The Esperanto Teacher

The Esperanto Teacher

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Esperanto Teacher, by Helen Fryer Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook.
This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the header without written permission.
Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is important information about your specific rights and restrictions in how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved.
**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**
**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971**
*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!*****
Title: The Esperanto Teacher A Simple Course for Non-Grammarians
Author: Helen Fryer
Release Date: May, 2005 [EBook #8177] [Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on June 26, 2003]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ESPERANTO TEACHER ***

Produced by David Starner, Tiffany Vergon, William Patterson and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team

THE ESPERANTO TEACHER,
A SIMPLE COURSE FOR NON-GRAMMARIANS.
BY HELEN FRYER.
TENTH EDITION. (B.E.A. PUBLICATIONS FUND--No. 3).
All profits from the sale of this book are devoted to the propaganda of Esperanto.

LONDON: BRITISH ESPERANTO ASSOCIATION (Incorporated), 17, Hart Street, W.C.I.
* * * * *
PRESENTATION.
Perhaps to no one is Esperanto of more service than to the non-grammarian. It gives him for a minimum expenditure of time and money a valuable insight into the principles of grammar and the meaning of words, while enabling him, after only a few months of study, to get into communication with his fellow men in all parts of the world.
To place these advantages within easy reach of all is the aim of this little book. Written by an experienced teacher, revised by Mr. E. A. Millidge, and based on the exercises of Dr. Zamenhof himself, it merits the fullest confidence of the student, and may be heartily commended to all into whose hands it may come.
W. W. PADFIELD.
PREFACE.
This little book has been prepared in the hope of helping those who, having forgotten the lessons in grammar which they received at school, find some difficulty in learning Esperanto from the existing textbooks. It is hoped it will be found useful not only for solitary students, but also for class work.
The exercises are taken chiefly from the "Ekzercaro" of Dr. Zamenhof. The compiler also acknowledges her indebtedness especially to the "Standard Course of Esperanto," by Mr. G. W. Bullen, and to the "Esperanto Grammar and Commentary," by Major-General Geo. Cox, and while accepting the whole responsibility for all inaccuracies and crudenesses, she desires to thank all who have helped in the preparation, and foremost among them Mr. W. W. Padfield, of Ipswich, for advice and encouragement throughout the work, and to Mr. E. A. Millidge, for his unfailing kindness and invaluable counsel and help in its preparation and revision.
MANNER OF USING THE BOOK.
The student is strongly advised to cultivate the habit of thinking in Esperanto from the very beginning of the study. To do this he should try to realise the idea mentally without putting it into English words, e.g., when learning the word "rozo" or "kolombo," let him bring the object itself before his mind's eye, instead of repeating "'rozo', rose; 'kolombo', pigeon"; or with the sentence "'la suno brilas', the sun shines," let him picture the sun shining. Having studied the lesson and learned the vocabulary, he should read the exercise, repeating each sentence aloud until he has become familiar with it and can pronounce it freely. Then turning to the English translation at the end of the book, he should write the exercise into Esperanto, compare it with the original, and re-learn and re-write if necessary. Although this method may require a little more time and trouble at first, the greater facility gained in speaking the language will well repay the outlay.
After mastering this book the student should take some reader, such as "Unua Legolibro," by Dr. Kabe, and then proceed to the "Fundamenta Krestomatio," the standard work on Esperanto, by Dr. Zamenhof.
A very good Esperanto-English vocabulary is to be found in the "Esperanto Key," 1/2d., or in "The Whole of Esperanto for a Penny."
THE ORIGIN AND AIM OF ESPERANTO.
A few words as to the origin of Esperanto will perhaps not be out of place here. The author of the language, Dr. Ludovic Zamenhof, a Polish Jew, was born on December 3rd, 1859, at Bielovstok, in Poland, a town whose inhabitants are of four distinct races, Poles, Russians, Germans, and Jews, each with their own language and