Sofweb’s Esperanto is a votara to traduki Angla en Esperanto. (Softweb’s Esperanto is a dictionary to translate English into Esperanto.)

You already knew that, I’ll bet. That’s what Esperanto is all about: It’s a universal second language that is supposed to be easy to learn and understood by everyone. If it only were true.

Wikipedia notes Esperanto is used by 100,000 to 2 million people globally, which seems like an awfully wide range, but that’s what it says in the encyclopedia for everyman. What do you bezono ekde min? (What do you want from me?)

Esperanto, the aplikajo (application), is like any other votara on the iPhone. Enter a word into the search bar and simila magio (like magic), the Esperanto and English words appear. Esperanto is not really a votara in the strictest sense because it lacks definitions, which you probably don’t bezono iel (need anyway).

In addition to search, Esperanto allows you to browse for words and save the ones you reviewed. There’s a “Grammer” section too. That how the app’s developer spells gramatiko (grammar) above the icon and at the top of the gramatiko section.

Misspelling aside, the app does what it’s supposed to do, and that’s to give you the Esperanto equivalent of English words. I can’t help thinking that if it’s such an easy language to learn and used so widely around the globe, you would think that it devi esti irejo ĉirkaŭ (should be the other way around) but that’s neither here nor there.

Years ago, I went to see a horror film at a bohemian basement cinema in which the entire dialog was spoken in Esperanto. I didn’t understand a word of it and I even had pictures to look at.

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category: Editor's Picks, Reference, Worthwhile Apps