Esperanto Basics and Notes

So here I figured I'd put up the very basics of the language, to help people dive in a little and see the initial workings. I'm sure we can't post everything needed to learn Esperanto, but there are really good (and free!) websites for that kind of thing. Check out the "Esperanto Learning Resources" thread for more information.

Alphabet: A, B, C, Ĉ (CX), D, E, F, G, Ĝ (GX), H, Ĥ (HX), I, J, Ĵ (JX), K, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, Ŝ (SX), T, U, Ŭ (UX), V, Z

• Esperanto has 22 of the 26 letters of the English alphabet. It also has six additional letters not found in English, for a total of 30 letters.
• Each letter only has one possible pronunciation.
• All letters are pronounced -- nothing is silent.

(Note: When typing the special letters, one can use an "x" after the letter to indicate it is a special letter. Example: burĝaro = burgxaro. Burĝaro means bourgeoisie.)

Pronunciation:
A = Ah, B = Boh, C = Tsoh, Ĉ = Choh, D = Doh, E = Eh, F = Foh, G = Goh, Ĝ = Joh, H = Hoh, Ĥ = Phlegmy Hoh, I = Ee, J = Yoh, Ĵ = Shoh (with a soft English J sound instead of pure "sh", something between "show" and "Joe"), K = Koh, L = Loh, M = Moh, N = No, O = Oh, P = Poh, R = Rrroh (Rs are rolled lightly always, like a soft "rr" in Spanish), S = Soh, Ŝ = Shoh, T = Toh, U = Ooh, Ŭ = Whoa, V = Voh, Z = Zoh

Esperanto's grammar follows logical rules that never have exceptions:

• All nouns end in -o
• All pronouns end in -i or -ia
• All verbs end in -i (infinitive)
• All adjectives end in -a
• By changing the last letter of a word, you can change it to a noun or verb (Example: vivi = to be alive; to live, viva = living)

• Plural always ends in -j (-aj, -oj, etc.) and makes a "y" sound (-aj = aye; -oj = "oy")
• Objects are denoted by -n, plural objects end in -jn
• Adjectives must match in plurality with nouns (and object if applicable)

Tenses:
Past tense: -is (Example: vivis = lived)
Present tense: -as (Ex: vivas = lives)
Future tense: -os (Ex: vivos = will live)
Command tense: -u (Ex: vivu = live)
Conditional tense: -us (Ex: vivus = would live)
(Command and conditional tenses are rare in English)

Pronouns:
Mi = I | Mia = My
Vi = You | Via = Your
Li = He | Lia = His
Ŝi = She | Ŝia = Her
Ni = We | Nia = Our
Ĝi = It | Ĝia = Its
Ili = They | Ilia = Their
Oni = One | Onia = One's
Si* = Itself | Sia* = Its
Ci = Thou | Cia = Your

*Si is a reflexive pronoun; used with Ŝi, li, Ĝi, ili, oni, or words substituted for them to show reflexive action. Never used with mi, vi, or ni.

Example: Mi pensas pri mi. = I think about myself.
Li pensas pri li. = He thinks about him.
Li pensas pri si. = He thinks about himself.
Oni pensas pri si mem. = One thinks about oneself.

For more information, visit: http://en.lernu.net/ to learn Esperanto for free and get to audio examples of pronunciation.