Technical and scientific Esperanto aims at reproducibility: a qualified reader should recover the same entities, relations, procedures, and degree of certainty that the writer intended. Specialized vocabulary matters, but precision also depends on stable definitions, controlled scope, explicit units, and sentences whose agents and logical relations can be identified.
There is no separate technical grammar. The register is (technical/scientific) because ordinary Esperanto resources are used consistently under tighter evidential and terminological constraints. A difficult subject may require difficult ideas; it does not require needlessly difficult syntax.
Define the object before compressing the discussion
Introduce a specialized term at its first important use. A good definition identifies the larger class and the feature that distinguishes the item within that class.
En ĉi tiu artikolo, «sensilo» signifas aparaton, kiu mezuras fizikan grandon kaj liveras signalon reprezentantan tiun grandon.
In this article, ‘sensor’ means a device that measures a physical quantity and produces a signal representing that quantity.
Ni nomas «responda tempo» la intervalon inter la stimulo kaj la unua mezurebla reago.
We call the interval between the stimulus and the first measurable response ‘response time.’
The quotation marks show that a label is being assigned. Later occurrences can use la sensilo and la responda tempo without repeating the definition. If a common word receives a narrower local meaning, say so explicitly.
La vorto «stabila» ĉi-sube signifas, ke la mezurita valoro varias je malpli ol unu procento dum dek minutoj.
Below, the word ‘stable’ means that the measured value varies by less than one percent over ten minutes.
That operational definition is better than relying on the reader's everyday sense of stabila. It turns a qualitative label into a testable condition.
Choosing and building terminology
The Fundamento's Rule 15 permits genuinely international roots to enter Esperanto with Esperanto orthography and recommends forming derivatives by Esperanto rules. Thus an established root takes ordinary endings and affixes: biologio → biologia, analizi → analizo, elektrono → elektronika.
This principle is not permission to respell every English technical word. Check authoritative dictionaries, field-specific usage, and corpus evidence. Internationality concerns multiple languages and established use, not familiarity to an English-speaking writer.
La algoritmo dividas la datumaron en tri subarojn antaŭ la analizo.
The algorithm divides the data set into three subsets before the analysis.
La biologiaj specimenoj restis je konstanta temperaturo ĝis la sekva mateno.
The biological specimens remained at a constant temperature until the following morning.
Transparent Esperanto formations can be preferable when their meaning is immediately recoverable: datumaro, mezurilo, varmoperdo. An international technical root can be preferable when it denotes an agreed specialist concept that a descriptive compound would blur. Neither “always build from basic roots” nor “always borrow the international word” is a binding rule.
When coining is unavoidable, provide the established term from the field or a definition on first use:
Ni uzas la esprimon «erartolerema sistemo» por sistemo, kiu plu funkcias post la paneo de unu komponanto.
We use the expression ‘fault-tolerant system’ for a system that continues to operate after one component fails.
The phrase exposes the intended relation more clearly than an unexplained multi-root novelty.
Methods: identify actors, materials, and sequence
A method section must let the reader reconstruct the procedure. Active voice is often clearest when the actor matters:
Ni varmigis la solvaĵon ĝis 60 °C kaj registris la temperaturon ĉiujn tridek sekundojn.
We heated the solution to 60 °C and recorded the temperature every thirty seconds.
An agentless passive is useful when the procedure or specimen matters more than the researcher:
La specimenoj estis konservitaj en mallumo dum dudek kvar horoj.
The specimens were kept in darkness for twenty-four hours.
The two choices are not a formal-versus-informal ranking. Ni mezuris foregrounds the research action; estis mezurita foregrounds the measured entity or standard protocol. Heavy chains such as estis estinta mezurata are grammatical only under highly specific time and aspect conditions and almost never improve a routine method description.
Keep chronological and logical order aligned unless there is a reason not to:
Post kalibrado de la instrumento, ni mezuris ĉiun specimenon trifoje kaj kalkulis la mezvaloron.
After calibrating the instrument, we measured each specimen three times and calculated the mean.
Here post and the sequence of finite verbs expose the workflow. A dense nominal chain can hide which operation precedes which.
Results, interpretation, and degree of certainty
Separate observation from interpretation. La mezuroj montras… reports what the data directly support; la rezultoj sugestas… presents a cautious inference; la eksperimento pruvas… makes a much stronger claim.
La meza responda tempo malpliiĝis je 18 procentoj en la dua kondiĉo.
The mean response time decreased by 18 percent in the second condition.
La rezultoj sugestas, ke la dua metodo estas pli efika, sed la specimeno estas tro malgranda por firma konkludo.
The results suggest that the second method is more effective, but the sample is too small for a firm conclusion.
La datumoj montras korelacion inter la du variabloj; ili ne pruvas kaŭzan rilaton.
The data show a correlation between the two variables; they do not prove a causal relationship.
This lexical calibration is central to scientific register. Eble, verŝajne, kongruas kun, indikas, sugestas, and pruvas do not differ merely in elegance; they commit the author to different strengths of claim.
Ĉu la diferenco estas statistike signifa? — Ne; la observita diferenco povas rezulti el hazarda variado.
Is the difference statistically significant? — No; the observed difference may result from random variation.
The short exchange is suitable for an oral (academic/technical) presentation. The written article would normally integrate the question into declarative prose.
Tense and temporal reference
Use present -as for definitions, general mechanisms, and what a figure or article currently shows. Use past -is for a completed experiment. Use future -os for a planned procedure or predicted event.
