PRONUNCIATION (Prononco).

5. The Consonants are pronounced as in English, with the following exceptions:—

C pronounced tso like ts in pits, Tsar.

Ĉ pronounced cho like ch in choke or church.

G pronounced go like g in get or go, always hard.

Ĝ pronounced djo like j in Joe, or G in George.

Ĥ pronounced hHo like ch in loch (is a very strong guttural aspirate).

J pronounced yo like y in yoke.

Ĵ pronounced zho like s in pleasure, leisure.

R pronounced ro like rr in terror.

S pronounced so like s in so (never has the sound of z).

Ŝ pronounced sho like sh in show.

Ŭ pronounced oo-o or wo like w in cow.

Z pronounced zo like z in zone.

For the pronunciation of the vowels, see pars. [8] and [9].

6. In spelling a word use the Esperanto name, thus:—A, No, To, A, Wo, spells antaŭ (before). E, Wo, Ro, O, Po, O, spells Eŭropo (Europe). U, No, U, spells unu (one).

7. Consonants. Note the following:—

(a). C and J are the only consonants which have a different sound than in English.

(b). C, Ĉ and Ŝ are the equivalents of the English combinations ts, ch (soft) and sh.

(c). G has always the English hard sound.

(d). Ĝ is like the English J.

(e). J is like the English Y.

(f). H is always aspirated.

(g). Ĥ is a guttural aspirate similar to the Spanish J as heard in mujer (a woman), or like the Scotch ch in "loch," or the Irish gh in "lough." If the learner cannot catch this sound it will be sufficient to aspirate the character strongly, as if it were a double letter hH, laying stress on the last H.

(h). S never has the sound of Z, as it has in the English words "rose, has, was," etc.

(i). ĵ, the small letter, does not require the dot in addition to the circumflex.

(j). Ŭ is a consonant, and is used in the combinations AŬ and EŬ (see par. [10]).

8. Vowels.—There are no short vowels in Esperanto, as heard in the words bat, bet, bit, pot, but. All vowels should be of medium length, but it is well to begin by sounding them long (see note, page [12]).

9. The vowel A is sounded like "ah!" or the a in "father"; I like ee in "seen"; U like oo in "fool."

As regards the vowels E and O, we have no words in English exactly expressing their true sounds. The correct sound of E is something midway between the vowels heard in "bale" and "bell," and that of O something midway between those heard in "dole" and "doll," viz., "eh!" (cut short) and "oh!" (cut short), but without the prolonged sound heard in these words. In the vowel E there should be no trace of the ee sound heard in "cake"; its true sound is much nearer to the e in "bell." The vowel O approaches to the sound of o in "for," or of aw in "law."

In the scheme of pronunciation (par. [19]) we have therefore used ah for A; eh for E; ee for I; o for O; oo for U.

N.B.—Do not clip or drag the vowels.

10. Combinations, Vowel and Consonant.—The following 6 combinations resemble diphthongs, but are not so, since a diphthong consists of 2 vowels and j and ŭ are both consonants:—

AJ pronounced ahye or i something like ai in aisle.

AŬ pronounced ahoo or ow something like ow in cow.

EJ pronounced ehye or ae something like aye in cayenne.

EŬ pronounced ehoo or ew something like ayw in wayward.

OJ pronounced oye or oi something like oy in joy.

UJ pronounced ooye or ooe something like uj in Hallelujah.

It will be observed that if these double sounds be rapidly made the pronunciation will resemble the English words given, but remember they are each pronounced as one syllable, so the examples "cayenne," "wayward," "Hallelujah," are not strictly correct. AJ, EJ, OJ, UJ, resemble the sound heard in the French words "paille," "oseille," "boyard," "fouille," and AŬ is heard in the German word "Haus."

N.B.—It is difficult to explain the exact sound of EŬ. Pronounce our word "ewe," and then give the sound of eh (cut short) to the first letter, thus ehwe, pronouncing the word as one syllable. In the scheme of pronunciation at [page 10] we have given it as ehw. It occurs very rarely.

