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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 customs, and often at open enmity with each other. Taught at home that all men are brethren, Zamenhof found everywhere around him outside the denial of this teaching, and even as a child came to the conclusion that the races hated, because they could not understand, each other. Feeling keenly, too, the disabilities under which his people specially laboured, being cut off by their language from the people among whom they lived, while too proud to learn the language of their persecutors, he set himself to invent a language which should be neutral and therefore not require any sacrifice of pride on the part of any race.

Interesting as is the story of Zamenhof’s attempts and difficulties, it must suffice here to say that at the end of 1878 the new language was sufficiently advanced for him to impart it to schoolfellows like-minded with himself, and on December 17th of that year they feted its birth, and sang a hymn in the new language, celebrating the reign of unity and peace which should be brought about by its means, “All mankind must be united in one family.” But the enthusiasm of its first followers died down under the derision they encountered, and for nine years more Zamenhof worked in secret at his language, translating, composing, writing original articles, improving, polishing, till in 1887 he published his first book under the title of “An International Language by Dr. Esperanto.” (“Esperanto” means “one who hopes”).

That the idea which impelled the young Zamenhof to undertake such a work is still the mainspring of his devotion to the cause is shown by the following extract from his opening speech at the second International Esperanto Congress in 1906:—“We are all conscious that it is not the thought of its practical utility which inspires us to work for Esperanto, but only the thought of the important and holy idea which underlies an international language. This idea, you all know, is that of: brotherhood and justice among all peoples.” And, again, in his presidential address at the third Esperanto Congress, held this year (1907) at Cambridge, he said, “We are constantly repeating that we do not wish to interfere in the internal life of the nations, but only to build a bridge between the peoples. The ideal aim of Esperantists, never until now exactly formulated, but always clearly felt, is: To establish a neutral foundation, on which the various races of mankind may hold peaceful, brotherly intercourse, without intruding on each other their racial differences.”

 

Sur neuxtrala lingva fundamento,

Komprenante unu la alian,

La popoloj faros en konsento

Unu grandan rondon familian.

 

(On the foundation of a neutral language,

Understanding one another,

The peoples will form in agreement

One great family circle).

 

HELEN FRYER.

December, 1907.

 

THE ALPHABET.

 

SOUNDS OF THE LETTERS.

In Esperanto each letter has only one sound, and each sound is represented in only one way. The words are pronounced exactly as spelt, every letter being sounded.

Those CONSONANTS which in English have one simple sound only are exactly the same in Esperanto; they are—b, d, f, k, l, m, n, p, r, t, v, z (r must be well rolled).

q, w, x, y are not used.

c, g, h, s, which in English represent more than one sound, and j are also used with the mark ^—

 

c cx, g gx, h hx, j jx, s sx.

c - (whose two English sounds are represented by k and s) has the sound of TS, as in iTS, TSar.

cx - like CH, TCH, in CHurCH, maTCH.

g - hard, as in Go, GiG, Gun.

gx - soft, as in Gentle, Gem, or like J in Just, Jew.

h - well breathed, as in Horse, Home, How.

hx - strongly breathed, and in the throat, as in the Scotch word loCH. (Ask any Scotsman to pronounce it). Hx occurs but seldom. It is the Irish GH in louGH, and the Welsh CH.

j - like Y in Yes, You, or J in halleluJah, fJord.

jx - like S in pleaSure, or the French J, as in deJeuner, Jean d’Arc.

s - like SS in aSS, leSS, never like S in roSe.

sx - like SH in SHe, SHall, SHip, or S in Sugar, Sure.

In newspapers, etc., which have not the proper type, cx, gx, hx, jx, sx are often replaced by ch, gh, hh, jh, sh, or by c’, g’, h’, j’, s’, and ux by u.

ux - is also a consonant, and has the sound of W in We, as EUXropo, or U in persUade.

The VOWELS a, e, i, o, u have not the English, but the Continental sounds.

a - always like A in Ah! or in tArt.

e - like E in bEnd, but broader, like E in thEre.

i - is a sound between EE in mEEt and I in Is.

o - like O in fOr, or in the Scottish NO, or AU in 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