Hi! What would you like to do?
- Check answers to questions in the 'Look At Esperanto' guide?
- Find out a bit more about Esperanto?
- Find out what it looks and sounds like?
- Learn a few words?
- Listen to a song?
- Listen to a story?
- Buy a few books?
- See how Esperanto relates to other languages?
- Find out about Esperanto's first speaker?
- Show your parents or teacher some information about Esperanto?
Check answers to questions in the 'Look At Esperanto' guide
These
are the answers to the quiz-questions on page 8 of the children's 'Look At Esperanto'
guide. If you don't have a copy of the guide, and would
like one, have a look at the next section, Find out
a bit more about Esperanto, which will tell you how to get one.
Answers to the Quiz:
- Q W X Y
- It represents the five continents
- It provides a network for Esperantists who want to visit other countries to get in touch with each other
- Small sausage
- Malrapida kuniklo, rapida muso
- Saluton!
- Don't talk in your own language at an Esperanto gathering!
- It gives grants to young esperantists to help them travel to Esperanto events abroad
Find out a bit more about Esperanto
How can I do that?
Well, you could send a message to us at our office and ask for a copy of
our children's 'Look At Esperanto' guide. We'll happily post one to you. Don't forget to add your name, age and postal address so we know where
to send it. Check with a parent or guardian first that this is okay with
them.
(Older children/young adults might find 'Discover Esperanto' more suitable; it can be viewed online here ).
Alternatively you could have a look at our courses and learning support pages and maybe choose to buy something you find interesting, or visit the Lernu website and find out a bit more.
^ Go to top of pageFind out what Esperanto looks and sounds like
Does it look and sound differently to English?
Yes, it does.
The Esperanto alphabet has 28 letters:
a b c ĉ d e f g ĝ h ĥ i j ĵ k l m n o p r s ŝ t u ŭ v z
A B C Ĉ D E F G Ĝ H Ĥ I J Ĵ K L M N O P R S Ŝ T U Ŭ V Z
Have you noticed the special letters? These help simplify spelling and speaking. If you want to listen to the sounds of the letters have a look at the Lernu website where you can click on examples to hear how the letters are pronounced.
^ Go to top of pageLearn a few words in Esperanto
What is the Esperanto word for 'friend'?
This page will
show you the answer.
Once you've had a look at the page, see if you can work out what these
mean:
Helpful hint: the Esperanto word for in is en and the Esperanto word for
and is kaj.
Hold your mouse over the words to find the answers.
- birdo en arbo
- amiko en domo
- kato kaj hundo
- strato en urbo
- viro kaj libro
Listen to a song
Do people write songs in Esperanto?
They most certainly do!
These are the words to a children's song
which you can find here. Follow the words as you listen to the song and try singing along.
Li surhavas pantalonon
Kaj ĉemizon kaj ŝtrumpetojn.
Li surhavas pantalonon.
Kantu pri vestaĵoj.
Pretaj promenas ni
En ĝardeno aŭ en park'.
Pretaj promenas ni
Kantu pri vestaĵoj.
Ŝi surhavas ruĝan jupon
Kaj mantelon, belajn ŝuojn.
Ŝi surhavas ruĝan jupon.
Kantu pri vestaĵoj.
Pretaj promenas ni
En ĝardeno aŭ en park'.
Pretaj promenas ni
Kantu pri vestaĵoj.
If you or your parents would like to buy a CD with other songs like this, we have a Children's Song CD available with 18 songs sung by Stephen Thompson, originally written to accompany the children's Esperanto course, Urso-Kurso. The songs are set to well-known catchy tunes and cover everyday basic vocabulary, including the alphabet. A song sheet is included. [See price and order online.]
Kajto...
...is a well-known group from the Netherlands who sing in
Esperanto. They have kindly given us permission to place one of their
songs here for you to listen to. This one
is called Mi Memoras which means I Remember and it tells the story
of a young boy remembering back to a time when he and his father used to
fly kites together, and of how military aeroplanes get in his way.
The song comes from the CD which has the same name as the group: Kajto. [See prices and order online.]
The group Kajto have produced several other CDs of songs in Esperanto:
- Lokomotivo, rulu nun!
- Masko
- Procesio multkolora
- Tohuvabohuo
All these are available from our online bookshop.
^ Go to top of pageListen to a story in Esperanto
Can I listen to a story in Esperanto?
Of course! If you'd like to hear what Esperanto sounds like, and listen
to a story read aloud, click here. You will
hear a short story about a
pirate and his animal friends looking for treasure!
If you would like to follow the words and look at the pictures that go
with the story, you can print a small booklet,
here.
If you'd like to hear another story about a treasure-hunt, click here.
Both of these stories are also available to buy, as CDs. [See prices and order online - pirate story.] [See prices and order online - treasure-hunt .]
^ Go to top of pageBuy a few books
I'd like to buy a book. What would be suitable?
Here are a few ideas. If you'd like to buy one of these please ask your
parent or guardian to order from our office. Explore the rest of our
web-site (for example, our bookshop catalogue) and you'll find other ideas as well.
First Thousand Words - Mil Unuaj Vortoj.
This is an up-to-date Esperanto
version of the very popular 'First Thousand Words' picture-dictionary.
Ideal for children and adult beginners. This softback edition is
entirely in Esperanto and contains a wealth of vocabulary, all words
illustrated in full colour.
[See prices and order online.]
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - La Mirinda Sorĉisto de Oz.
The famous story translated into Esperanto with illustrations.
[See prices and order online.]
See how Esperanto relates to other languages
Will learning Esperanto help me with learning other languages?
Yes, it could quite possibly help. When Zamenhof built Esperanto he used
words from other languages.
Have a look at this quiz and see if you can match the Esperanto words to their foreign friends.
How many did you get right?
^ Go to top of pageFind out about Esperanto's first speaker
Who was the first speaker of Esperanto? Where did Esperanto come
from?
The first speaker of Esperanto was Ludoviko Zamenhof who was still at
school when he devised his language, Esperanto.
Read 'The Zamenhof
Story' and find out a bit more about him.
Show your parents or teacher some information about Esperanto
I'd like to show my parents and my teacher something about
Esperanto. What could I show them?
Our home page shows all
sorts of links that they might like to explore,
this one gives more information on our
courses for children,
and the Springboard... to languages site shows how Esperanto is currently being used in some primary schools to introduce language concepts.
They might also be interested to read the short article below. It shows how useful Esperanto could be for children and gives examples of how Esperanto 'builds'. Have a look yourself if you'd like.
Talk to the World - talk Esperanto!
Studies show that children progress much faster in their learning of
other national languages if they first follow an introductory course in
an 'apprentice language'. They also become much more aware of the
construction of language in general, which can lead to an increased
understanding of their own native language.
Do you want your children to learn a language?
One that's useful? One that can take them places?
How about Esperanto, then?
Teach them a root word, say RAPID
Take 5 vowels A E I O U and have them build:
RAPID O = speed (noun)
RAPID A = fast (adjective)
RAPID E = rapidly (adverb)
RAPID I = to make haste (infinitive)
RAPID U = Hurry up! (imperative)
Do a simple calculation with them:
Learn 1 word x 5 endings = 5 new words.
Learn 1000 words x 5 endings = ???? new words!
Start adding word-builders, e.g. EG or EM
RAPID EG A = very fast/hurried
RAPID EM A = hasty
How many word combinations now?
And there are more!
This system of flagged word endings and word-builders means that learning the language is easier and creative... and, what's more, fun.