11. Combinations of Consonants.—There are a few which do not occur in English, and the attention of the student is therefore called to the following:—

12. GV, KN KV, SV. When these letters commence a word, both must be clearly pronounced.

13. Ŝ, being the same as our Sh, must be distinctly pronounced, when followed by one or two consonants. Ŝm = shm, Ŝn = shn, Ŝp = shp, Ŝt = sht,

Ŝtr = shtr, Ŝv = shv. If the sh sound be not clearly given, mistakes might occur in a few words, as, for instance, Ŝtupo is a step (of a ladder), but Stupo is tow; Ŝtalo is steel, but Stalo a stall.

14. SC. This combination may at first be found difficult, especially when it commences a word, since it represents STS, which, with a following vowel, form but one syllable. There are very few words commencing with SC, viz.:—The five given in the list of words (par. [19]) and their derivatives, the word scii (to know) being the only one in common use. First the sound of S has to be given, then T, and lastly S. Since every letter has to be sounded, it is not sufficient to pronounce scii as tsee-e, for then the initial S is omitted; we must therefore mentally pronounce it estsee-e, the "es" being uttered very rapidly (as if it were merely a short sibilant) before the voice reaches the TS, on which the stress is made. When SC is not preceded by a comma or other stop, or is in the middle of a word, the pronunciation can be easily effected by joining the sound of the preceding letter to the S. Thus mi scias = I know can be pronounced meest-see-ahs. Mi vidis brunan sciuron = I saw a brown squirrel—mee-vee-dees broo-nahnst-see-oo-ron. But when the preceding word ends in S, the full sound of both of the letters S must be given, as mi havas sciuron = I have a squirrel—mee hahvahs (e)stsee-oo-ron (the initial e very short to help to give the sound of the first s) . [By repeating the sentence: "You at least see as well as I do," and then detaching the words "least see," the student will readily arrive at the proper pronunciation of "sc" in "Li scias.">[

15. KZ. In pronouncing this combination, do not follow the English pronunciation of words like

"exempt," etc., which our dictionaries give as "egzempt." Be careful not to turn the K into G in such words as ekzemplo = example, ekzameni = to examine. The full sound should be given to every letter in the three syllables, ek-zem-plo.

16. Pronunciation of Words.—Every vowel and consonant in a word is pronounced distinctly, and the sound never varies, whether the letters are initial, medial, or final; there is no mute letter in Esperanto. Each syllable must be distinct, and it must be remembered that when two vowels come together, such as ai, ae, ee, ii, oi, etc., or two similar consonants, as kk, ll, mm, etc., each letter always belongs to a different syllable, and must be given its full sound.

17. Tonic Accent.—The stress of the voice, or the tonic accent, is always on the penultimate (last syllable but one). Even in words of two syllables the tonic accent must be strongly perceived in the first syllable. The euphony and beauty of the language would in a great measure be destroyed by non-observance of this rule.

(a). In compound words, as in others, the accent must very distinctly fall on the penultimate of the whole word; but when a compound word consists of four syllables, or more, the meaning of the prefixed word, or words, may be shown by laying a certain stress on those syllables which would be accented if they were complete independent words. It will be noticed how much easier it is to grasp the meaning of a prefixed word if a slight stress of the voice be given to that syllable on which we are accustomed to hear the accent fall when the word stands alone, as:—Du-be-ni-gra = Blackish. An-taŭ-vi-di = To foresee. Gas-o-me-tro = Gasometer. Arm-il-far-ist-o = Gunsmith. Ĝar-den-la-bor-ad-o = Gardening. In-ter-ri-lat-o = Intercourse. Sen-la-bor-of-ic-o = Sinecure. Le-ter-pa-per-o = Note-paper.

