Esperanto Self-Taught with Phonetic Pronunciation — Themes and Context
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MARLBOROUGH'S SELF-TAUGHT SERIES
Esperanto Self-Taught WITH PHONETIC PRONUNCIATION. BY *WILLIAM W. MANN.* (_Member of the British Esperanto Association._)
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN
LONDON: E. MARLBOROUGH & CO., LTD., 51 OLD BAILEY, E.C. 4
[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.]
The object of this volume is two-fold. It supplies very full and comprehensive vocabularies of the words required by the tourist or traveller, visitor or resident abroad, health or pleasure seeker, and professional or business man, together with a large number of conversational sentences of a typical and practical character. The words and phrases are classified according to subject, and the phonetic pronunciation of every word is added in accordance with Marlborough's simple and popular system of phonetics.
With the aid of this book anyone may undertake a trip to a foreign land, even if he know nothing of the language of the country he is going to, and, if he will put himself beforehand in communication with Esperantists in the various places he intends to visit, he will find them ready to help him in many ways, and his stay abroad will thus be made much more entertaining and instructive than if he had spent his time in the conventional manner of the ordinary tourist. A further great advantage of this international language is, that it opens up to the traveller, not merely one particular country, but the whole of Europe.
The book also aims at affording a practical guide to Esperanto for the student, who will find, in the section on Grammar, all that he needs to give him full insight into and grasp of the language, enabling him with very little effort to read, write and speak correctly.
By joining an Esperanto Group the learner may have frequent opportunity of conversational practice, and he will soon find that it is by no means a difficult matter to become as fluent in the auxiliary language as in his mother-tongue.[1]
Esperanto is not merely a language for tourists, but already possesses a rich literature of considerable extent, the beginnings of that "Weltlitteratur" foreseen by Goethe; it has a press of its own representing every country of importance in the world, and is constantly being made use of for professional purposes by doctors, scientists, teachers, lawyers, soldiers, sailors, merchants, etc., in every quarter of the globe. It is undoubtedly destined, ere many years have passed, to become a very important factor in the progress of the world.
_PRINTED AND MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN._
Letchworth: THE GARDEN CITY PRESS LTD.
PAGE Alphabet, with English Phonetic Pronunciation 5
Preliminary Notes.--Accents, Vowels, Diphthongs, etc. 8
Vocabularies.--Pages 9 to 76. Amusement, Recreation and 41 Animals, Vegetables, &c.: Animals, Birds and Fishes 12 Fruit, Trees, Flowers and Vegetables 15 Reptiles and Insects 14 Colours 17 Commercial Terms 56 Correspondence 61 Countries and Nations 40 Cycling 44 Cooking and Table Utensils 29 House and Furniture, The 34 Legal Terms 54 Mankind: Relations 22 Dress and the Toilet 30 Food and Drink 27 Health 26 Human Body, The 23 Physical and Mental Powers, Qualities, etc. 24 Motoring 47 Numbers: Cardinal, Ordinal, Collective and Fractional 62-64 Parts of Speech.--Pages 64 to 76 Adjectives 64 Adverbs, Conjunctions, and Prepositions 72 Verbs 68 Photography 48 Post, Telegraph and Telephone 60 Professions and Trades 52 Recreation and Amusement 41 Religion 50 Telegraph and Telephone (Post, --) 60 Time and Seasons 17 Town, Country, and Agriculture 20 Travelling: By Road and Rail 36 " By Ship 39 Washing List 33 World and its Elements, The 9 Land and Water 10 Minerals and Metals 11
Grammar.--Pages 77 to 88. The Adjective 77 " Adverb 83 " Article 77 " Conjunction 83 " Noun 77 " Preposition 83 " Pronoun 78 " Verb 81
The Formation of Words, etc.--Pages 84 to 88. Prefixes and Suffixes 84-87 Compound Words 87 Correlatives 88
Conversations.--Pages 89 to 126. Amusements 112 Commercial and Trading 125 Correspondence 122 Custom House, At the 98 Cycling 114 Enquiries 93 Expressions, (Useful and Necessary) 89 Expressions of Emotion 93 Health 105 Legal and Judicial 123 Meals 102-105 Breakfast 102 Dinner 103 Tea 104 Money Changing 126 Motoring 115 Photography 117 Post and Telegraph 121 Religion 118 Shopping 108 Dressmaker 110 Laundress 111 Shoemaker 110 Telegraph (Post and) 121 Time of Day, The 118 Times, Seasons, and Weather 119 Town, In 106 Travelling:-- Arrival 99 Bus and Tram 100 Changing Money 126 Hotel and Rooms 100 Public Notices 94 Railway, By 95 Steamer, By 97 Useful and Necessary Expressions 89
Money.--Equivalent Values 127
Weights and Measures; Postage 128
THE ESPERANTO ALPHABET (WITH PHONETIC PRONUNCIATION).
