Step by Step in Esperanto

Obviously, no one will find in this (or in any) work his ideal. Those, however, who work through it, will have their reward. For the rest:

ANKORAŬ NENIU PLAĈIS AL ĈIU

Finally, let me assure various indignant or anxious friends that the book is written with no ulterior anti-feminist motive. Also that I, at any rate, am happily married. And my wife? That is another question. She must speak for herself.

M. C. B.

1948

Preface to the Eighth Edition

The present volume is no mere offset reproduction of the previous edition: it contains well over 100 emendations. I sincerely thank the many teachers and students who have helped in these matters.

May I call attention to the words on p. 7 (Order of Presentation). Of course, there is no reason why, if desirable, the whole of the grammar (p. 272) should not be summarized in the very first lesson! Moreover, some part of every lesson should be devoted to conversational practice, away from the book and its restrictions. But the detailed instruction, and the exercises given, MUST follow the order in the book, if it is to be used to the best advantage.

M. C. B.

1965

About the Ninth Edition [4]

Many textbooks on Esperanto have appeared in English over the years, and they continue to appear as fashions in teaching change. Montagu Christie Butler’s Step by Step, however, has endured for almost half a century through nine editions in three countries, and is still considered one of the most useful and informative concordances to the study of the international language.

The Esperanto Publishing Company of Australia, having served the cause of Esperanto well and truly for a number of years, has now passed into history. Before doing so, Eileen Oliver on behalf of EPCA generously transferred all rights to this little book to the Esperanto League for North America, Inc. The League is honored and pleased to become the new publisher of this valuable work. Rather than tamper with Butler’s words, we have updated only the title pages and Advice to the Student.

David Wolff

David Richardson

Mark Stephens

ELNA Book Committee

To the Teacher

How to Use this Book

ARRANGEMENT. The book consists of small sections, each dealing with one subject only. This aids clarity, and makes it easy to divide it up into lessons of any desired length.

To help students of various ages and types, the contents are intentionally very varied. Omit anything unsuitable for your class.

ORDER OF PRESENTATION. This has been carefully planned. Work straight through, and, in general, resist the temptation to dip ahead. If you dodge here and there, you must blame yourself if you find the book unsatisfactory (as you certainly will). At six- seven pages a week the book will be completed, and the students far beyond the Preliminary Examination stage, by the end of the usual three-term course.

In order to accustom the learner to use the nominative after a preposition, the accusative has been introduced very late. Opinions will differ as to the wisdom of this. For conversation, at any rate, the accusative is almost indispensable. Introduce it as early as you think desirable.

For class conversation, a few useful words and phrases (e.g., lernejo, Bonan Tagon!) are introduced prematurely. They should be learned without explanation: this is given later in due course.

ROOTS. An effort has been made to build up a useful vocabulary. In the first few pages new roots have been introduced freely, for exercise in pronunciation; but as they are English, and safely guessable, this will not strain the memory. Point out, however, that Esperanto does not simply add an “o” to every English word! Pigo=magpie (not pig); porko=pig (not pork); lardo=bacon (not lard).

ETYMOLOGY. After the first few pages, new roots are shown by bolder type on their first appearance. When an unfamiliar root occurs, point out when possible—and it usually is—that it exists also in English, and that a knowledge of Esperanto thus helps to understand English. E.g., mola is found in emollient, mollify; salti in somersault; pano in pantry, companion; sorto in consort.

Many Esperanto roots are etymologically related. Explain, for example, the connection between aŭskult, skolt, and scout; apenaŭ, pen, and pains; lum, lun, ilumin, alumet, lunatik, and lund. Such notes are omitted to save space.