Introduction in English

English	Elefen
Lingua Franca Nova (“Elefen”) is a language designed to be particularly simple, consistent, and easy to learn for international communications. It has a number of positive qualities:	Lingua Franca Nova (“elefen”) es un lingua desiniada per es vera simple, coerente, e fasil aprendeda, per comunica internasional. Lo ave cualias diversa:
1. It has a limited number of phonemes. It sounds similar to Italian or Spanish.	1. Lo ave un cuantia limitada de fonemes. Lo sona simil a italian o espaniol.
2. It is phonetically spelled. No child should have to spend years learning irregularities.	2. Lo es scriveda como lo sona. No enfante debe perde multe anios en studia esetas.
3. It has a completely regular grammar, similar to the world’s creoles.	3. Lo ave un gramatica vera simple e coerente, simil a la creoles de la mundo.
4. It has a limited and completely regular set of productive affixes for routine word derivation.	4. Lo ave un grupo limitada e tota coerente de afisas produinte per crea parolas nova.
5. It has well-defined rules for word order, in keeping with many major languages.	5. Lo ave regulas bon definida per la ordina de parolas, como multe linguas major.
6. Its vocabulary is strongly rooted in modern Romance languages. These languages are themselves widespread and influential, plus they have contributed the major part of English vocabulary.	6. Lo ave un lista de parolas fundida en la linguas romanica moderna. Esta linguas es comun e influosa, e ia contribui la parte major de parolas engles.
7. It is designed to be naturally accepting of Latin and Greek technical neologisms, the de facto “world standard”.	7. Lo es desiniada per aseta natural la parolas tecnical de latina e elenica, comun tra la mundo.
8. It is designed to seem relatively “natural” to those who are familiar with Romance languages, without being any more difficult for others to learn.	8. Lo es desiniada per apare “natural” per los ci comprende la linguas romanica, ma lo no es min fasil per otras.
We hope you like Elefen!	Nos espera ce tu va gusta elefen!

The basics

Alphabet and pronunciation

Letter	Pronunciation
a	like a in “ah”
b	like b in “boy”
c	like c in “cat”
d	like d in “dog”
e	like e in “end” or ay in “may”
f	like f in “fun”
g	like g in “go”
h	like h in “hat”
i	like ee in “see” or y in “yes”
j	like s in “treasure”
l	like l in “low”
m	like m in “map”
n	like n in “new” or “ring”
o	like o in “old” or aw “law”
p	like p in “pen”
r	like r in “roll”
s	like s in “see”
t	like t in “tea”
u	like oo in “food” or w in “wed”
v	like v in “view”
x	like sh in “shop”
z	like z in “zoo”

Word order

subject – verb – object:

• la fem ama la casa   “the woman loves the house”

particles – noun – adjectives:

• la casa grande   “the big house”

auxiliaries – verb – adverbs:

• me debe pasea atendente   “I must walk carefully”

preposition – noun:

• el es en la jardin   “he is in the garden”

Grammar

-s (or -es after consonants) forms the plural of nouns:

• omes e femes   “men and women”

ia forms the past tense of verbs:

• tu ia labora   “you worked”

va is the future tense of verbs:

• tu va labora   “you will work”

ta is the conditional mood (optional):

• si me pote, me ta vola   “if I could, I would fly”

One verb can follow another if it has the same subject:

• me vole compra un camisa   “I want to buy a shirt”

Intransitive verbs become causative simply by adding an object:

• me move   “I move”   →   me move la table   “I move the table”

Add -nte to a verb to make the active participle, which acts as an adjective or noun:

• donante   “giving (adjective) or giver”

Add -da to a verb to make the passive participle, which acts as an adjective or noun:

• donada   “given or gift”

A verb can be used as a noun just as it is:

• nos dansa   “we dance”   →   la dansa   “the dance”

An adjective can be used as a noun the same way:

• un om saja   “a wise man”   →   la sajas   “the wise (ones)”

Adverbs are identical to adjectives:

• un om felis   “a happy man”   →   el dansa felis   “he/she dances happily”

to make a question, start with a question word or esce, and end with a question mark:

• esce tu pote dansa?   “can you dance?” * cuando tu prefere come?   “when do you prefer to eat?”

Some useful prefixes

des-   =   to undo

• infeta   “to infect”   →   desinfeta   “to disinfect”

re-   =   to do over or again

• comensa   “to begin”   →   recomensa   “to begin again”

non-   =   not, the opposite of

• felis   “happy”   →   nonfelis   “unhappy”

Some useful suffixes

-or   =   a person who, as part of his or her role or job, makes …, does …, or works with …

• dirije   “to direct”   →   dirijor   “director” * carne   “meat”   →   carnor   “butcher”

-ador   =   a tool, instrument, device, or machine which makes …, does …, or works with …

• lava   “to wash”   →   lavador   “washing machine”
• umida   “humid”   →   umidador   “humidifier”

-eria   =   a place of work, a shop, or office

• carne   “meat”   →   carneria   “butcher shop”

-able   =   capable or worthy of being the object of an action

• ama   “to love”   →   amable   “lovable, lovable one”

-eta   =   miniature version, the young of a creature, inner clothing

• jaca   “jacket”   →   jaceta   “vest, waistcoat”

-on   =   very large version, outer clothing

• avia   “bird”   →   avion   “airplane”

-ia   =   -ia after a noun or adjective makes it an abstract noun

• madre   “mother”   →   madria   “motherhood” * vana   “vain”   →   vania   “vanity”

-i   =   to become, or cause to become

• roja   “red”   →   roji   “to redden”

-i   =   to use a tool, instrument, or machine

• telefon   “phone”   →   telefoni   “to phone”

-i   =   fractions

• des   “ten”   →   un desi   “a tenth”

Some very basic words

Traduida par George Boeree.