Akvo bolas je pli malalta temperaturo kiam la ĉirkaŭa premo malpliiĝas.
Water boils at a lower temperature when the surrounding pressure decreases.
En la unua eksperimento ni uzis kvin sensilojn; en la sekva ni uzos ok.
In the first experiment we used five sensors; in the next one we will use eight.
Esperanto normally needs no English-style present perfect. Ni jam publikigis la datumojn can translate “we have already published the data.” Compound tenses are reserved for a real relative-time or state contrast.
Ni jam publikigis la krudajn datumojn, sed la analizkodo ankoraŭ ne estas preta.
We have already published the raw data, but the analysis code is not ready yet.
Numbers, symbols, and units
Choose a recognized convention for the field and apply it consistently. Define uncommon symbols, specify units at every place where omission could mislead, and distinguish a measured value from its unit.
La maso de ĉiu specimeno estis 5,0 g, kun mezura necerteco de 0,1 g.
The mass of each specimen was 5.0 g, with a measurement uncertainty of 0.1 g.
Decimal punctuation and typographic spacing can follow the publication's house style; mixing conventions inside one document is the real danger. If an international team might interpret 1,500 as either one and a half or one thousand five hundred, state the convention or choose an unambiguous layout.
Mathematical symbols do not remove the need for grammatical integration:
Kiam la valoro de x superas la sojlon, la sistemo sendas averton.
When the value of x exceeds the threshold, the system sends a warning.
Abbreviations and naming consistency
Introduce a non-obvious abbreviation after the full term, then keep one form:
La modelo uzas artefaritan intelekton (AI) por klasifiki la bildojn. Poste ni komparas la AI-rezultojn kun homaj taksoj.
The model uses artificial intelligence (AI) to classify the images. We then compare the AI results with human assessments.
An abbreviation saves space only after the reader can decode it. A short paper with three occurrences may be clearer without one. Field-standard symbols need less explanation, but audience expertise must be real rather than assumed. See abbreviations and initials for their form.
Do not alternate among near-synonyms merely to avoid repetition. In literature, lexical variation can add texture; in a specification, switching among aparato, maŝino, and sistemo may imply three different entities.
Density and international readability
Technical prose often needs dense noun phrases, but Esperanto is not English: it does not reward unlimited premodifying noun strings. Use clauses and prepositional phrases to expose relations.
Ni analizis la rezultojn de la mezurado de temperaturŝanĝoj en la reaktoro.
We analyzed the results of measuring temperature changes in the reactor.
This is longer than a giant compound but easier to segment. PMEG notes that compounds with more than three or four roots can become difficult and recommends phrases when grouping is uncertain.
Use focus particles next to their scope:
Nur la dua sensilo registris la subitan ŝanĝon.
Only the second sensor recorded the sudden change.
La dua sensilo registris nur la subitan ŝanĝon, ne la laŭgradan variadon.
The second sensor recorded only the sudden change, not the gradual variation.
The first limits the set of sensors; the second limits what one sensor recorded. Technical accuracy depends on that difference.
Register boundaries
Technical reports, manuals, standards, and scientific articles share a need for consistent reference, but their audiences differ. A specialist article may use defined symbols densely (scientific). A public safety instruction should favor common verbs and explicit steps (technical/public-facing). An oral conference talk can repeat key nouns and preview structure more often than a paper.
Foundational grammar determines endings, agreement, and clause relations. Akademio decisions and established dictionaries help identify accepted roots. Field standards control nomenclature and symbols. Recommendations about active voice, sentence length, and repetition remain editorial choices whose value depends on audience and purpose.
Common Mistakes
Leaving an English technical word unadapted
❌ La algoritmoj analizas la data.
Incorrect — the unadapted English word neither follows Esperanto morphology nor marks the object.
✅ La algoritmoj analizas la datumojn.
The algorithms analyze the data.
Building an English-style perfect with havi
❌ Ni havas publikigita la rezultojn.
Incorrect — havi is not a perfect auxiliary in Esperanto.
✅ Ni publikigis la rezultojn.
We have published the results.
Hiding the procedure inside a noun pile
❌ Ni faris temperaturŝanĝmezurrezultan komparadon.
The compact string fails to expose the intended operations and their order.
✅ Ni komparis la rezultojn de la mezurado de temperaturŝanĝoj.
We compared the results of measuring temperature changes.
Claiming causation from correlation
❌ La korelacio pruvas, ke la unua variablo kaŭzas la duan.
The claim exceeds the evidence supplied by correlation alone.
✅ La korelacio kongruas kun kaŭza hipotezo, sed ne pruvas ĝin.
The correlation is consistent with a causal hypothesis but does not prove it.
Using an abbreviation before defining it
❌ La NTR pliiĝis en ĉiuj grupoj.
The abbreviation has no recoverable meaning for the intended reader.
✅ La neta transiga rapido (NTR) pliiĝis en ĉiuj grupoj.
The net transfer rate (NTR) increased in all groups.
Key Takeaways
Technical Esperanto uses ordinary grammar under strict requirements of definition, consistency, scope, sequence, and evidential responsibility. Prefer established terminology, derive related forms by Esperanto rules, and define unavoidable coinages. Choose active or passive voice according to information focus, keep units and abbreviations explicit, and unpack compounds when their internal relations would slow or mislead the reader.
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