The Esperanto Teacher | Page 3

AUght.
u - like OO in bOOt, pOOr.
a, e, i, o, u are all simple sounds, that is, the mouth is kept in one position while they are being sounded. In learning them lengthen them out, and be careful not to alter the position of the mouth, however long they are drawn out. In the compound sounds given below the shape of the mouth changes; to get the correct pronunciation sound each letter fully and distinctly, gradually bringing them closer until they run together, when they become almost as follows:--
aj - nearly like AI in AIsle, or I in nIce, fIne.
ej - nearly like EI in vEIn.
oj - nearly like OY in bOY, or OI in vOId.
uj - nearly like UJ in hallelUJah.
aux - like AHW, or nearly OU in hOUse, pronounced broadly, haOUse.
eux - like EHW, or EY W in thEY Were, AYW in wAYWard.
Practise saying aja, eja, oja, uja, auxa, euxa several times quickly. Then gradually drop the final a.
ACCENT.
The accent or stress is always placed on the syllable before the last, as es-PE-ro, es-pe-RAN-to, es-pe-ran-TIS-to, es-pe-ran-tis-TI-no; JU-na, ju-NU-lo, ju-nu-LA-ro. All the syllables must be clearly pronounced, not slurred over.
EXERCISE IN PRONOUNCIATION.
a - (as in bAth), PAT-ra, LA-na, a-GRA-bla, mal-VAR-ma, KLA-ra, pa-FA-do.
e - (as in bEnd), BE-la, mEm, fe-NES-tro, ven-DRE-do, tre-E-ge, le-TE-ro.
i - (as in sEE), mi, I-li, i-MI-ti, vi-ZI-ti, TRIN-ki, in-SIS-ti.
o - (as in fOr), HO-mo, RO-zo, ko-LOM-bo, DOR-mo (the R rolled), MOR-to, po-PO-lo.
u - (as in bOOt), U-nu, dum, BRU-lu, sur-TU-to, vul-TU-ro, mur-MUR-i.
aj - (as in nIce), ajn, kaj, rAJ-to, taj-LO-ro, FAJ-ro, BE-laj.
ej - (as in plAY), VEJ-no, HEJ-mo, plej, HEJ-to.
oj - (as in bOY), PAT-roj, FOJ-no, HO-mojn, KOJ-no, SOJ-lo, KON-koj.
uj - (as in hallelUJah), tuj, CXI-uj, TI-uj.
aux - (as in cOW), AN-taux, LAUX-bo, fraux-LI-no, KAUX-zi, auxs- KUL-tu, AUX-di.
eux - (like ehw), Eux-RO-po, neux-ral-GI-o, Eux-kar-IS-to, reux-ma-TIS-mo.
c - (= ts, biTS), CE-lo, fa-CI-la (=FA-TSEE-LA), be-LE-co (BE-LE-TSO), ofi-CI-ro, PA-co, ci-ko-NI-o, CO-lo.
cx - (= tch, maTCH), cxu, ecx, cxe, CXAM-bro, CXER-pi, TRAN-cxi, RI-cxa.
g - (as in Good), LON-ga, LE-gi, ge-NU-o, GEN-to, GLI-ti, GRO-so.
gx - (as in Gem), GXE-mi, gxis, gxar-DE-no, SA-gxa, MAN-gxi, RE-gxo.
h - (breathed), HA-ro, hi-RUN-do, ha-RIN-go, his-to-RI-o, he-DE-ro, HIM-no.
hx - (in throat), hxe-MI-o, hxo-LE-ro, me-hxa-NI-ko, E-hxo, hxa-O-so.
j - (like y), JU-na, ma-JES-ta, sin-JO-ro, ka-JE-ro, jes, ja.
jx - (= zh), bon-AJX-o, JXE-ti, jxur-NA-lo, jxus, JXAUX-do, jxa-LU-zo.
s - (ss), SU-per, ses, STA-ri, trans, ves-PE-ro, SVIN-gi.
