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- "La ursoj ne ŝatas tiun ulon!"
41 Comments
Or maybe they don't like that person because that person is a hunter, and the bears are afraid. Or at least not interested in having some annoying human attack them.
I think "ulo" as "person" is a much more colloquial, laid back form. Kinda like "bloke" in British English or "guy" in American.
Anyone who knows better, please correct me if I'm wrong, but here's my understanding: "ulo" is very casual and colloquial, as others have said, so it roughly equates to "bloke" or "guy", "dude," "chick," that kind of thing. "Homo" and "persono" both are a little more formal, and can be used in a less casual setting.
Personally, I distinguish these formal terms as: "homoj" are human beings, no matter what (if any) qualities are assigned to them; "personoj" are people who are sentient but might not be human. This could be used in a fantasy or sci-fi setting, as in aliens or fairies or dragons, or just by someone with a "cats are people, too" picture frame hanging in their hall.
Given the lack of non-human people here on Earth, "homo" seems to be the much more common formal term for "person." I've seen it used many times, and very rarely have I see "persono" used.
Again, if there are more experienced Esperantists who have a correct or better explanation, please reply, I'd love to know!
I think you have a good handle on the shades of meaning here. "Homo" very often just means "person" in Esperanto, but it also means "human being" in contrast to "besto" which is a non-human animal.
It can be. The word "ulo" is a noun formed from the suffix "ul" which is usually for people. But it also can refer to animals, as in "mamulo" (mammal) or "rampulo" (lizard/amphibian).
Esperanto bears are opinionated drunks. Have they eaten cake yet or do I have that to come?
154
Is ulo typically understood to be gender neutral? Or male? It seems like it would make more sense if it were understood as male since in order to make it male we would have to use virulo, but that could mean you-roll (cannibal sushi? trashcan prank?). Or does it just depend who you are talking to?
'Ulo' makes more sense being gender-neutral since 'male person' is 'viro'. :)
"It depends".
http://bertilow.com/pmeg/vortfarado/afiksoj/sufiksoj/ul.html#i-s2s says (mi provas kiel eble plej lerte traduki anglen) "According to the above explanations the suffix -ul has the meaning "person". That is, a gender-neutral meaning. A person [so denoted by -ul] can be either a woman or man. But in practical language use the matter is not so clear. In plurals, -ul is most often neutral, saĝuloj = "wise people, whether male or female", junulargastejo = "guest-place for boys and girls both", "malrapiduloj" = "slow people". But in the singular it happens often that in practice -ul means "male person"."
Of course, what has been the case in practice in observed uses of the language in the past, and kiel la ligvo evoluos estontece are potentially different things :)
(It should be noted that the phenomenon of words breaking up in more than one way into affixes a la the vir-ul-o = vi-rul-o that you observe is not at all unheard of; it's just fodder for good-ol'-fashioned punning as in any other language)
Well, ulo used to refer exclusively to males, but now it depends on who's using it whether they mean a male specifically or someone of any gender. In fact, Ido, a language based off Esperanto, uses -ulo as a male suffix and counterpart to -ino, likely due to when it was created.
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Esperanto, on occasion, uses the affix ino on the odd occasion too. La inon Baldaŭ venos could mean "A chick (or other female specific word of the interpreter's choice) will be coming soon."
and anyplace where one can insert ulo can also use ino if suitable.
It is, however, not in very common usage.
- 175
How could you tell? The fact that they're ripping him to shreds? That's just the way they show affection!
The way you can tell is that they're not eating him. They don't like him because he tastes bad.
"Homo" is the proper term for "human being", while "ulo" is a more colloquial term. It is comparable with "guy/dude/bloke/fellow" and "gal/chick/broad", but it's gender neutral.
According to the dictionary, ulo is "a person whose properties are not mentioned" (like e.g. "a fellow on the street gave me his umbrella") and it says ulo is often used a little negatively. Similar to English by the way. (e.g. "some guy just cut me off!") Although it doesn't have to be negative, of course.
- 801
This sentence has a second hidden meaning. It says "This person isn't Masha frok Masha&Bear"
- 816
I cannot bear all these Duolingo sentences, I think the bears do not like that person because he drank all the beer! :)
