eh meh trohvahs keh oh-loo ehsahs vehreh treh fahtseelah
Om'na-di'e me lek'tas tex'to dum un ho'ro; OM-na-DI-e me LEK-tas TEX-to dum un HO-ro omnah-dee-eh meh lektahs tekstoh doom oon hohro
me sem'pre lekt'tas lau'te.
me SEM-pre LEK-tas LAW-te [LAw-te, never laU-te!,au beinga diphthong.]
meh sempreh lektahs louteh
Kavu kompre'nas to? ka vu kom-PRE-nas to ka voo komprehnahs toh
The names of the letters in Ido-alphabet are: a be ce [cho] de e fe/(ef) ge he/(hash) ije ke le/(el) me/(em) ne/(en) o pe que re/(ere) se/(es) [sho] te u ve/(ev) we xe/(exe) ye and ze
The forms in parentheses are alternative and unauthorized names. Some Europeans cannot distinguish between b/v, v/w, s/z and s/sh. And the descendants of the Roman Empire do not pronounce "h" very well, since H is a "hush" sign for the Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French etc. In addition, the Japanese are deaf to the differences between b/v and l/r. So the alternative forms may help to clarify which letter is being pronounced.
Tips on Learning Ido
Your brain has a language-learning-and-using function that is specialized from other learning behaviors. The trick to learning languages is to tap into the power of that specialized function, to "get past" the standard learning and memorization operations of the brain so you can use the marvelous language tools in the brain's higher functions. Here are some ideas we have found useful and productive:
Many small bites are better than a few big bites. You will learn Ido faster if you break your learning sessions into three 20-minute sessions a day in preference to one 60-minute session.
Learn your first 800 words by diligent memorization. After the first 800 words, you will be expanding your vocabulary primarily by absorption, by reading in Ido and making educated guesses at the meaning of new words.
Read aloud. Even better, record your own voice reading aloud, then reread the selection while you listen to your recording.
Repetition is the key to accessing your brain's language centers. Repeat new words several times, repeat your read-aloud selections, repeat yesterday's chapter before starting on today's, and rewrite your word lists and flash cards every time you miss a test-translation to repeat your corrections.
Get an English-Ido and Ido-English dictionary, and learn to use it. We like the HTML (web-page) electronic version ofDyer's dictionary, compiled by David Mann, available from the North American Ido Society's web site.
Write in Ido, on a first draft. Don't write your thoughts out in English,
then translate from there. Instead, think out your sentence in English if you have to, then write a draft translation in Ido. Reread you Ido, and revise as necessary to polish it up. Eventually, you'll be able to think directly in Ido.
Keep a dailyjournal, in Ido. Get a notebook, and every day, write about a half-page of text in Ido. You don't have to create deathless prose or profound poetry, so any text will do. Describe your room, your surroundings, your family, your childhood, your rants and raves on the topics and news stories of the day. Paraphrase or record from memory the dialog or example conversation from yesterday's lesson. Write anything, but write every day.
If possible, get online (by computer), and read the messages and conversations in some of the Ido news or mail groups. Don't worry about knowing the exact meaning of everything you read. Just try to pick out whatever you can, and see how well you can follow the discussion by guessing when you have to. Eventually, you'll be tempted to join in with some comments of your own. Give in to the tempation! Post a message! The Idists who participate in discussion groups welcome new members, and will gladly offer their support and (usually) gentle correction to help your learning progress.
Find andjoin, or create, a group ofIdo activist-students. Language is for communication, and you are only really using Ido if you are communicating in Ido. Get some friends and relativse tojoin you on your journeys in Idia (Ido-land).
Don't be afraid to make mistakes when you are speaking or writing in Ido. The important thing is to try, make corrections, and try again. Mistakes are part of the process, and give you points of focus for your learning.
Every once in a while, go back and read through some of the early chapters of the first Ido book you studied, and appreciate how much progress you've made since those early days.
Most importantly, have fun! Learning Ido should be an entertaining adventure, not some kind ofheavy, grinding chore. If you find yourself getting too serious and grumbly, lighten up! It could be worse, you know, like if you were trying to learn English as a second language!
Lesson 01 • Unesma Leciono
Nouns
A noun is a person, place, or thing, anthing that you can see, hear, touch, or put a name to, like "table", "chair", "man", "cat". In Ido, all singular nouns end with the letter -O: kato (cat), hundo (dog), tablo (table). Plural nouns end with -I: kati (cats), hundi (dogs), tabli (tables).
The Indefinite Article
In English we say "a table" and "an egg". The "a" and "an" are indefinite articles. Ido does not use indefinite articles. It is enough to say "ovo" for egg or "an" egg; "tablo" for table or "a" table, and so on, when referring to "some unspecified" egg or table, or "any" egg or table.
The Definite Article
The definite article "the", used to specify a particular object being discussed, is "la" in Ido: matro - a mother (such as "any mother"); la matro - the mother (a specific mother, the one we are discussing).
Es - "Is"
The Ido word "es" is roughly the English word "is" as in "he is", but also takes the place of"am" or "are" as in "I am" and "you are". Ido uses the one word "es" where English uses several different words "am-is-are" to accomplish the same function: me es - I am; vu es - you are; elo es - she is. The Ido way with verbs is to keep everything simple, and very regular, with no exceptions or special treatments or tricky conjugations.
Notes
"Es" is a short form of"esas", Though "es" is more convenient, "esas" isjust as common. Use either form, by personal preference.
Vortaro (vocabulary)
me - I/me vu - you buxo - box domo -house gardeno - garden hundo - dog kato - cat muso - mouse tablo - table yuno - teenager/ a youth
yunulo - boy
yunino - girl
la - the
en - in
sub - under
sur - on
esas/es - is/am/are
Exempli
Mary is a girl. - Mary esas yuno. // Mary es yunino. (You may say either "esas" or "es".)
Charles is a boy. - Charles esas/es yuno. // Charles esas/es yunulo.
The house is in the garden. - La domo esas/es en la gardeno.
I am in the garden. - Me esas/es en la gardeno. (Say "meh", not "mee".)
I am in the house. - Me esas/es en la domo.
You are in the house. - Vu esas/es en la domo.
You are under the table. - Vu esas/es sub la tablo.
A dog is on the table in the house. - Hundo esas/es sur la tablo en la domo.
Rex is a dog. - Rex esas/es hundo.
William is a cat. - William esas/es kato.
The dog is in the house. - La hundo esas/es en la domo.
The cat is on the table. - La kato esas/es sur la tablo.
The box is under the table. - La buxo esas/es sub la tablo.
The cat is on the box. - La kato esas/es sur la buxo.
The mouse is in the house. - La muso esas/es en la domo.
The mouse is in the box. - La muso esas/es en la buxo.