18. Beginners should read aloud daily; at first slowly and slightly exaggerating the sounds, making free use of the organs of speech. It will then be

found that in more rapid utterance the exaggeration will gradually disappear, and a good, bold, free pronunciation be attained. (See "[Hints to Learners]," page 363.)

19. It is advisable that the student, before proceeding to the grammar, should get a thorough knowledge of the sounds of letters, syllables, and words; he should, therefore, read over the following list of words, which gives most of the combinations of sounds in the language. The italics denote where the tonic accent falls.

SCHEME OF PRONUNCIATION.

Esperanto Letter.
A =	ah is used to represent the a in father.
E =	eh (see par. [9]).
I =	ee is used to represent the ee in seen.
O =	o (see par. [9]).
U =	oo is used to represent the oo in fool.
Ŭ =	w is used to represent the w in wet.
G =	g is used to represent the g in go.
Ĝ =	dj is used to represent the g in George.
Ĥ =	hH is used to represent a very strong guttural aspirate
J =	y is used to represent the y in yes.
Ĵ =	zh is used to represent the s in pleasure.

Esperanto.		Pronunciation.	English.
A	abato	ah-bah-to	abbot.
a-a	la afero	lah ah-feh-ro	the affair.
a-e	aero	ah-eh-ro	air.
a-i	trairi	trah-ee-ree	to traverse.
	balai	bah-lah-ee	to sweep.
aj	ajlo	ahy-lo (sound "y" short,
		as ye) (dissyllable)	garlic.
	krajono	krah-yo-no	pencil.
	majesta	mah-yehs-tah	majestic.
	ajn	ahyn (sound "y" short,
		as ye) (monosyllable)	ever.
	palaj	pah-lahy (sound "y" short,
		as ye) (dissyllable)	pale (adj., pl.)
a-o	la ondo	lah on-do	the wave.
a-u	la ungo	lah oon-go	the nail.
aŭ	laŭdo	lahw-do	praise.
	antaŭ	ahn-tahw	before.
	hodiaŭ	ho-dee-ahw	to-day.
B	Biblio	Bee-blee-o	Bible.
C	cent	tsehnt	hundred.
	citi	tsee-tee	to cite, quote.
	colo	tso-lo	inch.
	paco	pah-tso	peace.
	pacienco	pah-tsee-ehn-tso	patience.
	oficiro	o-fee-tsee-ro	officer.
	proceso	pro-tseh-so	lawsuit.
Ĉ	ĉar	chahr	because, for.
	ĉielo	chee-eh-lo	heaven, sky.
	senĉesa	sehn-cheh-sah	incessant, ceaseless.
	eĉ	ehch	even.
E	elemento	eh-leh-mehn-to	element.
e-a	oceano	o-tseh-ah-no	ocean.
e-e	treege	treh-eh-geh	exceedingly.
e-i	feino	feh-ee-no	fairy.
	perei	peh-reh-ee	to perish.
ej	plej	plehy (sound "y" short,
		as ye) (monosyllable)	most.
	malplej	mahl-plehy (sound "y" short,
		as ye) (dissyllable)	least.
	hejmo	hehy-mo (sound "y" short,
		as ye) (dissyllable)	home.
e-o	neo	neh-o	negative.
	teorio	teh-o-ree-o	theory.
e-u	pereu	peh-reh-oo	perish (imperative).
eŭ	Eŭropo	ehw-ro-po	Europe.
G	gento	gehn-to	tribe.
