Introduction to Latino Modern
Le Prime Lection. Lesson One
Pronunciation
The Alphabet
Letter Name Sound
A a Ah a as in f< ther
B b Bey b as in boy
C c Cey ts as hats w/e,i, or,y; c in cat w/a,o,u.
D d Dey d as in dog
E e Eh e as in essay
F f Effe f as in fire
G g Gey g as in gun, g as in gem before e or i
H h Hacha h as in house, [or silent]
I i Yota i as in machine
J j Jay j as in jump, or, z in azure.
K k Kay k as in key
L l Elle l as in lake
M m Ema m as in moon
N n Ena n as in now, not like Spanish [which is ni in LM]
O o Oh o as in old
P p Pey p as in pepper
Q q Queh q as in queen, or k as in key
R r Arra r as Spanish razon, not as r in art
S s Esse s as in see T t Tey t as top or s when after i, as in action
U u Eu u as in under
V v Vey v as in victor
W w Duple Vey w as in water
X x Eks ks as in taxi, or z as in xylophone
Y y Eh Grek y as in yam
Z z Zed z as in zebra
Practice saying the Alphabet in Latino Moderne until you know in by heart.
Vowels
The vowels are a, e, i, o ,u.
As in English y sometimes has vowel quality.
Pronounciation
If you pronounce the letters and words as you would Italian or Spanish you will usually be correct. Unlike English and French, Latino Moderne is phonetic in its pronounciation and has no silent syllables which are not sounded.
th is pronounced as t. the (tea) is pronounced tŽ.
ti followed by a, i, or o is pronounced as she. action is pronounced ak-she-yon.
Accent Stress
The accent stress generally falls on the vowel which comes before the last cosonant in multisyllable words. Words accented differently will usually be marked in this introduction. In general Latino Moderne words will not have written accent marks, but they may be used with the Future and Subjunctive forms of verbs to help clarify their meaning, and with any other word which has an irregular accent, if the writer wishes. When learning it is wise to use the accent marks on Future and Subjunctive verb forms to help the you memorize them
The Articles Le and Un
RULE: The definite article is le, meaning the, but la may be used with nouns that are feminine in gender, or for euphony in speech or writing. Le is always used with the plural of nouns.
Le may be used for all genders (masculine, feminine, & neuter) and numbers (singular & plural). Exception: With feminine (-a) singular words la may be used.
RULE: The indifinite article is un meaning a or an, but una may be used with nouns that are feminine or for euphony in speech or writing.
Le and Un are always correct to use, so when in doubt about using the feminine forms, use them.
With plural nouns of any gender le is used.
The indefinite article un is never used with plural nouns.
To show indefinite plural nouns use alicun/alicuna some.
Alicun means Òa certain oneÓ when used with singular nouns.
1. Videvo alicun homines in la casa.
I saw some men in the house.
2. Alicun homine era in le automobile.
A certain man was in the automobile.
3. Un homine era in le automobile.
A man was in the automobile.
4. Alicuna feminas ridevan al can comic.
Some women laughed at the funny dog.
Example:
Le parola, The word. Un parola, A word
(but also)
La parola, The word Una parola, A word
Le parolas, The words Parolas, Words
Alicuna parolas, Some words Alicuna parola, A certain word
Le amico, The friend Un amico, A friend
La amica, The friend(feminine) Una amica, A friend
Le amicos, or, Le amicas, The friends. Amicos, Friends
Alicun amicos, Some friends Alicun amico, a certain friend
The = Le (la)
A or An = Un (una)
1. C.
Memorize these simple words and phrases. You may wish to make flash cards for yourself so you can review often.
Conversation Starters
Salute! Hello!
Bon die! Good day!
Como stas? How are you?
Multo ben. Very well.
Gratias. Thanks.
E tu? And you?
A rivider! Good-bye!