The E-Prime Dictionary

 

A Collaborative Wiki Resource

 

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I welcome you to the E-Prime Dictionary!

 

This wiki serves as an English to E-Prime translation guide for those interested in learning how to write, speak, think, and dream in E-Prime!

 

Take me to the Dictionary!

 

 

 

What do we mean by E-Prime?

 

E-Prime means the practice of writing or speaking English while abolishing all forms of the verb to be: be, is, am, are, was, were, been and being, including their contractions, such as it's and I'm.

 

In E-Prime, we cannot say what a thing "is," only what it seems like to us.  Thus, it brings our language down to Earth on a more subjective level.  It tells us what something "does," not what something "is."  Many encourage its use because it forces its users to state the facts as they perceive them with their senses, rather than make untestable assumptions about the "essence" of things. 

 

For example, the sentence "the movie was good" can become "I liked the movie" using the rules of E-Prime, which communicates the subjective nature of the speaker's experience, rather than directly imparting a quality to the movie.  The agent of the sentence, the speaker, "I," comes to light.  After all, a movie cannot "be good", it can only "seem good" to an observer (while simultaneously "seeming bad" to someone else).   Using E-Prime makes it harder for a writer or reader to confuse statements of opinion with statements of fact.

 

By forcing us to think in scientific, existential, phenomenological terms, E-Prime has the potential to strengthen our writing, our speech, and our minds.  It can help us identify and let go of fallacies, prejudice, dogma, and illogical identity statements brought about unconsciously through our habitual use of the forms of to be.

 

What do people use E-Prime for?

 

Some use it as a "seeing tool," for bringing to light the assumptions we make about the world.  Robert Anton Wilson, in his book Quantum Psychology (written almost entirely in E-Prime), tells us "E-Prime solves many problems that otherwise appear intractable, and it also serves as an antibiotic against. . . 'demonological thinking'."

 

Some use it to strengthen the effect of their writing.  E-Prime makes it nearly impossible for a writer to employ the "passive voice," and  also requires her to vary her verb choice considerably.  Would you rather read about what things "are" or what things "do"?

 

Some go a step further and use E-Prime for everything, basically adopting it as a separate language from English.  Although it takes years of practice, these individuals claim that eventually they learn to not only write and speak in E-Prime, but also think and dream in it!

 

Why do we need an English to E-Prime Dictionary?

 

When first learning how to use E-Prime, the English speaker often finds herself troubled by how to say something easily said in English.  She stumbles, trying to fit old structures into a new context.  Idiomatic phrases as simple as, "My name is Sally," can seem particularly difficult to translate when you begin.

 

The E-Prime Dictionary provides some help with this.  We have identified many key phrases that trouble E-Prime newbies and provided a few suggested translations into E-Prime.  If some phrase puzzles you, look it up in the dictionary to see what alternatives other E-Prime users have discovered.

 

If you cannot find the sentence you seek, consider requesting it on the Inquiry Page or editing this wiki to add it to the dictionary yourself.

 

Why call it a "translation"?  Doesn't any E-Prime sentence also qualify as an English sentence?

 

Yes, an E-Prime sentence qualifies as an English sentence.  However, proponents of E-Prime claim that the sentences do not imply the same thing.  Use of "to be" implies a certain "thingness," an essential essence existing in the subjects under discussion, a "spook," as Robert Anton Wilson calls it.  A sentence with a "to be" form tells us that we can know something with certitude.  E-Primists argue that, due to our naturally limited knowledge, we cannot.  We can only know what we think we have perceived.

 

How can I contribute?

 

This dictionary has a long way to go before we could call it complete.  If you have discovered an effective way to turn a common English sentence into a sublime E-Prime sentence, we would love to see it!  Your opinion matters.

 

To edit this wiki, you will need only the password, which I will gladly give you if you email me requesting it.  I will not post the password on the wiki itself to protect it from spammers and bots.  You can email me at gtrpkt at yahoo dot com.

 

When you receive the password, feel free to add your own insight!  Our dictionary needs caring E-Prime learners just like you to thrive!

 

Can I translate other things?

 

If you feel interested in doing more ambitious E-Prime translation projects on this wiki, like an E-Prime translation of Alice in Wonderland or some such thing, then let's talk about it!  It would delight me to start some creative projects like that.  Email me at gtrpkt at yahoo dot com!

 

How can I learn more about E-Prime?

 

You will find many great resources on the web if you do a search.  I learned a great deal from the links at the bottom of the Wikipedia page, so perhaps you'd find that a good place to start.

 

Thank you for visiting the E-Prime Dictionary, and I hope you will find it inspiring!