gv	gvidi	gvee-dee	to guide.
	lingvo	leen-gvo	language.
g-u	guano	goo-ah-no	guano.
Ĝ	ĝui	djoo-ee	to enjoy.
	ĝojo	djo-yo	joy.
	paĝo	pah-djo	page.
H	haro	hah-ro	hair.
	senhara	sehn-hah-rah	bald.
Ĥ	ĥemio	hHeh-mee-o (guttural aspirate)	chemistry.
	eĥo	eh-hHo (do.)	echo.
I	idilio	ee-dee-lee-o	idyll.
i-a	ial	ee-ahl	for any cause.
i-e	tiel	tee-ehl	thus.
i-i	diigi	dee-ee-gee	to deify.
i-o	tiom	tee-om	as much.
i-u	ĉiu	chee-oo	each.
i-uj	tiuj	tee-ooy (dissyllable)	those.
J	justa	yoos-tah	just.
	ĉiujara	chee-oo-yah-rah	yearly.
Ĵ	ĵus	zhoos	just (adv.).
	ĵaŭdo	zhahw-do	Thursday.
	bovaĵo	bo-vah-zho	beef.
K	konkuri	kon-koo-ree	to compete.
kn	knedi	kneh-dee	to knead.
kv	kvankam	kvahn-kahm	although.
	kvitanco	kvee-tahn-tso	receipt.
	malkvieteco	mahl-kvee-eh-teh-tso	restlessness.
k-z	ekzemplo	ehk-zehm-plo	example.
L	mallumiĝo	mahl-loo-mee-djo	eclipse.
	ellabori	ehl-lah-bo-ree	to achieve.
O	ondo	on-do	a wave.
o-a	boato	bo-ah-to	boat.
o-e	troe	tro-eh	excessively.
o-i	foiro	fo-ee-ro	a fair.
oj	vojoj	vo-yoy	roads (plur.).
o-o	zoologio	zo-o-lo-gee-o	zoology.
o-u	trouzi	tro-oo-zee	to abuse.
R	rimarki	ree-mahr-kee	to remark.
rr	forrampi	for-rahm-pee	to creep away
S	sekci	sehk-tsee	to dissect.
sc	sceno	(e)stseh-no (imagine
		a very short e to
		help to give the
		sound of the first s)	scene.
	sceptro	(e)stsehp-tro	sceptre.
	scienco	(e)stsee-ehn-tso	science.
	scii	(e)stsee-ee	to know.
	sciuro	(e)stsee-oo-ro	squirrel.
	konscienco	kons-tsee-ehn-tso	conscience.
	nescio	nehs-tsee-o	ignorance.
sf	sfero	sfeh-ro	sphere.
sv	sveni	sveh-nee	to swoon.
skl	sklavo	sklah-vo	slave.
skv	skvamo	skvah-mo	scale (of fish).
Ŝ	ŝaŭmo	shahw-mo	froth.
	malŝarĝi	mahl-shahr-djee	to unload (a cart).
ŝl	ŝlosi	shlo-see	to lock.
ŝm	ŝmiri	shmee-ree	to smear.
ŝpr	ŝpruci	shproo-tsee	to spurt (intrans.).
ŝtr	ŝtrumpo	shtroom-po	stocking.
ŝv	ŝveli	shveh-lee	to swell (intrans.).
ŝt	poŝtmarko	posht-mahr-ko	postage stamp
T	trajto	trahy-to (dissyllable)	trait, feature.
U	unu	oo-noo	one.
u-a	unua	oo-noo-ah	first.
u-e	duelo	doo-eh-lo	duel.
u-i	kuirejo	koo-ee-reh-yo	kitchen.
	detrui	deh-troo-ee	to destroy.
uj	monujo	mo-noo-yo	purse.
	tuj	tooy (monosyllable)	immediately.
	prujno	prooy-no (dissyllable)	white frost.
	unuj	oo-nooy (dissyllable)	some (plural of unu).
u-o	duobla	doo-o-blah	double.
	paruo	pah-roo-o	tomtit.
u-u	detruu	deh-troo-oo	destroy (imperative).
V	envolvi	ehn-vol-vee	to envelop, wrap.
Z	edzino	ehd-zee-no	wife.
	noktomezo	nok-to-meh-zo	midnight.

Note.—Esperanto vowels are very similar in sound to those in German and Spanish, and in the Italian do, re, mi, fa.