sx - (sh), FRE-sxa, SXE-lo, KU-sxi, SXTU-po, SXVI-ti, SXVE-li.
kz - ek-ZER-co, ek-ZEM-plo, ek-za-ME-no, ek-ze-KU-ti, ek-ZI-li, ek-ZIS-ti.
kv - kvar, kvin, kvi-E-ta, KVAN-kam, KVER-ko, KVA-zaux.
gv - GVI-di, LIN-gvo.
kn - KNA-bo, KNE-di.
sc - (sts), SCI-o (sts-ee-o), SCE-no (stse-no), SCEP-tro, eks-CI-ti (eks-TSEE-tee), eks-cel-EN-co (eks-tsel-EN-tso), sci-EN-co (stsee-en-tso).
CEN-to, SEN-to; CE-lo, SE-lo, SXE-lo; CO-lo, KO-lo; ci, cxi; ec, ecx; KRU-co, KRU-cxo; PA-go, PA-gxo; RE-gi, RE-gxi; SE-gi, SE-gxo; HO-ro, HXO-ro; PE-si, PE-zi; STE-lo, SXTE-lo; SAN-go, SXAN-go; VER-so, VER-sxi; dis-I-ri, dis-SXI-ri; GUS-ta, GXUS-ta; STU-po, SXTU-po; STA-lo, SXTA-lo; POS-to, POSX-to; re-SER-vi, re-ZER-vi; ru-GXI-gi, ru-CXI-gxi; ri-CXI-gi, ri-CXI-gxi, ri-CXE-co; FTI-zo.
a-E-ro, oce-A-no, fe-I-no, GXU-i, pe-RE-i, pe-RE-u; fo-I-ro, CXI-u-JA-ra, VO-joj, tro-U-zi, for-RAM-pi, ku-I-ri; SKVA-mo, zo-o-lo-GI-o, en-U-i, de-TRU-u, SXPRU-ci, ru-I-ni; Jan-u-A-ro, Feb-ru-A-ro, li-E-no, ho-DI-aux, hi-E-raux, Hun-gar-U-jo, Ne-a-PO-lo, sci-U-ro.
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NOTE.--A useful mnemonic for the Esperanto vowels is pAr, pEAr, pIEr, pORe, pOOr, but the sounds should not be dragged. It is helpful to note that the English words "mate, reign, pane, bend; meet, beat, feel, lady; grow, loan, soft; mute, yes, mule" (as pronounced in London and South of England), would be written in Esperanto thus:--"mejt, rejn, pejn, bend; mijt, bijt, fijl, lejdi; groux, louxn, soft; mjut, jes, mjul".
LESSON 1.
WORDS.
In Esperanto a word generally consists of an unchanging part or root, which expresses the idea, and an ending which shows the use of the word, that is, whether it is a name, a describing word, etc. By changing the ending the use of the word is changed.
Notice carefully the words given below which end in "o". It will be seen that they are all names.
In Esperanto every name ends in "o".
(In Grammar names are called NOUNS).
Notice further the words which end in "-as." They all express doing or being (action or state), which is going on at the present time, or which is a custom at the present time.
The words "a," "an," are not expressed; "the" is translated by "la".
VOCABULARY.
pAtro : father. cxAmbro : room. frAto : brother. fenEstro : window. fIlo : son. lIbro : book. TeodOro :Theodore. krajOno : pencil. tajlOro : tailor. plUmo : pen. leOno : lion. cxapElo : hat. bEsto : animal. dOmo : house. kolOmbo : pigeon. Arbo : tree. bIrdo : bird. rOzo : rose. Estas : is, are, am. flOro : flower. apartEnas : belongs. pOmo : apple. brIlas : shines. sUno : sun. kUsxas : lies. tEro : earth, ground. stAras : stands. sxtOno : stone.
la : the. de : of, from. kaj : and. kIe : where. jes : yes. kIo : what thing. ne : no, not. jen