the accuracy of Wikipedia, but normal books can be a challenge, especially if they're written for grade school students.
I was looking at the third version of a book written in 2000, "The Euro for Europe" last week. It was meant to be a High School introduction to the Euro as it came into existence. One of the things it gave was a small history of attempts at combined European currency.
The first illustration the book gave was "An Appeal by Esperanto users for a single currency in Europe." It showed a photograph of a completely readable postcard. Underneath the postcard it says, "Translated from Romanian, this reads:" It then gives an accurate English translation of the postcard.
How do I know its an accurate translation? every single word on the postcard, with the exception of most of the handwritten address, is in perfect Esperanto. There is not a single Romanian word on the entire card. The address is in French, with the exception of the recipient's title, which is Esperanto.
This was the third revision of the book!
![[NASK]](http://www.esperanto-usa.org/files/xemblemo.jpg.pagespeed.ic.WMqnJDD4g0.jpg)
Comments
Gxustan gramatikon, mi petas!
"Neniam kredas ĉio ke vi legas!"
. . . should be . . .
"Neniam kredu ĉion, kion vi legas!"
"kredi" is used as a command, so -u ending.
"ĉio" is is the direct object of "kredu" (subject understood as "vi")
"ke" can be translated as "that," but in a phrase like "I know that he is tall." (Notice you can't substitute "which" in this sentence.)
In the above case preferably start with the English "which" rather than "that" which is more exact and results in using "ĉio". Then add the direct object "-n" since what is being read is the direct object of "legas."
I added the comma for clarity (to separate the two phrases), but it is often left out in informal Esperanto.
May 24, 2012 by sbelant, 1 year 21 hours ago
I already politely corrected
I already politely corrected his title by giving the correct title as the title of my reply. I thought that that was quite sufficient. (I saw no need to hit him over the head with the details, which I was sure, given the correction, he could easily figure out for himself.) Your later correction, which itself contains two errors, reminds me of the joke about the best background to have for someone wanting to become an editor: to have been one of those people who come down out of the hills after the battle to shoot the wounded.
Evidently, the title was meant to be a translation of, “Don’t believe everything you read.” – so changing “Neniam” to “Ne” is part of the correcting that needs to be done, which you neglected. Also, you assert that “which” is “more exact” than “that”, but in fact they are, strictly speaking, different animals. It is true that the distinction between them is often ignored, and it is true that the provisional substitution that you mention is helpful; still, it is well to bear in mind their different roles, which is best illustrated by example:
“That was his third presentation, which was well-received.” (His first two presentations were duds.)
“That was his third presentation that was well-received.” (All three presentations were well-received.)
Regards,
Mike Jones
24.May.2012
Taiyuan China
May 24, 2012 by Mike Jones, 1 year 14 hours ago
Ne kredu ĉion kion vi legas!
Reminds me of a famous joke about Esperanto, in which person A, an opponent of Esperanto, seeking to refute the notion that Esperanto sounds like a natural language, asks person B, a renowned Esperantist, to sing something in Esperanto. Person B then sings something, and person A says to everybody standing around listening to this exchange, “See how ugly it sounds!” – at which point person B points out that he (person B) did not sing something in Esperanto, but instead a famous refrain from a much-loved Italian opera.
I forget where I saw this, but if I had to guess I would say it was in Funamenta Krestomatio de Esperanto. Maybe someone else can pin down the source.
Regards,
Mike Jones
24.May.2012
Taiyuan China
May 24, 2012 by Mike Jones, 1 year 1 day ago
the famous joke is retold elsewhere on this blog
See Don Harlow's comment here
I think you're right, though, I had read it somewhere else before, though possibly in Don's online Esperanto book.
May 24, 2012 by Ted Alper, 1 year 12 hours ago
And there’s another joke
And there’s another joke along this same line, which I do believe I saw in Fundamenta Krestomatio: A young man, puzzled why people should waste their time on Esperanto, asks his physician, who, unknown to the young man, happens to be an Esperantist, how it is that people come down with this madness for Esperanto. The good doctor replies that the bacillus causing people to become interested in Esperanto is carried by the Sun’s rays, and to remain safe from this malady, the young man should remain forever in darkness.
May 25, 2012 by Mike Jones, 52 weeks 7 hours ago