A Complete Grammar of Esperanto | Page 4

"n", "p", "t", "v", "z", are pronounced
as in English, and the remaining eleven as follows:
"c" like "ts" in "hats", "tsetse".
"cx" like "ch" in "chin", "much".
"g" like "g" in "go", "big".
"gx" like "g" in "gem", "j" in "jar".
"hx" is produced by expelling the breath forcibly, with the throat only partially open.

[Footnote: As in pronouncing German and Scotch "ch", Spanish "j", Irish "gh", Russian
"x", Classical Greek Greek: "chi" etc. There are only a few words containing this
consonant.]
"j" like "y" in "yes", "beyond".
"jx" like "z" in "azure", "s" in "visual".
"r" is slightly trilled or rolled.
"s" like "s" in "see", "basis".
"sx" like "sh" in "shine", "rash", "ch" in machine".
"ux" like "w" or consonantal "u". See Diphthongs, 5.
NAMES OF THE LETTERS.
4. The vowels are named by their sounds, as given in (2). The names of the consonants
are "bo", "co", "cxo", "do", "fo", "go", "gxo", "ho", "hxo", "jo", "jxo", "ko", "lo", "mo",
"no", "po", "ro", "so", "sxo", "to", "uxo", "vo", "zo". These are used in speaking of the
letters, in pronouncing them in abbreviations, as "ko to po" for "k. t. p." (= etc.), and in
spelling words, as "bo, i, ro, do, o, birdo".
DIPHTHONGS.
5. Diphthongs are combinations of two vowels uttered as a single sound, by one
breath-impulse. The diphthongs in Esperanto contain an i or u sound as the second
element, but in order to avoid confusion with combinations of vowels not forming
diphthongs (as in "naiva", like English "naive", etc.), they are written with "j" and "ux"
instead. Their pronunciation is as follows:
"aj" like "ai" in "aisle".
"ej" like "ei" in "vein", "ey" in "they".
"oj" like "oi" in "coin", "oy" in "boy".
"uj" like "ui" in "ruin", "u(e)y" in "gluey".
"eux" like "ayw" in "wayward", or like E(h)oo" pronounced together.
"aux" like "ou" in "out", "ow" in "owl".
COMBINATIONS OF CONSONANTS.
6. Each consonant, in a combination of two or more consonants, is pronounced with its
full value, whether within a word or at its beginning. There are no silent letters.
a. Thus, both consonants are clearly sounded in the groups "kn", "kv", "gv", "sv", in such
words as "knabo", "kvin", "gvidi", "sviso".
b. The combination "kz", as in "ekzisti", "ekzameno", must not be modified to the "gs" or
"ks" represented by "x" in "exist", "execute".
c. The combination "sc", as in "escepte", "scias", is equivalent to the combination "sts" in
"laST Said", "firST Song", pronounced together rapidly. The "s" in a word beginning
with "sc" may be sounded with the end of the preceding word, if that word ends in a
vowel, as "mis-cias" for "mi scias".
d. The "n" and "g" are pronounced separately in the combination "ng", in such words as
"lingvo", "angulo", producing the sound of "ng" heard in "linger", not that in "singer".
e. Each of two similar letters is clearly sounded, as "interrilato", "ellasi", like
"inter-relate", "well-laid".
SYLLABLES.
7. Each word contains as many syllables as it has vowels and diphthongs. The division of
syllables within a word is as follows:
a. A single consonant goes with the following vowel, as "pa-no", "be-la", "a-e-ro".

b. A consonant followed by "l" or "r" (which are liquids) goes with the "l" or "r", as in
"ta-blo", "a-kra", "a-gra-bla".
c. Otherwise, the syllable division is made before the last consonant of the group, as
"sus-pek-ti", "sank-ta", "deks-tra".
d. Prefixes are separated from the words to which they are attached, as "dis-meti",
"mal-akra", and compound words are divided into their component parts, as "cxef-urbo",
"sun-ombrelo".
ACCENT.
8. Words of more than one syllable are accented upon the syllable before the last, as
"TA-blo", "a-GRA-bla", "sus-PEK-ti".
WORDS FOR PRACTICE.
9. (To be pronounced aloud, and correctly accented) Afero, trairi, najbaro, aero, hodiaux,
pacienco, centono, cxielo, ecx, samideano, treege, obei, obeu, Euxropo, gvidi, gxojo,
cxiujn, justa, gxuste, jugxi, jxauxdo, lingvo, knabo, largxa, pagi, kvieteco, ekzemplo,
ellerni, fojo, krajono, forrajdi, kuirejo, cxevalejo, sankteco, scio, nescio, edzo, meze,
duobla, sxipo, sxargxi, posxo, svingi, sklavo, palaj, sxafajxo, atmosfero, monahxo,
geometrio, lauxdi, vasta, eksplodi, sencxesa, sensencajxo, malluma, arbaranoj, mangxo,
fresxa, auxskulti, dauxri.

LESSON II.
NOUNS.
10. Words which are the names of persons or things are called nouns. The ending, or final
letter, of nouns in Esperanto is "o":
knabo = boy. pomo = apple. cxevalo = horse. tablo = table.
THE ARTICLE.
11. The definite article is "la", the, as "la knabo", the boy, "la cxevalo", the horse, "la
tablo", the table, "la pomo", the apple. In English there is an indefinite article "a, an" for
the singular, but none for the plural. Esperanto has no indefinite article for either singular
or plural. Therefore "knabo" may mean "boy", or "a boy", "pomo" may mean "apple" or
"an apple".
ADJECTIVES
12. A word used with a