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For saying that something is on a website, I have seen at least four different prepositions:

  • La demando estas je Stack Exchange
  • La afiŝo estas en Reddit
  • La pepaĵo estas ĉe Twitter
  • Ĝi estas sur Facebook

Is there a better/best way to express this idea?

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2
  • It is "Stack Exchange", not "StackExchange" (the last section, "Proper Use of the Stack Exchange Name").
    – Peter Mortensen
    Commented Sep 18, 2016 at 15:55
  • Hmm, I didn't know that. I guess people type it without the space, including me, because there is no space in the logo at the top left of the website.
    – Chris McDowell
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 13:25

5 Answers 5

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14

I ran a search on the phrase 'la retejo' using tekstaro.com, and found that all the relevant results used 'en'. Some examples are below:

  • Aktualaj informoj pri HELA estas en la retejo de Varsovia Vento.
  • La suba teksto estas ĉerpita el pli ampleksa raporto en la retejo de FEB.
  • 277 elektronikaj libroj en formato PDF, kun entute 39329 paĝoj, estas senpage elŝuteblaj en la retejo eLibroj.
  • ...oni devas musklaki sur butono en la retejo por elŝuti la spektotan programeron.
  • Ĝi estas en la ĝenerala informa turisma retejo pri Vilnius.

This suggests that 'en' is the most commonly used preposition when talking about something being on a website.

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  • 1
    Even though the author of the PMEG grammar, Bertilo Wennergren, uses the term TTT‑ejo instead of retejo, he, too, uses the preposition en.
    – Lucas
    Commented Sep 18, 2016 at 14:46
  • 1
    One of my rules of thumb with Esperanto usage is to model my own after experienced speakers, especially those who are multilingual. Bertilo is one I look to for guidance. If you haven't already downloaded a copy of PMEG, Plena Manlibro de Esperanta Gramatiko, do it today. It's written entirely in Esperanto, but Bertilo's writing is straightforward and easily to follow. It's an excellent reference.
    – Dale Gulledge
    Commented Sep 18, 2016 at 20:51
7

Prepositions are one of the most inconsistent areas for translation. All it takes for me to remember that is to remind myself that while I was "in college" here in the US, my Canadian friends were "at University". We quite literally mean the same thing.

StackEdo is technically correct in suggesting je, although it isn't the best choice. Je is the preposition to use when there isn't a better one. It's not the best choice here, but it would be understood. As a fallback when you aren't sure, you can use it.

However, I agree that en is the best choice. Ĉe is good, but I have a reason for choosing en over it. When we talk about websites, it's common to refer to their "content". Content is something that is contained in something. That's the primary use of "in" in English and "en" in Esperanto. The content of a website is "in" the website in much the same way that articles are in a magazine. The best argument for any choice of a translation is always one based on the concept being translated, not just the word.

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1

Take this with a grain of salt, because I'm very rusty.

I like ĉe, because it seems to be derived from French chez which means (most literally) ‘at the house of’, and thus makes a good metaphor for material residing with (hosted by) a website.

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1

People generally use "ĉe" as the word for "@", so "ĉe (retejo)" strikes me as a good option.

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-1

je means on

en means in

cxe means at

sur means on

I think sur refers to a physical thing, like a cat on a table, a shoe on your head etc

So I think in this instance, je would be the right word to use.

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3
  • 1
    “sur” can also refer to a photo on the wall or on the screen.
    – Arturo Torres Sánchez
    Commented Sep 18, 2016 at 0:24
  • 3
    Literally translating prepositions can be very misleading. Also, how do you figure that je means on?
    – Joffysloffy
    Commented Sep 18, 2016 at 7:04
  • Actually, I think je is quite good. It's meant to resolve situations when no single preposition is a good fit, after all. And if one is – well, then by definition je is also acceptable.
    – La Vo-o
    Commented Nov 20, 2016 at 23:54

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