Riism

Riism (Riismo in Esperanto) is a modification of Esperanto to simplify it, to make it symmetric, and to incorporate non-sexist language and gender-neutral pronouns into it.

How Riismo modifies Esperanto

According to the Prezento de Riismo, in Riismo:

• The pronoun ri replaces the pronouns li and ŝi. One does not use the pronouns li and ŝi.
• The suffix -iĉ- is used symmetrically with the suffix -in-. One uses them only in order to emphasize the sex or specify it, when necessary.
• Generally roots without a suffix -iĉ- or -in- do not indicate a sex. Also the twenty words, which traditionally indicate only males, and which have corresponding female forms with the attached -in-, must be treated as sexless. However, if there is danger of confusion, for example when speaking to a liisto, one may attach the prefix ge-, with neither of the suffixes -iĉ- or -in- used. For example, dentisto is dentistiĉo or dentistino; (ge)patro is patriĉo or patrino.

Commentary

Use of the pronoun ri parallels usage in Finnish and Chinese languages, in which the third-person pronouns have no distinction between feminine and masculine. (e.g. Finnish only has hän for both she and he, and se for it.))

The infix and radical changes do not increase the number of forms. Both Riismo and Malriismo (i.e. non-riist Esperanto) have three relevant forms: an unmarked form and two marked forms. The difference lies in the sex assignments to each:

• Malriismo: The unmarked form is the masculine, and the two marked forms are the feminine and the sexless. e.g. patro "father" versus patrino "mother" and gepatro parent of unspecified sex.
• Riismo: The unmarked form is the sexless, and the two marked forms are the feminine and the masculine. e.g. patro, parent of unspecified sex, versus patrino "mother" and patriĉo "father".

Riismo does not eliminate the prefix ge- in order to allow riistoj (speakers of riist Esperanto) and malriistoj (speakers of non-riist Esperanto) to intercommunicate without confusion. A riisto communicating with a malriisto can add the prefix ge-, when neither the infix -iĉ- or -in- is used and the Malriismo usage would traditionally indicate the masculine.

However, for most words the Malriismo usage is in practice sexless, and ge- is not required. For example: dentisto is a dentist of unespecified sex in both Riismo and Malriismo, and there is no need for gedentisto. The main words where the prefix ge- can be useful are:

• avo edzo fianĉo filo frato kuzo nepo nevo onklo patro vidvo
• bubo knabo viro
• fraŭlo grafo princo reĝo sinjoro
• amiko

Critics of Riismo consider the elimination of li and ŝi to be a major fault. They contend that the sexed pronouns are useful for the very same reasons of emphasis and precision that the -iĉ- and -in- infixes are; and that whilst Riismo eliminates a sexual inconsistency for nouns, its requirement that li and ŝi be wholly eliminated (as opposed to being relegated to those uses where sex is specifically implied) introduces a sexual inconsistency between nouns and pronouns. Ido has solved this problem by having all different forms.

External links

• Prezento de Riismo the manifesto for Riism
• Another commentary on Riismo proposes that ri should really have been ĝi. (Zamenhof himself suggested this, but speakers of some languages (like English!) have a problem with calling a person it. (One may, however, use tiu instead.))
• Esperanto Idiosyncrasies : Sexism - Discussion of Riism with mention of the gi and hi proposals.