The Esperanto Alphabet has 28 letters--23 consonants, 5 vowels:--
William W. Mann's Esperanto Self-Taught with Phonetic Pronunciation (1908) presents itself as a practical tool for tourists and students alike, but its prefatory claims reveal a more ambitious project. Mann asserts that Esperanto 'opens up to the traveller, not merely one particular country, but the whole of Europe,' a statement that reflects the early Esperantist vision of a neutral international language. The book's structure—vocabularies grouped by subject, conversational sentences, and a grammar section—mirrors the 'Self-Taught' series format, yet Mann's insistence on phonetic pronunciation suggests a concern for oral fluency over mere reading comprehension.
Phonetic Transcription as a Pedagogical Tool
Mann adopts Marlborough's 'simple and popular system of phonetics' to render Esperanto words into English-approximate sounds. For instance, the alphabet chart pairs Esperanto letters with English equivalents like 'ah' for a and 'tsay' for c. This system prioritizes immediate pronounceability over linguistic accuracy, a choice that reveals the book's target audience: English speakers with no prior language training. The phonetic guide appears alongside every vocabulary entry, embedding pronunciation practice into each lesson. However, the system occasionally falters—the Esperanto ĉ is rendered as 'ch' in 'church,' which works for English but obscures the sound's precise articulation. Mann's approach assumes that approximate sounds suffice for basic communication, a pragmatic stance that aligns with the book's travel-oriented purpose.
Grammar as a System of Regularity
The grammar section emphasizes Esperanto's regularity, particularly in verb conjugation. Mann notes that 'the mood and tense endings of the verb do not vary according to person or number,' a feature he contrasts with English. He illustrates this with examples like mi vidas (I see) and li vidas (he sees), highlighting the absence of subject-verb agreement. The explanation of participles is notably thorough: Mann lists six forms (active and passive across three tenses) and demonstrates their use as nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. For instance, la parolanto (the speaker) and la aŭskultantoj (the audience) show how participial endings create new words. This systematic approach reflects Mann's belief that 'with very little effort' a learner can 'read, write and speak correctly,' a claim that downplays the complexity of mastering a new language.
The Imperative Mood and Pragmatic Usage
Mann's treatment of the imperative mood reveals his focus on practical communication. He explains that the imperative can express 'an order, desire, wish, will, etc.' and corresponds to English 'let' in constructions like mi pensu (let me think). Crucially, he distinguishes between the imperative as a wish and the verb lasi (to allow), providing examples: 'let him come' translates as lasu lin veni when meaning 'allow,' but as li venu when expressing a wish. This nuance is essential for learners who might otherwise conflate the two. Mann also notes that the imperative can be used interrogatively to translate English 'shall' with a desire element, as in Kion mi donu al vi? (What shall I give you?). Such examples ground the grammar in real-world scenarios, reinforcing the book's travel-oriented utility.
Compound Tenses and Temporal Precision
Mann devotes significant space to compound tenses formed with the auxiliary esti (to be) and participles, claiming they enable 'the utmost precision any time-relation whatsoever.' He lists thirty-six possible combinations, though he only illustrates a few. Examples include li estis skribanta (he was writing) and li estis fininta (he had finished), with the participle indicating ongoing or completed action relative to the main verb. Mann's explanation that 'the auxiliary esti serves to denote the particular division of time' is clear, but the sheer number of forms may overwhelm a beginner. The passive voice examples, such as la ligno estis hakata de la knabo (the wood was being chopped by the boy), introduce the preposition de for agency. This section, while thorough, suggests that Mann expects the learner to progress beyond basic phrases toward more complex expression.
Mann's Esperanto Self-Taught is best approached as a period artifact of early Esperanto pedagogy. Its phonetic system and grammar explanations reflect a faith in the language's regularity, while the travel vocabularies and conversational sentences ground it in practical use. Readers should note that the book assumes a motivated self-learner and does not address modern Esperanto evolution. For contemporary students, it offers insight into how Esperanto was marketed and taught a century ago, but supplementing with current resources will provide more accurate pronunciation and updated vocabulary.
Turning these pages, I remembered my grandfather’s faded copy of the Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon, or Indian Trade Language, of the North Pacific Coast — A Closer Reading—both books feel like holding a whispered promise of connection. Mann’s careful phonetics and the jargon’s practical lists share that quiet ache of wanting to be understood across a boundary, even if we never get there.
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